TAD Film Fest Review: Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

By Siân Melton

There’s no better signifier of a great movie than being more than willing to see it twice. That was the case with my love affair with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. Sigh. Seriously, I have so much love for this movie. I saw it at Sundance and was so blown away by well, everything: the story, the cinematography, the music (the music!!), and of course Kumiko herself, played by the ravishing Rinko Kikuchi. There’s also a bunny, but I’ll get into that later.

The story of Kumiko plays off of how the Coen Brothers included “based on a true story” at the beginning of their acclaimed film, Fargo. Why, you ask? Obviously to make us wonder if there really was a treasure buried by a fence in the wilds of North Dakota. Most would just ignore a warning like that, but Kumiko, who comes across an old VHS tape of Fargo by means of a mysterious, needlepoint map, decides that it is totally, completely, definitely real.

At no point, though, is her belief hilarious or even pathetic. Kumiko is so invested in discovering the Fargo treasure that you can’t help but root for her. And you also can’t blame her for wanting for some adventure, some purpose. She seems like a wandering spirit not meant for the trivial pursuits of normal life. A job? A husband? Dressing up? Friends? Who needs any of that when the glory of treasure hunting awaits instead, right? Right. Her determination is something to be admired, even if it isn’t 100% based in reality.

That determination leads her to, hm, “borrow” her gross boss’s credit card (how else can a novice treasure hunter afford a flight from Tokyo to Minnesota?), abandon her beloved bunny, Bunzo, on a train (he struck me as a train sort of rabbit anyway), and set off for Fargo. Never mind that she has no jacket and a limited understanding of English and never mind that it’s the dead of winter outside—KI guess her determination clouded a lot of the more practical, mundane aspects of treasure hunting.

The rest of the story plays out like you would imagine a foreign girl wandering around northern Minnesota in the dead of winter would. Kumiko finds herself being helped, and hindered, as she attempts to make it to Fargo. The little old lady who picked her up from hitchhiking thought the Mall of America would be much more fun that boring, cold Fargo. (There IS a carousel in that mall, you know.) And the police officer wasn’t trying to be insulting when he took her to a Chinese restaurant to see if the owner there could translate. (So . . . close. . . right? Yeesh.) But Kumiko doesn’t waver and treks on to her destiny. Nothing will stop her. *cue inspirational music*

On top of a truly mesmerizing story, Kumiko is also one of the most beautiful looking films I’ve seen all year. I never thought library stacks could look so beautiful, or a road windblown with snow for that matter. Each shot is so carefully framed too, made even more gorgeous by the original score from The Octopus Project. The music, surreal and almost dreamlike, created a sense of urgency as we followed Kumiko on her quest—an interesting juxtaposition considering how grounded the cinematography was.

Ultimately, Kumiko is an incredibly sad, heartbreaking story—but also one of the most magical. I loved Kumiko and her spirit and want her to fulfill her destiny. In a way she kind of does and, well, it’s hard to really get into without giving away the end of the film. But ultimately, no matter the outcome, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter is about a call to purpose and fate and feeling like we’re doing something important with our lives. Sure, something could be said about what it means when trying to achieve those goals breaks your touch with reality but I’d rather just ignore that and just envelop myself in Kumiko’s treasure hunt instead. It’s what Bunzo would want anyway.

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter screened at Toronto After Dark on October 20. It has been acquired by Amplify for US distribution but no release date has been announced.