Millennium Actress: The Key

For a boring answer, I would say the key probably opens that art box the painter was holding. For the deep, philosophical answer, I would definitely agree that the most important thing the key opened was Chiyoko’s memories. Our memories make us who we are. They define our past and influence our future. A major aspect of Chiyoko’s past was her pursuit of the painter. He was her first love. She thought about him every day, always trying to find him. He is also the reason she decided to become an actor. All of these memories were tied to that key. There were even times when it appeared she had almost forgotten about the man, like when the director made his profession of love, but then she saw the key when it touched her glass and she was reminded of her love and devotion the painter. The key awakens those memories that are so deeply woven into it.

Tachiban returning the Key to Chiyoko provided her with much needed closure and acceptance that she needed in order to move on–in this case, die peacefully and hopefully, somehow, reunite with The Painter. Chiyoko had told Tachiban that she didn’t want to think about The Painter, that she never thought she’d see him again, and about the key: “I’ve kept this out of my mind for years”. Chiyoko really never had any closure on her love for the Painter, and of course, her love for journeying after him. It suddenly just halted and she was left with nothing. In agreement with the others, the Key, perhaps literally and metaphorically, opened Chiyoko’s past memories, and from retelling and reliving them with Tachibaa, she was able to make peace with what had happened throughout her life and gain a new understanding of herself.

Although the Key literally opened The Painter’s suitcase, for himself and for Chiyoko, for the short time that they met, it was a small, physical connection between the two, and as long as Chiyoko carried it with her for, she would remember the Painter, and cherish the few memories that she had of his face. When she regained possesion of the Key as an elder, it would serve to unlock the memories that she seemed to have repressed in the back of her mind about her journey of loving the Painter. We saw that Chiyoko became physically ill at some points while retelling her story about her acting career, and that inevitably became intertwined with her quest for her love. It wasn’t an easy story for Chiyoko to recount, but being reunited with the Key, a memento of the Painter in Chiyoko’s eyes, allowed her to explore those past times and to make peace with the fact that maybe they weren’t destined for each other in this world. Chiyoko was able to accept this, she knew she is no longer the girl that the Painter once remembered, and he, too, would probably be unrecognizable in her own eyes.

In a figurative sense, the key opens up Chiyoko herself. Through out the movie, the key reminds Chiyoko of her true feelings for the mysterious man that she continued to chase for years. There were times when she wanted to burry these feelings because they were “unrealistic” in a sense. When Chiyoko’s key was stolen, she attempted to move on from her love and married the director. She tried to be happy, but as seen from the scene when she was cleaning the study, Chiyoko was not entirely satisfied with her mundane life. Finding the key again, she was reminded of how much she loved the mysterious painter, and resumed her chase.

I think the key symbolizes her love for the painter, which the key functions as the main momentum of Chiyoko’s life. The key opens her memories of her past, reminding her the process of loving, and chasing the man she loves. At the beginning of the movie, as Chiyoko gets the key from the anonymous painter, she starts to fall in love with him. Always, she ties the key on her neck, which means that her love persists. Even as she reaches her middle age, when the male director expresses his love for Chiyoko and tries to kiss her, the key reminds her of her memories and affection for the painter. And at last, as her key loses during the shooting of sci-fi movie, she finally forgoes her affection, and starts to live a seclusive life. However, when Genya returns the key to Chiyoko, she regains all the love memories, and she accepts her past. She admits that she is no longer the little girl in the painter’s eyes, and the painter might not be the same as the one in her imaginations. However, through all the memories, Chiyoko finally realizes that she actually falls in love with the “love” itself. She might fall in love with an imaginary figure, a shadow, but the process of loving gives her hope and a reason to live despite changes in her life.

The key represents youthful passion. When Chiyoko first receives the key, she seems to transform, evolving from a timid girl who, instead of speaking her mind, chooses to flee from the room instead, to a boisterous, ambitious girl who is willing to chase her love across the world and enchanting her fans by imbuing her performances with the passion she has for her first love. Once she loses the key, she settles, marrying her director and living her life vacuuming and dusting instead of chasing and performing, taking on the role of housekeeper and wife that her mother had wanted for her. However, once she regains her key, she instantly revitalizes, transforming again into a strong, independent woman. When Tachibana again returns her key to her, she comes out of seclusion, choosing to have an interview that she had refused for 30 years, and reliving her life enthusiastically with Tachibana.