Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is one of those odd movies that is based on a true story. Keeping in mind that anything based on a true story is fictionalized by the filmmakers, it is one of those obscure stories that makes you wince and wonder, "Did something like that really happen?"
There are some fairly major differences between the movie and the real life events, but I will leave some of that to your own interested research. I will say that it is the story about Kumiko played by Babel's Academy Award nominee Rinko Kukuchi who is unhappy with her life in Japan. She is obsessed with the film Fargo and becomes fixated on coming to the USA to hunt for the treasure that is a plot point in that film.
The first half is a bit slow and blah like Kumiko's Japanese life, but it picks up when she finally gets to the USA and meets a few folks on her way to explore Fargo, North Dakota in the middle of winter. Kukuchi is a versatile actress, and it is nice to see her featured again after not seeing her too much since her Academy Award nomination. It's an interesting film with enough quirk to blur the line between reality and fiction.
While I was watching this I started thinking about other films that were "based" on true life movies with stranger than fiction plot lines. Here is a list of 13 that I think are good films.
127 Hours (Suspense/Drama)
Argo (Drama)
Bernie (Black comedy)
Catch me if you Can (drama with comedic and suspenseful elements)
The Conjuring (Horror)
Foxcatcher (Drama)
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (Family Drama)
Into the Wild (Drama)
Life is Beautiful (Foreign drama with comedic elements)
Monster (Drama with Horror elements)
Open Water (Suspense/Horror)
The People Vs. Larry Flynt (Drama with comedic elements)
Wolf Creek (Horror)
What are some of your favorites?
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter 7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment