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Kumiko The Treasure Hunter is a movie I saw today that I would recommend to just about anyone. Set in present-day Japan it is about a hikiomori a young office lady that is inspired to go to Fargo to search for Carl Showalter. If the premise of her thinking that Fargo is a real movie and books a flight to America isn't about a descent into madness, sorry if that's a spoiler. But why would she do that, what starts the ball rolling? Her life is disappointing to her for numerous reasons: boss is a jerk, her coworkers mock her, lame job, and the few friends in her life have their poo poo together. When she's home she lives in a dumpy apartment cluttered with junk, spending all the time watching movies, dreading a call from her mother that picks apart how she hasn't lived up to her potential or gotten married yet. She does have her little Bunzo the bunny rabbit, which she loves (yeah, you know where that's going to result it, but they do it in a tasteful way). One movie leads her to believe she can find the location of the money through hidden messages only she can figure out, so she watches it repeatedly while taking notes and preparing. The tale has been told before but doesn't have an eye-rolling ending and plays with tropes like love conquers all. It's what makes the title poignant, this likable, troubled woman is on a quest for her pot of gold. This film is very well made in every regard. I was going to go through it by the numbers but probably couldn't without spoilers. The soundtrack is this perfect blend of suspense when needed or conveying the personality of what she feels, it kind of slides in slowly from the margins of your hearing like it knows you don't want your immersion disturbed. If I could describe the tone of it I would call it rustic elegance, with a timidity to it just like Kumiko. Beautiful filming and nature scenes that, again, don't want to remind you it's a movie. Same thing with a blend where an object, for a split second, will appear to be one thing but turn out to another. I have no idea how that was blended in so seamlessly, rather than looking like something produced by a movie camera, it's like you're in her head, seeing what she sees. Even the scary songs creep in slow and perfectly reflect the apprehensive noise in her head. The actress Rinko Kikuchi plays perfectly, with her slouching posture, pensive looks, and using her voice to sound small without over-doing it. She carries the movie perfectly, moments where it's uncertain of what someone will do or why they did it hang in the air as naturally as a cloud. This is a shining example of the Hitchcock mantra, "I try to make movies where they don't have to read the subtitles in Japan." Even when I wasn't reading the subtitles I knew exactly what was happening in the story. There is quite a bit of both critique and contrast of American and Japanese culture. Americans are fat slobs that smoke, don't understand concepts like culture or the existence of non-Americans. One character is so unable to accept that a Japanese woman doesn't also speak Chinese is so baffling to him it takes him ten minutes of conversation for him to accept it. She is a woman traveling alone, we're constantly expecting creepy people she meets to take advantage of her. This is also done gracefully, especially a wide shot of an airport that includes a kid on a leash. I wasn't paying attention during this particular scene, but there's a creepy group that tries to take her in, they gave off a Scientology vibe. Japan gets it rough, too: mom badgering her and insensitive, creepy boss, and demanding friends. I was fortunate to have a Japanese person help me with cultural expectations I didn't know about. Squat toilets are a horror element in Japan which I did not know of until the second Silent Hill game, there's a particular moment in the movie whose dark subtext I wouldn't have noticed had she not told me about it. So, what is there to say, watch this movie! Go now, go watch it if you can access a copy, which may be tough because, like Under The Skin, this movie has two release dates and one is this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDK9jdtwdTo Lil' sampler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK5SJncXf0I Full OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5VwHmhDSgw Post 9-11 User fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Jul 13, 2015 |
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Jul 13, 2015 05:23
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I adored this movie even though the goonlord behind me in the theatre loudly spoiled the ending for no reason when I saw it. This was programmed in a festival I attend that is entirely horror/sci-fi movies and I kept anticipating some horrific outcome or a weird twist, but it turns out one of the programmers just really dug it and threw it in there. I'm glad you mention the similarly dubious take the movie has on the insular Japanese lifestyle that Kumiko leads, because I've talked to more than a few people who think this is somehow a one-sided critique of American culture when it's really nothing of the sort.
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Jul 13, 2015 14:16
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I expected it to be a horror, too! I jumped into the movie knowing nothing about it. Someone asked, "is this a horror, is she going to start killing people?" "Well, she just made a 'playful' stabbing motion onto her friends stomach, so that seems to be the implication." It doesn't jam the criticism in your face, either the kid on the leash was just part of the scene. Most viewers wouldn't recognize it as critique because there's no kitchy use of holding the camera on the kid and playing ominous music. And several times she falls in with people with think are going to hurt her, the dread builds then it turns out someone is genuinely nice or just indifferent to her. There's such a sincere innocence to the film that is endearing. Bunzo is treated as just another actor in the credits:   
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Jul 13, 2015 18:17
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Saw this one year ago at the Berlinale and totally agree with your recommendation. In fact, I have kept an eye on the movie for the eventual (hopefully) DVD release. The Zellner brothers were there for a Q&A but all I remember is that they were asked why there was a dog stealing her stuff at the end and the answer was that it just felt right. By the way the movie is based on an urban legend that is based on a true story. Check out this short documentary about the true case: https://vimeo.com/66512803 [EDIT:] Just remembered some other things they said. They started with the urban legend and tried to construct a story fitting it but with authentic charcters. For Kunikos motivation they wanted to show real office lady culture in Japan (from my limited experience I think they succeeded) but they also said that it was actually hard to find a good location to film it because it is dying out right now. So I don't think their purpose was really to critique this even if there is some implicit criticism. I think it is more about Kumikos inability to deal with the societal expectations. Similarily I don't remember the movie being particularly critical of the US. For example the ignorance of the cop for example felt more like a personal trait and perhaps a small nod to how out there it would be for a Japanese woman to be in Fargo like this. Though it has been over a year since I saw it. true.spoon fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Jul 13, 2015 |
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Jul 13, 2015 18:48
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That's an apt way of saying it, everyone needs to deal with other people, she hides from them whenever possible so she just flees from every person that tries to help her. The dog stealing some things from her seemed to me like one more escalation in her mind crumbling and how she's in a situation where even nature is out to get her (she loves her Bunzo, the dog isn't so nice, another creature lost in the wilderness like herself). She loses her family, the credit card, her stuff. She is "lost" in every way, lost in her madness as well as the world, slowly losing the ability to reason, to navigate, and so on. I wondered how she was able to have an apartment at all, then it shows her in an office which she barely functions in. I'll check out that documentary right now. I would have liked more information and investigation, but what can ya do. It seemed that he said she did have a map of Fargo, but left it behind. Tastefully done, given the subject matter. Post 9-11 User fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jul 14, 2015 |
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Jul 13, 2015 20:17
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I just saw this and really enjoyed it. It seems like every person she runs into is just a step away from realizing that there is a serious problem. One interesting thing is that apparently the subtitles don't always line up exactly with what is being said. The scene with the security guard at the library has him accusing her of being on drugs while the subtitles don't mention it.
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Jul 14, 2015 06:28
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I loved this movie. I thought it was a really great depiction of depression. Kumiko is just completely unable to connect with anyone, even people who try to reach out to her, like her old friend. Rinko Kikuchi gave a fantastic performance, she really carried the film.
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Jul 14, 2015 07:28
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That's a great point: there's a hesitancy over whether she seems different because she's from a different culture or if she's lost her marbles. As clumsy as Americans may be about interacting with foreign visitors, we're also overly paranoid about offending people. I'm not going to bite anyone's head off for greeting me with the cheek kiss or a bow instead of a handshake. There's a justifiable reason for all of her reactions, another thing that makes this film great. Her friend looks great in every way: her hair, her clothes, her posture, her enjoyment of life, she's just so overwhelmed by this contrast in her own life that she's too embarrassed to accepted help.
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Jul 15, 2015 18:49
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This movie was quite good. It played here in Duluth this spring. Unfortunately as someone who has lived their entire life in the region where half the film takes place I found the Minnesotan characters poorly realized and inauthentic. The old woman who takes her in for the night is the one exception. The police officer sounds like goner Pyle.
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Jul 15, 2015 21:33
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Great summary, OP.Post 9-11 User posted:Americans are fat slobs that smoke, don't understand concepts like culture or the existence of non-Americans. One character is so unable to accept that a Japanese woman doesn't also speak Chinese is so baffling to him it takes him ten minutes of conversation for him to accept it. I think you may be overstating how negatively the rural American characters were portrayed. They're quite ignorant, sure, but it's a fairly benign ignorance that's mixed with just as much compassion and curiosity for the most part. Giving a Japanese person an English-translation copy of Shogun was just a clumsy attempt at making a cross-cultural or human connection with a foreigner in need. The police officer's Minnesota-niceness also borders on caricature with his concern for Kumiko. Other than at the airport, most of the Americans seemed pretty well-meaning, even the creepy cab driver. "Maybe happy people are right in some ways after all" is an uncomfortable idea to deal with, I think. Kumiko is depressed but what little willpower (or "guts" in Japanese?) she has left has been sharpened into an obsession and undertaking that will vindicate her status as outsider and failure. But unfortunately it's mom who gets total vindication in the end. In spite of the yelling, I got the sick feeling that she was sort of reveling in her daughter's lack of character and probable demise. It felt like haranguing her daughter had just become a habit she'd developed over the years that she'd learned to take pleasure in, like a vulture picking at the vulnerable bits of a sad, abandoned, almost-dead animal. Instead of getting a promotion, Kumiko got crazy and criminal.  The laundry, the rabbit, the calls from mom, the lady who can't believe a foreigner is visiting Fargo, and especially the last officer scene were all great moments of miscommunication/disregard of others' needs. Great film, don't want to watch it again for a long time.
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Jul 16, 2015 06:56
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I'm in the middle: I think Kumiko's perceptions amplified things, but the depictions weren't exaggerated in a cruel way. I feel like the rural people's ignorance was amplified through Kumiko's eyes, her understandable paranoia making everyone seem cruel, though in the end just about everyone is vindicated. I didn't think the Sheriff came off as an imbecile, just a simple, kind person, but I'll take your word for it. That's great to get a Nebraskan's perspective, I haven't been through those parts.
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Jul 16, 2015 16:01
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I haven't seen this movie yet (but intend to!), but I figure people here would be interested in hearing about the real life story it was based on. Here's Snap Judgment's telling of it: http://snapjudgment.org/To-The-Brink
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Jul 17, 2015 20:59
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I have to admit I avoided this because I feel slightly uncomfortable about how it runs with premise. I know that it's clearly fictional but it almost seems to do a disservice to base it on the misinterpreted story. There are plenty of over-fictionalized movies that I can enjoy even if they pretend to be true (e.g. The Imitation Game) but this somehow makes me uneasy. Given the description, though, I have the question: Does the film show any awareness of the actual events, even if it's nothing more than a hint or acknowledgement? Answers with spoilers are fine.
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Jul 31, 2015 05:58
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For me a great deal of the movie was about how Kumiko's mental illness is hidden because of cultural stereotypes and perception. Like in Japan the idea of the quiet, shy girl is normal and in a way an anime ideal. Her crippling social anxieties and inability to really interact with others is just reduced to her being shy and no one really digs deeper beyond putting other stereotypical expectations on her, unaware that she can barely even wrap her head around them. In America she's the quirky foreigner. The people she meets figure they can't understand her because she's foreign and it's just a cultural difference. Japanese people are weird, right? This thing that might seem strange to them is probably just normal. So once again the craziness of what she's doing is just sort of dismissed and her inability to really interact with others is assumed to just be because of the language barrier.
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Jul 31, 2015 17:57
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I really want to see this because the Zellners are awesome. If anybody gets the chance to find a copy of their first feature film, Plastic Utopia, it is outrageous fun.
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Jul 31, 2015 19:08
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Kangra posted:Given the description, though, I have the question: Does the film show any awareness of the actual events, even if it's nothing more than a hint or acknowledgement? Answers with spoilers are fine. For me, it never crossed the line into presenting the story as a cautionary tale or, "this movie is based on true events" territory. It never felt exploitative or disingenuous like, say, Megan Is Missing, any Lifetime Original movie or the dozens of hauntings/possession movies. The connection to the true story are very loose and that's fine with me, just like the character mistook the intro to Fargo to mean that it was a factual story it's up to us to realize that this isn't real. Those are two reasons why the featurette linked above, "This Is A True Story," got its name. Edit: Wait, what? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azz9raDRY10 Post 9-11 User fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Aug 2, 2015 |
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Aug 2, 2015 15:42
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I don't mean to open an old thread, but this was actually a pretty great movie. The connections to the true events are very loose, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good film? I've dealt with similar issues in the past and the first half of the movie is spot-on. axleblaze posted:For me a great deal of the movie was about how Kumiko's mental illness is hidden because of cultural stereotypes and perception. Like in Japan the idea of the quiet, shy girl is normal and in a way an anime ideal. Her crippling social anxieties and inability to really interact with others is just reduced to her being shy and no one really digs deeper beyond putting other stereotypical expectations on her, unaware that she can barely even wrap her head around them. I also agree with this except to be totally honest the movie put the Americans more as do-gooder idiots then do-gooders who don't get foreign culture. I guess it's just a small nitpick but is or was there no translation service available to police in the state at the time? In any case this is a really loving depressing movie that is worth watching.
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Mar 3, 2016 08:27
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