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IMDbPro

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

Original title: Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
  • 20142014
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
12K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
23,820
2,511
Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
Kumiko is a frustrated Office Lady whose imagination transcends the confines of her mundane life. Kumiko becomes obsessed with a mysterious, battered VHS tape of a popular film she's mistaken for a documentary, fixating on a scene where a suitcase of stolen cash is buried in the desolate, frozen landscape of North Dakota. Believing this treasure to be real, she leaves behind Tokyo and her beloved rabbit Bunzo to recover it - and finds herself on a dangerous adventure unlike anything she's seen in the movies.
Play trailer2:05
6 Videos
81 Photos
Drama
A jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo (1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.A jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo (1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.A jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo (1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
12K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
23,820
2,511
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • David Zellner
    • Writers
      • David Zellner
      • Nathan Zellner
    • Stars
      • Rinko Kikuchi
      • Nobuyuki Katsube
      • Kanako Higashi
    Top credits
    • Director
      • David Zellner
    • Writers
      • David Zellner
      • Nathan Zellner
    • Stars
      • Rinko Kikuchi
      • Nobuyuki Katsube
      • Kanako Higashi
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 71User reviews
    • 159Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 8 nominations

    Videos6

    Exclusive Trailer
    Trailer 2:05
    Exclusive Trailer
    Teaser Trailer
    Trailer 0:59
    Teaser Trailer
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Clip 1:50
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Clip 1:32
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Clip 0:51
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    Clip 1:52
    Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

    Photos81

    Rinko Kikuchi, Nathan Zellner, and Brad Prather in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    David Zellner in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Rinko Kikuchi and David Zellner in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    David Zellner in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
    Ichi Omiya in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rinko Kikuchi
    Rinko Kikuchi
    • Kumiko
    Nobuyuki Katsube
    • Sakagami
    Kanako Higashi
    • Michi
    Ichi Kyokaku
    • Library Security Guard
    Ayaka Ônishi
    Ayaka Ônishi
    • Chieko (Young Office Girl)
    Mayuko Kawakita
    • Ms. Kanazaki
    Asami Tano
    • Office Lady
    Ako Yoshida
    • Office Lady
    Anna Wakamori
    • Office Lady
    Risa Hotta
    • Office Lady
    Hitomi Sawano
    • Office Lady
    Maki Issô
    • Office Lady
    Ariei Umefune
    • Office Lady
    Takao Kinoshita
    • Dry Cleaning Clerk
    Tetsuya Hayakawa
    • Dancing Couple
    Mihoka Tomoda
    • Dancing Couple
    Yumiko Hioki
    • Kumiko's Mother (as Rinko's Mother)
    Yusei Fujii
    • Mayo (Michi's Child)
    • Director
      • David Zellner
    • Writers
      • David Zellner
      • Nathan Zellner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Kumiko is assisted by a well-meaning state trooper who brings her to a Chinese restaurant, hoping they could help translate. In real life, Takako Konishi was helped by a state trooper who really did contact Chinese restaurants in a vain attempt to help.
    • Goofs
      When Kumiko calls her Mother in the middle of the night and tells her she couldn't sleep, it should have triggered some reaction from the mother. Because of the time difference between Minnesota and Tokyo (14 hours), it is never nighttime in Tokyo when it is in Minnesota.
    • Quotes

      Kumiko: I only need page 95. It is my destiny.

    • Crazy credits
      The credits are almost entirely bilingual in English and Japanese -- even though the movie has never been released in Japan as of early 2016 (either in theaters, media, or internet streaming).
    • Connections
      References Fargo (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Mechanic Nonsense
      Written by XiROH

      Performed by Buddy Girl and Mechanic

    User reviews71

    Review
    Top review
    Beautiful and fantastical: She's driven like the blanketing white snow.
    "It is my destiny." Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi)

    Kumiko, finding a hidden VHS copy of Fargo (1996), leaves Tokyo to go to N. Dakota to find the film's buried treasure. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, is as fine a fantasy as you will find outside of the Disney Empire, and more insightful. Based upon an urban legend about a Japanese tourist who froze to death seeking the treasure, a bit of the Coen brothers' fabulous story lingers in this equally endearing tale.

    Kumiko's a lost 29 year-old soul looking for the end of the rainbow--a little like most of us with dreams or bucket lists just beyond our grasp—but we'll still dream of them or actually pursue the dream in the face of insurmountable odds. Kumiko at her job is distanced from her peers and an enigma to her boss, who lets her go with the company credit card because she is depressed, and he needs to fill her "office lady" spot with a younger model.

    As she's reminded along her journey, the film Fargo is just fiction, and the town not a pleasant time to be in winter. Yet, Kumiko persists with help from a kindly old lady (Shirley Venard), who would rather take her to The Mall of America, and deputy sheriff (director Zellner), whose motives are pure as the driven snow that covers the land. That snow gradually overcomes every scene with purity and menace, a blank slate upon which her dream can come true and nature, human and otherwise, can send her to oblivion if it wishes.

    Looking a little like Red Riding Hood, she's the opposite of realists, who see Kumiko's folly yet cannot stop her drive to get to Fargo and the buried loot.

    The film is a Seinfeld variant because nothing happens except the most profoundly simple occurrences strengthening Kumiko's resolve and making us believers in her Quixote-like quest. For the lost Tokyo soul with only a pet bunny rabbit as Panza-like friend, Kumiko seeks to fulfill her fantasy, the naysayers be damned. (She likens herself to a Spanish Conquistador.) She hurts no one, and when at last she smiles, you know her quest is valuable only to her, a symbol of her achieving something in life to set her apart from boring normalcy.

    This film works as allegory, applying to all who should hold on to their dreams if only for themselves. Otherwise, it's a delightful tale acted perfectly, a treat to please our fancy and remind us about private dreams that keep us going.
    helpful•9
    5
    • jdesando
    • Apr 8, 2015

    FAQ1

    • Is this film about japanese woman Takako Konishi?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 20, 2015 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    • Filming locations
      • Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
    • Production companies
      • Lila 9th Productions
      • Ad Hominem Enterprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $623,383
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $34,114
      • Mar 22, 2015
    • Gross worldwide
      • $739,623
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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    Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
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