Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)

Let's be realistic.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Dream doesn't cost a thing, people say. It doesn't. But to make into a reality is a whole different story and there's always delusions on the way. In "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter" Rinko Kikuchi plays the title role, a young Japanese woman whose source of happiness is to find buried "treasures" in places. One day, she finds a VHS copy of Coen brothers classic "Fargo" and becomes obsessed by one particular part of the film which revolves around Steve Buscemi's character hiding a bag filled with money, burying it in the snow. Kumiko doesn't have much going on with her life: can't stand her colleagues from work, barely connects herself with an old friend, and there's pressure from her boss and more pressure from her mom living somewhere and always putting her daughter down for leaving her behind. With that mind frame, our "hero" is about to go on a journey to the States to find "Fargo treasure". Why? Because she thinks it's real. Like "Fargo", this film puzzles its viewers in trying to find ways to establish what can be deemed real and what it's not. The Coen's film begins with a disclaimer about the events portrayed as a real story. I watched it as a kid and totally believed, and they weren't the only source for that information. Many people jumped on that bandwagon without doing a bit of research. It'd take me a few more years to find out nothing like that happened and that the directors were doing a prank on viewers. It's effect was a masterful and successful one. Now, comes the opposite side: "Kumiko" was indeed based on a real story, the story of Takako Konishi, a woman from Japan found dead in a field in Minnesota and the report on the news was that she was looking for that bag of cash from "Fargo". But the Zellner brothers didn't make a thrilling project with all those great elements. It's the most annoying film I've seen in ages, sad, bleak, with poor use of symbolism and a picture that don't make a good service, whether being entertaining or cheating a whole section of the crowd with its final image. A gorgeous and meaningful cinematography couldn't make for the film's errors and loads of absurdity. I just couldn't care for any the characters (except the state trooper, he was well-intentioned but too bad he wasn't a cinephile like I am. I'd be more helpful in that situation he faced); Kumiko was one of those characters that you understand while she's facing objections and problems in life, she's very depressed but doesn't know exactly, acting in a child-like manner and she can only get a sense of pure joy when she's watching "Fargo" repeatedly to the point of destroying the tape. Most of her actions make the story go further and further from enjoyment and greatness. Ripping a page from a book when she could've asked for a photocopy; her actions with her old acquaintance, someone who truly likes her; and when told about that the film is not real ("No fake!"). Those moments had me cringing so bad, I couldn't wait for its ending. Nothing wrong with Kikuchi's performance but it's a minor effort that wasn't worthy of her talents and in some bits I was reminded of her role in "Babel", and that made her seem as an one note actress.A cultural thing or coincidence? I'm not sure. But I was reminded of another Japanase individual - a more famous and also real one - who was stubborn with his actions and it also revolved on him being stuck in the wilderness to follow his ultimate convictions. His name was Hiroo Onoda, the last WWII soldier to surrender in 1974 (that's right, 29 years after the end of the conflict). He stood there on this island in Philippines, refusing to accept the war was over because he needed his superior officer word on that. He and three other soldiers stuck on this place receiving leaflets and other messages about the fact (one gave it up in 1950, two others were shot through the years). And I like to think he was the lucky one unlike Kumiko, which makes me wonder what would be fundamental in Kumiko or Konishi in stopping their pointless search? Possibly the presence of Joel or Ethan Coen - if they ever heard of them. If the makers took the real premise of someone trying to find the impossible after seeing a movie, turn into a comedy with a bunch of friends trying to find this money (my idea goes like this: a megalomaniac film buff joins his two slow-minded friends to a search around the globe) then we'd have something far more relevant than this thing. The Zellner's weren't aiming at anything specifically. What was the point? To show that the escapism brought on by the movies can actually move mountains yet they'll never be real except in one's head? The right movie must fall into the right hands and minds? Obsessed people need to be better controlled, even the ones who look more innocently? I got nothing from here except some beautiful landscape and the daring move of making the majority of the film in Japanese with captions instead of going with English in everything. High hopes for this movie but the final result was a total crash. They had the intriguing real-life story to follow (the reasoning behind the woman's obsession was right after some relationship issue, and the writers should have follow that story) yet they messed it up. Unworthy of the praise it got in several places. 3/10

This seemed like an interesting movie to watch on mubi, I didn't actually know much of what it is about, but based on the trailer the cinematography and mood seemed to be top notch, and they were, but nothing else really worked for me.Another reviewer wondered what motivates someone to make a movie like this, I was thinking about this too. The movie was slow, so there was a lot of time to think about. So I read this is based on a true story, I must have missed it if it was mentioned in the movie, but this might be one motivation. My initial idea when watching the movie was that they just wanted to be creative and artsy, probably made by people who work on advertising or music videos, but this may as well not be the case.So, the images on screen were stunning, the cinematography is absolutely great. The script is somewhat interesting, although I've never liked it when they reference other real movies within a movie. I don't know why, this just never worked for me, especially when it's such an integral part of the movie. But there are many more problems. Kumiko was left as a mystery. Maybe there were hints why she was the way she was - depressed, anti-social, delusional, autistic? She had a driving ambition to get money, but why? I never understood what was the motivation. Was it a social commentary for expectations towards women in Japanese culture? They surely underlined the work and family aspect, how women are expected to build their lives. Her mom was constantly asking Kumiko about dating etc, I have a hard time believing a mother of an autist or a mentallly ill would do this. She also meets an old friend which suggests that Kumiko wasn't always as she is now, so something must have happened, but what? And what's the connection between this and the quest for money. Why would a depressed woman obsess so much about money, what would she do with it. She also showed emotions towards her pet, but was clearly not big on people skills (even without the language barrier).Kumiko started out and stayed very distant in the movie and it was difficult to understand any of her actions. Maybe if she had been slightly more relatable this would have worked, or if they had opened a bit more of her past, but as it is, it definitely didn't work for me.

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.

The rumours always adds lots interesting stuffs than the actual news. Sometime we feel that should have been real, because of the sunning depth that even a real story can't match. That's why the false information spreads like a virus on the social media. This movie character was inspired by a real young woman from Japan, but not the real event. An urban legend surround her visit to Minnesota, United States, back in the 2001.I have seen many films of different versions of the same events or the persons, but I never heard of this one before. So after the watch I did a little research on the original and I thought this film looked much better than that, especially for the movie it supplied a fine story material. Still a very much predictable, but for an entertainment purpose, it did decently.It was a beautiful adventure-drama. The main character is just like the one from 'Citizen Dog' or 'Amelie'. Kumiko is an innocent and a solitude woman in the twilight of her 20s. Her life is not so good, with having no friends or a boyfriend, pressure from her mother and at work, she decides to chase an unexpected dream after learning about the treasure from the tape she finds in a seaside. That leads her to travel halfway across the world to an unfamiliar territory and what follows is her desperate drive to achieve the undertaking."I discover treasure. Right here. It's mine."The end was heartbreaking, only if you understood it clearly. Though I'm not going to reveal anything about that part as it might spoil if you have not it yet. But there's no declaration in the opening or before the end credits about whether it was a real or what actually happened in the end. Lots of scenes make no sense, and gives the impression of the girl is so dumb. Also leaves many unanswered questions behind which is the negative side of the narration. That's what you get in an urban myth, a collective tale and each slice of it is someone's creation/prediction based on the original evidence that is not understood properly.The story might be Americas, but due to the Japanese lead character, the entire film was in Japanese with English subtitle and very often some English line with the American characters. Besides, it looks more a Japanese film than the Hollywood's. The 'Pacific Rim' star Rinko Kikuchi was outstanding in the title role. The direction was good, the director also appeared in a small role as a cop. In fact, that was a big one for this movie where a small role can impact on the high level.Even a ten year old can differentiate what is real and what's not from a movie he watches in this world. Whatever the girl from the movie believed in is simply a fictional account and an entertainment for us, so don't expect it to be an uplifting movie. As I said it was based on a speculation of some real incident, but a well made movie except not detailing everything they have shown. It got a mixed response with mostly positive feedbacks, but my take on it is definitely good. And finally, this movie is not for everyone, if you decide to watch, try not to analyse it deeply.8/10