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- 2015
- Not Rated
- Amplify
- 1 h 45 m
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Amplify
- 1 h 45 m
Summary A lonely Japanese woman (Rinko Kikuchi) becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried and lost in a fictional film, is in fact, real. With a crudely drawn treasure map and limited preparation, she escapes her structured life in Tokyo and embarks on a foolhardy quest across the frozen tundra of Minnesota in search of her mythical fortu...
Directed By: David Zellner
Written By: Nathan Zellner, David Zellner
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Amplify
- 1 h 45 m
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Amplify
- 1 h 45 m
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
68
7.0
Where to Watch
Summary A lonely Japanese woman (Rinko Kikuchi) becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried and lost in a fictional film, is in fact, real. With a crudely drawn treasure map and limited preparation, she escapes her structured life in Tokyo and embarks on a foolhardy quest across the frozen tundra of Minnesota in search of her mythical fortu...
Directed By: David Zellner
Written By: Nathan Zellner, David Zellner
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
68
71% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
26% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
68
71% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
26% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The genius of Kikuchi’s performance is that – by the end – her slow descent into mania humanizes Kumiko precisely when it would have been so easy to reduce her into caricature.
If Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter takes its time, it's time worth taking. The cinematography is lovely: great swirls of midnight snow, frosted trees in glinting sun, the bustling modernity of Tokyo, a big library, subway stations exquisite in their orderliness.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 User Ratings
7.0
74% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
11% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
16% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 User Ratings
7.0
74% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
11% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
16% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
This film has quite some charm to it. Its quirky, sweet and somewhat mysterious, with good cinematography. I liked the shots of the titular character seemingly on her own in a large wilderness in the US. I felt sorry for her and wondered what the full story was - quite why she believed the treasure from the film Fargo would be found in the same place in the US (I have seen the film Fargo but some time ago). I can't say I understood the whole plot as such but I really enjoyed the film for its sense of mystery, the childish innocence and naivety of the titular character and I liked the incidental music played towards the end. I thought the subtitles were lacking a bit at the start, with it seeming there was more dialogue than subtitles provided - it seemed as if I could only read some of the dialogue but still, I very much enjoyed the film overall. The ending may frustrate some people but then it may delight eithers - its hard to say and I don't want to provide spoilers, so I'll just say that I enjoyed it and I'd recommend it if you'd like to watch something a bit different and your ok with subtitles.
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This film is a beautiful portrait of humanity in our time through a woman with either destructive naivety or serious mental illness. It will likely either trigger empathy and thought within you or bore you to tears- depending on whether or not you are willing to accept its message. Visually astounding, and profound.
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Treading the fine line between truth and fiction, Kumiko is more than just a homage to the Cohen brothers.
It settles firmly into the perspective of a lost soul who finds solace in the swaddling security of fantasy.
Ultimately, despite Kikuchi’s expressively dour performance and David Zellner’s formal invention... Kumiko feels like a collection of amusing and/or depressing riffs stitched together within a context that barely matters.
The film’s steady accumulation of little quirks... soon grow tedious. After a while they’re less delightfully oddball touches with a promise of more to come than dead weight with no payoff.
There can hardly be a bigger waste of time than this piece of twee nonsense.
An innocent girl's desperate adventure.
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
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Much like Kumiko's character, this treasure hunt will likely leave you feeling empty and hoping for a better world. It's overtly artsy atmosphere shrouds a superb lead performance from Rinko Kikuchi.
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Sadly, at the end of the day this offering is an enervating, protracted account of the desperate defenses of one human against the abysmal reality of life in an uncommonly rigid culture. Neo Coen, not Coen.
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Production Company
Lila 9th Productions,
Ad Hominem Enterprises
Release Date Mar 18, 2015
Duration 1 h 45 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Awards
Las Palmas Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 2 Nominations
