Kumiko:
The Treasure Hunter
(2014/Anchor Bay Blu-ray)
Picture:
C Sound: A Extras: C Film: C+
When
Kumiko, Japanese office lady, finds an old VHS tape with the old
Cohen Brothers movie Fargo,
she is convinced the buried suitcase full of money is real and
decides to find it. She decides to risk everything to find it, her
job, her reputation, her very life to find the treasure. As she
makes her way to Fargo,
she has no idea on how to get there or who she will meet, will she
become an adventurer of a lifetime or discover sheer disappointment?
In
David Zellner's Kumiko: The Treasure Hunter (2014), Kumiko is
a tired of being used & sexually harassed, so she decides to find
and seek her fortune after finding that tape, then proceeds to steals
the company credit card, lies, and leaves everything behind to travel
to America to search for her dream. Along her journey she meets
various people, but no one but her believes the treasure to be real.
Is she crazy or does she have the true spirit of a treasure
hunter/adventurer?
This
film reminds me of the story 'The Alchemist', the story of a dreamer
in search of treasure in which no one else can convince them if it
really exists or not, but it did raise some moral questions, how much
are you willing to chase after/believe in a dream? Are you willing
to do anything? Including lying, steal or giving up everything you
had? However the true spirit of any adventurer/treasure hunter isn't
about the treasure at the end but the journey to it, regardless if
you find something at the end or not. It also captures part of the
fun and love of Fargo,
which you can read more about elsewhere on this site.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is choppy with a mix of
good images, flat images that lack detail (like hair) and really
degraded images (like the VHS tape), so it can be a trying experience
to sit through, but the lossless Dolby True HD 5.1 mix is well
recorded and consistent throughout. Extras include an audio
commentary, deleted & alternate scenes and trailer.
-
Ricky Chiang
