After nearly 30 years of living in strict seclusion, the aged film star Chioyoko Fujiwara grants an interview to journalist Genya Tachibana. Chioyoko Fujiwara relates how she, as a young girl, was given a key by a mysterious painter. As their conversation begins, scenes from Chioyoko's films are intercut with her memories of pursuing the mysterious artist. She journeys through Japan's history using various period films she had acted in to illustrate her desperate search for the painter in order to return the key back to him. Accompanied by his blase cameraman, Tachibana finds himself within Chioyoko's memories and films, alternately observing and aiding the woman he adores. The line between reality and fantasy becomes blurred and there are lots of twists and turns down the path. What does the key represent and what is the meaning of Chioyoko's remark at the very end of the film?