The Coen Brothers‘ "Fargo" is a made up tale presented as something true. Meanwhile, "Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter" tells the true story of a young woman’s journey to the United States only to find out that something she thought was real turned out to be fake. Confused yet? Well, read on…
David Zellner tells the fascinating true story of a Japanese woman who watched "Fargo," traveled to the U.S., and, believing the movie was real, reportedly tried to find the money buried in the North Dakota snow. Instead, she died under mysterious circumstances, with her body found in the woods. Rinko Kikuchi takes the lead and gives another strong performance in a movie that has much more going on than just a quirky story.
"It was so strange and serious and to have such limited information. And the idea of someone going on a treasure hunt, it was so antiquated in modern-day society," Zellner said to Yahoo Movies. "Those things piqued our interest and we just started working on the story from there… There’s different theories, something about a boyfriend. But we really weren’t interested. We were only interested in the urban legend, the different versions of any truth were not what drew us. The fantastical quest was what was brought to our minds."
With our review describing ‘Kumiko’ as "moody, melancholic, and cinematic," this should be a title to keep an eye on. The Alexander Payne-produced film opens on March 13th. Watch below.