A filmmaker travels to a remote mountain village secretly planning to record a local ritual ceremony surrounding an old dying woman. He befriends a local boy who ultimately becomes his informant on the fate of the old woman. As the rustling wind, golden light, and deep shadows of the village cast an alluring spell, the deathwatch drags on as the woman stubbornly clings to life, leaving the crew impatient.

A French actress in Japan shares her memories of the war in Europe with her Japanese lover, who tells her of the Asian fighting.