Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

2014 1h 44m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 304

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Frustrated with her mundane life, a Tokyo office worker becomes obsessed with a fictional movie that she mistakes for a documentary. Fixating on a scene where stolen cash is buried in North Dakota, she travels to America to find it.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Rinko Kikuchi
Kumiko
Nobuyuki Katsube
Sakagami
Kanako Higashi
Michi
Ichi Kyokaku
Library Security Guard
Ayaka Onishi
Chieko
Mayuko Kawakita
Ms. Kanazaki
Asami Tano
Office Lady
Ako Yoshida
Office Lady

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Zellner
Writers: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Languages: English, Japanese
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Zellner, shot by Sean Porter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Yvonne Lambert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Melba Jodorowsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Rinko Kikuchi and Nobuyuki Katsube and Kanako Higashi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3263614 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Zellner directs. Sean Porter behind the camera. Yvonne Lambert scores. Melba Jodorowsky cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Japanese.
3Directed by David Zellner, shot by Sean Porter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Yvonne Lambert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Melba Jodorowsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Rinko Kikuchi and Nobuyuki Katsube and Kanako Higashi carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt3263614 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sean Porter
Original score: Yvonne Lambert
Editing: Melba Jodorowsky
Production design: Chad Keith
Costume design: Tony Crosbie
Makeup / hair: Mary Flaa
Sound: René Jones-Jones
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $739,623
Original language: EN
IMDB: Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize Dramatic

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Zellner

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-03-04
★ 8/10
An innocent girl's desperate adventure. The rumours always adds lots interesting stuffs than the actual news. Sometime we feel that should have been real, because of the sunning depth that even a real story can't match. That's why the false information spreads like a virus on the social media. This movie character was inspired by a real young woman from Japan, but not the real event. An urban legend surround her visit to Minnesota, United States, back in the 2001. I have seen many films of different versions of the same events or the persons, but I never heard of this one before. So after the watch I did a little research on the original and I thought this film looked much better than that, especially for the movie it supplied a fine story material. Still a very much predictable, but for an entertainment purpose, it did decently. It was a beautiful adventure-drama. The main character is just like the one from 'Citizen Dog' or 'Amelie'. Kumiko is an innocent and a solitude woman in the twilight of her 20s. Her life is not so good, with having no friends or a boyfriend, pressure from her mother and at work, she decides to chase an unexpected dream after learning about the treasure from the tape she finds in a seaside. That leads her to travel halfway across the world to an unfamiliar territory and what follows is her desperate drive to achieve the undertaking. "I discover treasure. Right here. It's mine." The end was heartbreaking, only if you understood it clearly. Though I'm not going to reveal anything about that part as it might spoil if you have not it yet. But there's no declaration in the opening or before the end credits about whether it was a real or what actually happened in the end. Lots of scenes make no sense, and gives the impression of the girl is so dumb. Also leaves many unanswered questions behind which is the negative side of the narration. That's what you get in an urban myth, a collective tale and each slice of it is someone's creation/prediction based on the original evidence that is not understood properly. The story might be Americas, but due to the Japanese lead character, the entire film was in Japanese with English subtitle and very often some English line with the American characters. Besides, it looks more a Japanese film than the Hollywood's. The 'Pacific Rim' star Rinko Kikuchi was outstanding in the title role. The direction was good, the director also appeared in a small role as a cop. In fact, that was a big one for this movie where a small role can impact on the high level. Even a ten year old can differentiate what is real and what's not from a movie he watches in this world. Whatever the girl from the movie believed in is simply a fictional account and an entertainment for us, so don't expect it to be an uplifting movie. As I said it was based on a speculation of some real incident, but a well made movie except not detailing everything they have shown. It got a mixed response with mostly positive feedbacks, but my take on it is definitely good. And finally, this movie is not for everyone, if you decide to watch, try not to analyse it deeply. 8/10

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