Jòsef, the main character, visits the sanatorium where his parents, he himself as a child, the emperor Francesco Giuseppe and other characters lived. The allegoric entrance to the building is the entrance to the world of fantasy, a dreamlike and labyrinthic dimension. In this strange sanatorium, time has stopped, or better, time has gone backwards. Here, Jòsef can explore the abysses of memory, retrace some events of the past and remember some moments of his childhood. The film is based on a serie of stories written by the Polish writer Bruno Schulz.