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.
"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.