‘Kumiko: The Treasure Hunter’ Due June 30
A lonely Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of “Fargo” (1996) on VHS, and believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money, she heads out to the U.S. to find her fortune. Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi) is a cubicle-bound office worker seeking to escape her dour working life. Relying on her imagination and unabashed courage, Kumiko thinks she has found a way out: She has become obsessed with a battered tape of “Fargo” — mistaking it for a documentary. In particular she is fixated on the scene where a suitcase of stolen cash has been buried in North Dakota’s bleak landscape. Believing this treasure to be real and waiting to be discovered, Kumiko leaves Tokyo and her beloved rabbit Bunzo behind to recover it — and finds herself on a dangerous adventure unlike anything she’s seen in the movies. Inspired by an urban legend, “Kumiko” s a beguiling journey of determination and delusion. Sean Porter’s cinematography has created scenes of stark, cold beauty as we follow Kumiko’s dogged, misguided journey through the snowy countryside. Vitals: Director: David Zellner. Stars: Rinko Kikuchi, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Brad Prather. 2015, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 104 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.572 million, Amplify Releasing/Anchor Bay. Extras: Commentary with director/co-writer David Zellner, co-writer Nathan Zellner and producer Chris Ohlson; deleted and alternate scenes.
