A "free form travelogue" and "non-linear essay" are but two phrases I've read to describe this film. Predominantly, it explores aspects of Japanese traditions and folkways; but there are random jaunts across Africa, to Iceland and a genuinely odd segment in which scenes from Hitchcock's Vertigo are re-traced on location in San Francisco.

It appears that Chris Marker wants to explore the nature of time, but got hung up on places. People are largely incidental to this exploration; yes, he covers various rites and rituals, but they are dispassionate, the way a documentarian might comment on the mannerisms of observed elk. It put me in the mood to re-watch Lost in Translation, but I can't say that I feel I even know what questions were being asked by the film to know what I took away from it.