The juddering, crackling video images tell us it’s a true story from the outset, even if what follows feels like a fairy tale: a woman in red called Kumiko walking along the shoreline in search of a cave. There lies what she seeks – the videotape from which the images are taken. Watching it back at her cramped Tokyo flat, what the film shows thus must have really taken place: a tale of violent deception in the harsh Minnesota winter, a man burying money in the snow, treasure just waiting to be found. For a treasure hunter like Kumiko, what better way of leaving all that awkward conversation, office drudgery and motherly nagging behind? Yet being a modern-day conquistador is not without sacrifice: there’s no place for a rabbit on this trip and North Dakota can be awfully cold. But it can’t be all that hard, can it? It’s a true story after all. Head to Fargo, cling on to the map and let no one lead you off-track…
The Zellner brothers make an auspicious return with their sense of the strange very much intact, playfully blending real life and fiction into a cautionary tale on the perils of imagination: how seductive it is to believe what we want to believe. (James Lattimer)
Production: Lila 9th Productions, Los Angeles; Zellner Bros., Austin; Ad Hominem Enterprises, Los Angeles
Screenplay: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Camera: Sean Porter
Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, Nobuyuki Katsube, Shirley Venard, David Zellner
Format: DCP 1:2.39, Colour
Running time: 105 min
Languages: English, Japanese
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
David Zellner
USA 2014
