Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter may not have been as high on other festival-goers’ radar, but it was one of my must-sees. The movie by Austin, Texas-filmmaking brothers David and Nathan Zellner (Goliath, Kid-Thing), filmed Japan and Minnesota, did not disappoint. The film opens with a “true story” disclaimer that is featured at the beginning of Joel & Ethan Coen’s own Fargo (a wink and a nod). Kumiko is watching a damaged Fargo VHS tape and repeatedly fast-forwarding/rewinding in an attempt to pin-point the exact location of the buried money by Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi’s kidnapping character). Kumiko maps out the location of the where the hidden suitcase, measures out the poles in the ground, and goes to great lengths of finding the exact location. In one of the more entertaining scenes, she enters a library and attempts to steal a world atlas. When she is caught and it is revealed she only wants a map of the state of Minnesota and is willing to pay for it, the guard gives in and lets her have it. Kumiko avoids contact with most of her peers at work and is disenchanted with her daily and work life, save for her pet rabbit Bunzo. She occasionally communicates with her mother, but her mother wants her to move home and find a husband. She decides to leave Japan with her boss’ stolen credit card for the frozen tundra of Minnesota. When she lands at MSP airport, she travels up to Fargo to finish her quest. Along the way, she gets the bad news that Fargo is a fictional film, meaning there is no money. But that does not stop Kumiko from going further into the polar vortex in search of the cash. This is easily one of the Zellner brothers’ most satisfying film. The film, with the biggest budget to date, really accomplishes a stunning feat of merging the fantasy and reality. The urban legend is based off a 2001 story that was later turned into a documentary called This is A True Story, and never makes fun of Kumiko. Instead, the film balances the absurd and mesmerizing adventure and her beliefs of the treasure being real, and we come to sympathize Kumiko. Cinematographer Sean Porter casts a stoic beauty over the snow-covered roadside and hills, giving the white glare a sparkling glow to the mysteries abound. The main attraction is Oscar-nominated actress Rinko Kikuchi (Babel, Pacific Rim) in a “tour de force” performance of such isolation, obsession, and determination, often in her soft-spoken mannerisms. Credit is partly in due to director David who gave Kikuchi ample opportunity to fine tune her delicate character. Grade: A- (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter has not been picked up for U.S. distribution yet.)