Sundance: Kumiko Hunts "Fargo"s Hidden Treasure

Sundance coverage continues with Nathaniel on the fascinating oddity "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter"

Meet Kumiko (Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi from Babel), pictured above, a mopey Japanese woman in a red hoodie. This picture of her is not quite complete. While Kumiko is a mopey Japanese woman in a red hoodie there's more than just moping going on inside her, however  opaque her inner life remains. She's a quiet "Office Lady" who is miserably depressed and finds consolation only in her pet bunny Bunzo (who steals nearly every moment he's in) and her taste for treasure hunting. The movie, inspired by true events, opens with an, I assume, metaphorical search for a buried videocassette of Fargo. Once Kumiko watches it she becomes convinced that the movie is real and that Steve Buscemi's treasure awaits her in Minnesota. The red hoodie remains but she'll keep piling on other memorable attire over it on her journey from cold urban Tokyo to freezing rural Minnesota, as if the journey itself will protect her, weigh her down, or bury her. Or all three. 

The film's great strength is in its eery expressive visuals whether that's a surreal burst of shifting wet orange light (which turns out to be an airplane being de-iced I think?), odd textural juxtapositions like cloth over static tv screens, or smart visualizations (and sound mixing) which amplify Kumiko's solitude and emotional disconnect. Given the writer/director team's (Nathan and David Zellner) aptitude for mood building and imagery and the sparse dialogue, the film hardly needs to spend as much time in Japan as it does -  I confess that it took me nearly half an hour to settle into its wavelength. Kumiko doesn't always help, remaining a frustratingly impenetrable character. And yet worries about accessibility seem off point since Kumiko herself just can't connect.

The inciting image in "Fargo"

Eventually the movie curdles into something like a dark Asian companion piece to The Purple Rose of Cairo in which Kumiko continually wills the Coen Bros' classic to consume her. It's a tough sit but I found it rewarding and singular, especially in its presentational clinging to old technologies. Kumiko watches VHS, hand sews treasure maps, and despises her cel phone; she just isn't fit for the times, unable to connect in Japan or America. An ignorant but well intentioned old woman underlines this in one brilliantly succinct joke, handing the confused young woman an old paperbook of "Shogun". 

Grade: B+... it really grew on me 24 hours after seeing it
Distribution: I'd say unlikely but you never know.

Thoughts I Had... Staring at the Poster for "Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical"

Glenn here. Remember when The Film Experience asked what "fictional art you want to experience"? The Broadway show from Woody Allen's 1994 classic Bullets Over Broadway was a definite favourite. The new stage adaptation directed by Susan Stroman will likely be the closest we will ever get, so I guess we should take a look at the new poster (or, at least, new to me).

•  Hopefully this is a bigger success for Stroman than the recently opened - and now recently closing - stage adaptation of Big Fish. Stroman also directed the immensely popular The Producers so this period is certainly in her wheelhouse.
• How much do you reckon the budgetary figure for "neon signs" is going to be on this production?
• I was unaware that Woody Allen himself was in charge of writing the adaptation. It should come as no surprise, however, that the music will not be original. That's a big shame I think since the Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest) and Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly) characters could especially have some fun original tunes written for them, don't you think?
• Purists will certainly like the use of songs from the "American Songbook" (a horrifying term) I am sure, especially the light of The Great Gatsby.
• I actually really like the poster. It's colourful and vibrant, plus bonus points for not alerting anybody to the fact that Zach Braff stars in the John Cusack role (image below via Braff's Twitter feed).

• As natural as it feels for Bullets Over Broadway to make the leap to the stage, I actually think other Allen titles could work just as well, if not better. They could certainly do some interesting things with The Purple Rose of Cairo (an actual cinema screen on stage that its cast walk in and out of? actors dressed and made up in black and white while everyone else is in color? use of the audience as part of the set?), and Melinda & Melinda could actually prove a fascinating tour de force for the right actor in the right adaptation. I would also be awfully surprised if nobody's figuring out how to make Midnight in Paris work since its rotating sets and eras would likely prove popular and brand recognised.
• If it's a hit, will we get a film adaptation? Who would possibly want to come up against Woody Allen in the comparison game? Stroman didn't fare too well in the screen adaptation of The Producers (I am a fan, though) so I doubt she would return to that well. Any suggestions? Speak up in the comments!

Q&A: British Ladies, Weary Superheroes, & "The Hours" for Men

I thought we'd experiment with a Q&A column so over the weekend I asked you to ask questions. Despite this summer's attempt to rebrand myself as a mutant telepath to rival Professor X, I can't actually read minds (unless I'm sitting across from you or holding something that belongs to you), so you had to type them.

So here we go. I'm answering half of them chosen somewhat randomly.

Robert: Do you think mainstream audiences will ever tire of superhero flicks? If so, which film will be the straw that breaks the camel's back?
Professor R: Yes, all things being cyclical. I predict it will happen with the Spider-Man reboot after the Spider-Man reboot... in 2019. (The window keeps shrinking, see.) Either that or the Wonder Twins: The Movie in 2016.

eurocheese: We've heard who'll be producing the Oscars (Brett Ratner and Don Mischer). Any guesses on a host?
Professor R:  It would be unfair for me to guess since I can see into the future. But I will tell you it's a solo act this year after last year's debacle and it's unfortunately not Andy Serkis covered in motion capture gear backstage and then projected onto the stage by WETA in a variety of famous beastly character guises from cinematic history: King Kong, Mickey Mouse, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Charlotte on a web, Jabba the Hut. (Damnit. That would have been so great. Why don't they let ME produce the Oscars? Fuck Brett Ratner!)

Mark: Is Michelle Williams becoming the next Renée Zellweger? She is showing up in 4 or 5 movies a year and seems desperate to win the Oscar.
Professor R: I don't understand the question. That's like comparing apples to oranges lemons. I don't think Williams is desperate to win an Oscar. She wouldn't be making Meek's Cutoff if she was. If she's desperate to win an Oscar she's doing a terrible job of showing it; quiet and serene on the campaign trail is generally not a winning strategy. 

/3rtfull: You're having tea with three famous women. Who are they?

Click to read more ...