The powerful influence of the Coen Brothers' films has never been stronger than it is in
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, even though they have nothing to do with it on a creative level. The odd little film,
which I adored at Sundance last year, is loosely based on a true story and stars Rinko Kikuchi as a lonely Japanese woman who becomes obsessed with the movie
Fargo. Thinking it was a true story, she journeys to North Dakota in hopes of finding the hidden cash in the snow, and encounters a number of colorful characters perplexed by her mission.
Directed by the Zellner Brothers, the film has a bizarre, twisted fairy tale atmosphere that has apparently captured the imagination of Werner Herzog who is quoted in the new trailer.
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter opens March 18th in NY and March 20th in LA
