The treasure map in the opening credits is unexplained. All we know is it leads Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi) to a small beach cave, where she digs up a VHS copy of Fargo. Modern pirates have a wonderful, if twisted, sense of humor, it would seem.
Kumiko, however, doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. She slowly becomes obsessed with Fargo, not only insisting that the fiction-based-on-truth is true, but that the small fortune Steve Buscemi leaves in the Minnesota snow at the 71 minute mark not only exists — it is still there for the taking. This becomes her obsession. She plans her entire life around going to Fargo. Well, I say, “plans,” except aside from embroidering a treasure map from a still shot of the Buscemi scene. –I’ll give you a moment to ponder that one … 3, 2, 1 ok, back — she doesn’t do much of anything. I’ll return to that.
It’s hard to justify the motivations of a loonybird, but I think treasure hunting gives Kumiko purpose. She dreams of riches, but has no dream of what to do with the riches. This is a character study of a very lonely fish-out-of-water. Kumiko shuns human interaction as a rule. When confronted, she will stare at her shoes or the place where her shoes would be if she could see them. A high school reunion proves too overwhelming to move beyond a greeting. The only people who choose to talk to Kumiko on a regular basis are her boss and her mother, both of whom are horrible to her. I found it depressingly easy to sympathize with this insane Japanese introvert. I certainly recognize the part that chooses to hide instead of share.
Wrapped in her treasure fantasy, she hits the atlas section of the library and tries to make off with a huge volume on the United States. She’s caught and detained where the library guard asks her why she didn’t just use 
the internet. As if responding to a different conversation, Kumiko pulls out a coin purse, empties the contents on the table and dead pans: “I’ll make it worth your while.”
For a non-comedy, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is at times drop-dead funny.
I wish I were making this up, but dressed as one dresses for a bright spring day at a Japanese schoolyard – skirt, stockings, cardigan maybe, Kumiko eschews luggage, her pet bunny, her job and her life and hops a flight to Minneapolis where if need be she will walk the entirety of the 235 miles to the North Dakota border in the snow and cold of a Minnesota winter … all in search of a treasure we know doesn’t exist.
Needless to say, this is my favorite movie of the week. It was proudly written/directed/produced by the Zellner brothers; I have no idea who the Zellner brothers are, but I do want to see what they do next.
♪In my mind I’m goin’ to Minnesota
Can’t you see the blizzard?
Can’t you just feel the wind chill?
Ain’t I just like that actor
Who buried all that dough?
Yes I’m goin’ to Minnesota in my mind.
Fargo’s my fav’rite DVD
To me it’s a documentary
I watch it all the time
Watch it till the break of dawn
I crocheted me a map now
Totally prepared am I
I’m goin’ to Minnesota just in time♫
Not Rated, 105 Minutes
D: David Zellner
W: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Genre: Extreme introversion, woo!
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Embracers of the insane
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Japanese people, I imagine
♪ Parody inspired by “Carolina In My Mind”
