FROZEN SILENCE // A FILM REVIEW OF "KUMIKO THE TREASURE HUNTER"
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the darkness of fairytales. I was entranced by stories of fairies that made their prisoners dance until death, witches that cast sleeping spells on babies, and wolves that ate little girls dressed in red. KUMIKO THE TREASURE HUNTER brought me back to the land of dark tales and curious quests. A highly imaginative story that calls for a large supply of willing suspension of disbelief, KUMIKO is a good mixture of dark and quirky.
The start of the film takes place in Japan, but as Kumiko is a very quiet kind of gal, there isn’t a lot of dialogue. Rinko Kikuchi stars as the surly explorer and does a fantastic job committing to a rather difficult story. The film is based on an urban legend about a woman who discovers a video tape version of Fargo and mistakes it for reality. Not only does she believe that Fargo is a documentation of true events, she drops everything and embarks on a dangerous adventure to a snow covered Minnesota.
Although the story sounds a bit ridiculous, I was willing to accept it wholeheartedly and go on the adventure with her. Unfortunately there were a few choices that took me out of the story, because they didn’t make sense. Kumiko is a strange sort of person, but she isn’t an idiot. She is convicted in her beliefs. She is as self-proclaimed “conquistador” yet she is completely unprepared for her quest. She steals the company credit card to get to her destination, but she brings no other funds with her. She doesn’t even wear clothing suitable for snow, just her red zip-up hoodie. Kumiko takes herself seriously. A serious conquistador would not enter unchartered territories and be unprepared. I wish the filmmakers would have traded out the lightweight red zip-up for a red coat with a hood, and give the girl a piggy bank of her life’s savings in her travel bag. Kumiko is a better treasure hunter than they seemed to give her credit for.
There were inconsistencies with her character, however I absolutely adored the acting. My favorite interactions were between Kumiko and the friendly Sheriff (David Zellner), who helps her on the way. His performance was hysterically honest, and still held the same flavor that one gets when watching Fargo. However, most of the film is centered on the sole performance of Kikuchi. She did a stunning job. The emotional range that the film asked of her was enormous and she was up for the challenge. Mostly, Kumiko is quiet, strange, and very serious. But there are moments of something deeper. Kikuchi gets to show those acting chops when Kumiko has a crushing phone call with her mother, when she says goodbye to her best friend Bunzo, and when she realizes that even her closest friend doesn’t believe in her.
This fantastical and dark story spoke to my inner child and was an enjoyable afternoon of fairytales. Kumiko is the little girl in Red all grown up, and the wolves are a-plenty.
CHRISENA'S GRADE: B-
WRITTEN BY: David and Nathan Zellner DIRECTED BY: David Zellner STARRING: Rinko Kikuchi, David Zellner, Ichi Kyokaku, Ayaka Ohnishi, and Nobuyuki Katsube
FINAL THOUGHTS: If you can use your imagination, and enjoyed Fargo, this film might be right up your alley.
CHRISENA RICCI once went to a costume party dressed in an all black dress and black wig. No one there could guess who she was. So she shouted out, "I'm Christina Ricci, without the T or I and add an E!" Everyone stood there confused, she was annoyed, so she stormed off. She never returned to that apartment ever again. Which is fine, because she later realized she was at the wrong party. She now lives in New York City.