Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.
Direction
Satoshi Kon's reality-blending transitions are unmatched.
Editing
Seamless jumps between film roles and real memories.
Score
Susumu Hirasawa's haunting melodies amplify every ache.
Director
Satoshi Kon
Miyoko Shoji
Chiyoko Fujiwara (70's) (voice)
Mami Koyama
Chiyoko Fujiwara (20-40's) ( voice)
Fumiko Orikasa
Chiyoko Fujiwara (10-20's) (voice)
Shozo Iizuka
Genya Tachibana (voice)
Masaya Onosaka
Kyouji Ida (voice)
Masane Tsukayama
The Man with the Scar (voice)
Koichi Yamadera
The Man of the Key (voice)
Hisako Kyoda
Chiyoko's Mother (voice)
Tomie Kataoka
Mino (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kon deliberately modeled Chiyoko's career on real Japanese screen legends Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine, both of whom mysteriously retired from public life.
The film's structure predicts Kon's later 'Paprika' and even influenced Christopher Nolan's dream-logic in Inception—though Kon did it first, and with more emotional devastation.
JP
