Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014) Reviews

• "I'm like a Spanish Conquistador!"

  paul-allaer2015-04-06

  "Kumiko The Treasure Hunter" (2014 release; 104 min.) brings the story of Kumiko. As the movie opens, we see Kumiko walking alongside the beach with a map, eventually retrieving a VHS tape from under a rock. It turns out to be the movie "Fargo", and Kumiko becomes obsessed with it, and in particular the character played Steve Buscemi , who buries a briefcase full of money in the Fargo snow. Meanwhile, we witness Kumiko becoming more and more aloof and isolated in her day-to-day life, including her job as an Office Lady in corporate Japan. It's only when she is watching "Fargo" that she feels alive. Kumiko eventually decides to go to Fargo. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Several comments: the movie is directed, co-written by and stars David Zellner (his brother Nathan co-wrote the script). The story is a fantastical concoction that is loosely based on true events, and when I say "loosely", you should read that in the broadest possible meaning. The movie's initial 45 minutes play out in Tokyo, and Zellner captures the loneliness and isolation of the Kumiko character, still an Office Lady at age 29, perfectly. When Kumiko is caught trying to steal a huge world atlas from the library and is asked why, Kumiko passionately explains that "I am like a Spanish Conquistador, retrieving untold treasures!", to the shock of the library guard. The last hour of the movie plays out in the US, and captures the mood of the 'frozen tundra' and also the mood of the "Fargo" movie perfectly. When Kumiko is wondering the snowy fields, the movie becomes the anti-"Wild" movie: rather than finding herself, Kumiko becomes more and more lost. Please note that, like in "Wild", there are long stretches in this film where not a word is spoken. Knowing some of the background on the real life events on which this is loosely based, I was quite surprised with the ending offered by this movie… Last but not least, there is a great instrumental soundtrack, composed and performed by Austin-based indie band The Octopus Project. I head read about this movie, and was intrigued by it. Imagine my surprise when "Kumiko The Treasure Hunter" opened without any pre-release fanfare or advertising at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend. I went to see it right away and the Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great. Which is a shame, as this is a very nice 'little' movie that is quirky and off-center, yet always entertaining if not intriguing. IF that sounds like it might appeal to you, you cannot go wrong with this. "Kumiko The Treasure Hunter" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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• Viewing the world through a whole different perspective

  Neossir2014-03-05

  Kumiko, a Japanese employee, has only one hobby : treasures. She doesn't have any friends, and is really bored by her job. After seeing a VHS of "Fargo", she decides to travel to North Dakota to find the money hidden by Carl Showalter in the movie. This movie is an excellent piece of work. Rinko Kikuchi appears under a new face with this introvert and amazing character, inspired by a true story. David Zellner really did a good job of balancing comedy and drama : never exaggeratively funny, nor never desperately sad, the directing is very subtle and finds its own way to create an atmosphere around the point of view of an unusual character that sees the work differently than most of people do. Which is, sometimes, really refreshing.

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• Fortune, and the pursuit of ...

  nbb1002015-03-25

  Viewers are asked to identify with the Coen Brothers' fictional "Fargo" and the reality of the Zeller Brothers' "Kumiko" (Rinko Kikuchi of Babel). Our leading lady on a treasure hunt for something we all crave – what we want. Kumiko is insulated from the rest of the world through solitude, Her character cannot subscribe to Japanese societal norms and the journey is like many: weathering professional and personal criticism for not measuring up to the public barometer. She is hungry for the smallest dollop of approval. Frosty comrade pressures and a personal friend with child make the tiny Single made to believe she does not measure up. Even Mother is disappointed that she is still not married, a Japanese custom that girls are to wed by 25 or live at home. Yet, our actress ventures out alone to find little gems wherever she goes, small hidden treasures that strengthen thoughts of another journey. She identifies best with her bunny Bunzo (Rabbit - symbol of rebirth and innocence). Emotionally drained, Kumiko cannot stay in a world that punishes her for not attaining expected behaviours. Mistaking make believe for real life, our disillusioned lead leaves native Japan penniless and fixated, but armed. She encounters Americans who unknowingly assist in her adventure. Blanketed in determination, our heroine explores self-abandonment, only to be rescued from the cold with local hospitality. All this happens against a constant, white background of the silver screen, the Japanese symbol of death. This film leads viewers to decipher what is "not" real and what is. This film is a myth of fortune and the pursuit ... of what we each want. After watching, we may all realise we have been living a dream, maybe other's dreams … and not our own. Her future may be someone else's chaos.

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• Beautifully shot, marred by loud soundtrack

  mel_bear2014-07-23

  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.

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• Score points for bleak portrait of American heartland but urban legend narrative would have been better as a 30 minute short

  Turfseer2015-02-26

  Maybe I'm a little critical, but I wonder what motivates a filmmaker to make a film such as "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter." Visually it's a very nice looking film, especially the scenes focusing on the bleak, American heartland. But story wise, I wonder, what's the point? "Kumiko" is about a narcissistic, troubled Japanese woman who becomes obsessed with the film "Fargo," and comes to believe that a large amount of money that's buried by a character in the film (played by a young Steve Buscemi), actually exists. So Kumiko decides to quit her job in Tokyo and travel to Fargo to find the "buried treasure." "Kumiko" is actually based on the true story of Takako Tonishi, a Tokyo office worker who traveled to the cities of Bismarck, Fargo and finally Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, where she committed suicide after being depressed over the breakup with her former lover, an American businessman, who she had last seen in Detroit Lakes, on an earlier trip. The story that Takako was seeking the buried treasure from the "Fargo" movie developed from an urban legend that sprung up following a miscommunication that Takako had with a police officer from Bismarck, North Dakota. The officer misunderstood what Takako was trying to tell him and came to believe she was searching for the buried treasure from "Fargo." How then are we supposed to view "Kumiko?" Should she be viewed sympathetically as she must endure a demeaning boss, her nagging mother and scornful co-workers? Or is she simply a deluded simpleton who actually comes to believe "Fargo" is not a work of fiction? The climax perhaps gives us a hint as to where director David Zellner's sympathies lie: indeed, Kumiko does find the money from "Fargo," but the implication is that it's all a fantasy—that she tragically died in the snow, pursuing a futile obsession. At best, "Kumiko" is the bullied child who chooses to live her life in a fantasy world. It's hard to have sympathy however, for such a sad sack, who cuts everyone off around her and risks death to obtain a pointless, materialistic goal. Zellner wins points for conveying the bleak environment of his protagonist but her one-note obsession could have easily been made as a 30 minute short.

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