is a 2001 Japanese animated drama film co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse. Loosely based on the lives of actresses Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine, it tells the story of two documentary filmmakers investigating the life of a retired acting legend. As she tells them the story of her life, the borderline between cinema and reality gradually becomes blurred.

Plot

Chiyoko Fujiwara, a renowned former actress and prominent star for film company Ginei, accepts a request for a retrospective interview amidst the demolition of the company's obsolete studio, her first interview in thirty years after her sudden retirement from the entertainment industry. Documentarian Genya Tachibana, a fan of Chiyoko, visits her house with his cameraman Kyoji Ida. Genya gives Chiyoko a small box containing an old-fashioned key. She remarks that the key "opens the most important thing" and begins reflecting on her life.

Awards