Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

"It is my destiny." Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi)

Kumiko, finding a hidden VHS copy of Fargo (1996), leaves Tokyo to go to N. Dakota to find the film's buried treasure. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, is as fine a fantasy as you will find outside of the Disney Empire, and more insightful. Based upon an urban legend about a Japanese tourist who froze to death seeking the treasure, a bit of the Coen brothers' fabulous story lingers in this equally endearing tale.

Kumiko's a lost 29 year-old soul looking for the end of the rainbow--a little like most of us with dreams or bucket lists just beyond our grasp—but we'll still dream of them or actually pursue the dream in the face of insurmountable odds. Kumiko at her job is distanced from her peers and an enigma to her boss, who lets her go with the company credit card because she is depressed, and he needs to fill her "office lady" spot with a younger model.

As she's reminded along her journey, the film Fargo is just fiction, and the town not a pleasant time to be in winter. Yet, Kumiko persists with help from a kindly old lady (Shirley Venard), who would rather take her to The Mall of America, and deputy sheriff (director Zellner), whose motives are pure as the driven snow that covers the land. That snow gradually overcomes every scene with purity and menace, a blank slate upon which her dream can come true and nature, human and otherwise, can send her to oblivion if it wishes.

Looking a little like Red Riding Hood, she's the opposite of realists, who see Kumiko's folly yet cannot stop her drive to get to Fargo and the buried loot.

The film is a Seinfeld variant because nothing happens except the most profoundly simple occurrences strengthening Kumiko's resolve and making us believers in her Quixote-like quest. For the lost Tokyo soul with only a pet bunny rabbit as Panza-like friend, Kumiko seeks to fulfill her fantasy, the naysayers be damned. (She likens herself to a Spanish Conquistador.) She hurts no one, and when at last she smiles, you know her quest is valuable only to her, a symbol of her achieving something in life to set her apart from boring normalcy.

This film works as allegory, applying to all who should hold on to their dreams if only for themselves. Otherwise, it's a delightful tale acted perfectly, a treat to please our fancy and remind us about private dreams that keep us going.

I wonder what the Coen brothers think to this film - besides the fact they apparently didn't credit the use of the scenes from Fargo. Not that anyone would mistake it for anything else. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter has one of the most absurd setups for such an otherwise archetypal story. If there wasn't such a well known case of it actually happening, it would be difficult to swallow. It's simultaneously an American Dream and a culture rejection story that would make Ozu proud. In her pursuit for unimaginable riches, Kumiko neglects all aspects and expectations of her life, burning bridges every step of the way. It's a harsh examination of modern standards for young Asian women subverted with a 'gold rush' trope.

Kumiko is of course the least likely suspect for this journey, but that makes it more engaging than anyone else. While it feels like she gets out of situations by literally escaping without much of a scratch too often, its frequency paints a portrait of how far she's getting to each point of no return. In true Coen fashion, its fleeting supporting cast are memorably eccentric and provide much of the humour while lead Rinko Kikuchi provides the gravitas of the drama, taking the bizarre quest sincerely in every step. The photography is exquisite, contrasting the two worlds but putting America in the same tone and pace as Japan. Kumiko is a great tribute to the Coen's study of the corruption of money, building on it in the most out of the box way.

8/10

An introverted, heavily antisocial woman in Japan sees Fargo, the Coen Brothers film about a couple of gangsters failing at a job, and in the process hiding and losing a briefcase full of money. Fair enough, but the fun and the story start when she becomes fixated on the fact that surely this must be a true story and there's a real treasure somewhere on the side of a North Dakota road just waiting for her.

Kumiko is a bizarre story, as you have probably already surmised. Rinko Kikuchi, most known for Pacific Rim, plays the lead here, and she absolutely sells the character. She is the epitome of a square peck in a round hole and it's at times painful to see her trying to surmount the obstacles of everyday life that we take for granted. And a lot of the mystery of the film comes from wondering how she ended up like this and just how deep her condition goes. There's a very good scene near the beginning where she meets an old friend, who greets her like any other high school friend you have not seen for years, and you realize that surely Kumiko was not always like this. Something happened.

But the real treats start rolling when Kumiko decides to follow her only true passion and buys a plane ticket to America. The rest cannot be really talked about without spoiling the story, but trust me that it's just as surreal as Fargo at its best and, more often than not, even more so.

Plus, the ending, which is just about perfect. The only way this kind of story could really end.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is an experience. Its reach is perhaps greater than its grasp, but it's still a movie I'd definitely recommend for its sheer ambition and uniqueness.

Not knowing anything about this movie beforehand I was very pleasantly surprised. It starts with what could have just been another Japanese "horror out of the TV" movie but it quickly turns into a beautifully shot road movie with brilliant actress Rinko Kikuchi in virtually every scene. The photography reproduced on the giant digital screen is breathtaking. With minimal cutting and extended static shots this is visually very impressive. Unfortunately the film was marred by an extremely loud music soundtrack. Sometimes less is better. I would have preferred silence. As there was very little dialogue the movie would then get to speak for itself.

What a fascinating film to behold, truly. I had no idea it was based on any urban legend. One could swear, based on much of the film's tone and atmosphere, that it was a horror film in disguise. In its own way, it is a horror film, but it's not bound by any genre and instead it manages to be both supremely disturbing, it gets under your skin, but also really beautiful and engrossing on an emotional level. People seeking it out because "treasure hunter" sounds like it would make for something really fun should probably look away. The film will no doubt polarize many, with its most ardent fans defending it until their last breath while others will criticize it for being pointless or boring, or both. Regardless, it's a majestic film and unlike anything I've probably ever seen, and there couldn't have been anyone better cast than Kikuchi.