Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)

As a Minnesotan, I’m legally required to discuss the Minnesota representation. It’s pretty accurate.

From the marketing and the poster, I envisioned this as a much more fun romp than it actually is. This movie is deeply bleak.

I watched it because 2026 is the 30th anniversary of Fargo - I just finished some crop art for that film and was inspired to check out what it birthed. I’d heard rumors about Kumiko for a while. Turns out Fargo created its own American folk story, a modern Paul Bunyan legend, and this movie is about someone who believed it was real.

The lead gives a really strong performance, and it’s an intriguing premise. But this ends up exploring much darker sides of mental health than I expected. It’s basically about a woman rejecting the hierarchy and patriarchy of Japan, coming to the great North so she can spiral out alone. The movie has a lot to say about American legends and their impact - maybe even the American Dream itself. Come to America, find treasure, start a new life. Get destroyed by that pursuit.

Ok now onto the Minnesota representation. It’s pretty accurate - not overblown, portrays our isolation and kindness well. The accents are reined in, unlike Fargo, which I appreciated for a film like this. The locals being confounded by this mentally ill Japanese woman emerging from the cold, lost and out of money - that felt right. They’re kind but perplexed. I don’t blame them.

Overall, I liked it. It’s a strange oddity. The first act is slow, the final act gets a little messy, but it really cooks in the second act when Kumiko is hanging out with the people up north. It’s going to be tough to revisit, but I’m glad I saw it.

Justice for Bunzo though. I’m serious.

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