Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Movie Review)

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (UK Rating: 12A)

Takako Konishi's death in a field in Minnesota in 2001 was ruled a suicide, and, had it not been for the field's proximity to Fargo, it probably would have gone unnoticed. However, the media grabbed hold of the story, claiming she had travelled all the way from Japan in an effort to find the money buried in a field by Steve Buscemi in the Coen brothers' film, which is exactly what the eponymous Kumiko (Rinko Kikushi) does, persuaded by the line on-screen as the film opens, "This is a true story."

Of course, it isn't - but for Kumiko it is. A solitary face in the crowd who lives in a small, untidy flat, has no friends and hates her job, her life is given purpose and hope by a video of Fargo she finds on a beach. She meticulously studies the scene showing the money being buried in the snow, makes a treasure map and sets off for Minnesota to find her prize, despite speaking little English. Once in the US, the film follows her increasingly desperate efforts to track down her treasure, with help and hindrance from a series of well-meaning locals.

The film splits neatly into two halves, the first being set in Tokyo and American director, David Kellner - who multi-tasks by playing a kind hearted cop in the second half - has a real feel for the crowded yet regimented way of life in the city. Kumiko is an Office Lady - a secretarial/admin role - in a large company, wearing the same clean-lined uniform as all her colleagues, but sticking out like a sore thumb with her sullen expression and untidy hair. She's an outsider in her family as well, a constant disappointment to her mother, whose only subject of conversation is when her daughter is going to find a boyfriend and get married. Under pressure from all sides, it's not surprising she's miserable and, although it's never said, depressed.

It looks like a Coen brothers' movie as well, which means beautiful photography. To stay warm, Kumiko steals a quilt from her hotel room and, wearing it like a poncho, heads off into the snowy wilderness. One image, in particular, lingers long after the film is over: she's standing in the middle of a frozen lake, looking more Japanese than ever and surrounded by mile up mile of white.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

For a film about the difference between dreams and reality, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter keeps its feet firmly on the ground, in both Japan and Minnesota, until its final sequence. The audience never loses its empathy with the sad and lonely Kumiko and, despite everything, wants her to find her treasure. Does she? The ending, unlike the rest of the film, blurs the line between reality and fantasy, but it does leave the audience with a warm smile, despite a never-ending landscape of beautiful yet unforgiving snow.