Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Available on MUBI, Prime Video
In a hectic city of 35 million, Kumiko (Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi) feels devastatingly alone. Trapped in isolating psychological torment, Kumiko —a meek twenty-something struggling to make it on her own in Tokyo—lives in constant resentment of her dead-end job and demeaning boss, her more successful peers, and her relentlessly nagging mother. But her spirits lift when, in a fictional American film, she observes a man bury a satchel of money in the wintry Minnesotan landscape. Though only witnessed on a fading VHS tape, she becomes convinced that the treasure is real, and merely awaiting discovery by a courageous dreamer like herself. With little more than a self-made treasure map, Kumiko sets off on an epic, unpredictable journey across the Pacific and through the icy plains of Minnesota to unearth her mythical fortune.
Starring Rinko Kikuchi, Nobuyuki Katsube, Nathan Zellner
Director David Zellner