Fargo movie rumor spawns film about an urban myth
An odd urban myth connected to the Coen brothers' hit move "Fargo" has sparked another movie.
"Kumiko the Treasure Hunter" — the tragicomic story of a Japanese woman who travels to Minnesota in search of the loot from "Fargo" — opens in Minneapolis this week.
Brothers David and Nathan Zeller first heard the rumor linked to "Fargo" in 2001, five years after the story of inept but murderous criminals changed many people's perceptions of Minnesota.
The Oscar-winning film centered on Marge Gunderson, a pregnant police chief who investigates a series of murders, and William H. Macy, a car salesman who hires two criminals to kidnap his wife so he can obtain a ransom from his father-in-law.
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David Zellner, who co-wrote and directed "Kumiko the Treasure Hunter," recalled the strange story that rippled out of Minnesota.
"A little bit of information was released online," he said, "simply saying a Japanese woman had gone from Tokyo to Minnesota in search of the fortune from the film."
In a field near Detroit Lakes, police did in fact recover the body of Takako Konishi, a Japanese woman. Early posts on message boards and in chat rooms claimed she froze to death while looking for the cash buried in a snowbank by a fence in the movie.
In the age of social media, Zellner said, the story would have spread quickly — and probably been debunked just as fast. But the Internet was different then, and the story was around long enough to pique his interest, in large part because of the lack of information and element of mystery.
When further investigation revealed Konishi's death was a suicide, and that the Fargo loot story grew from a misunderstood conversation she had with a cop in Bismarck, N.D., Zellner found his attachment to the myth actually grew.
"This kind of antiquated notion of someone going on a treasure hunt in a modern-day setting," Zellner said. "Those are the elements that drew us in and that we felt the need to be true to."
He and his brother wrote "Kumiko the Treasure Hunter" around those elements.
An office worker in Tokyo who is adrift and isolated in the crowded city, Kumiko disappoints her family by failing to find a husband, and her co-workers think she is awkward and strange. Her moments of true happiness come from following treasure maps she embroiders. When she finds a VHS tape buried in a cave she takes it home and tries to get it working.
The sound is warped but the image that appears through a snowstorm of static is "Fargo." She stares at the opening credits, which claim the film is a true story, which it isn't.
Believing the film contains clues to riches that could help her escape from her misery, Kumiko soon boards a plane to Minnesota in the depths of winter. After she arrives, she meets many people who are eager to help but mystified by her obsession.
"Tomorrow you take me to Fargo?" Kumiko asks a bemused elderly woman who gave her a ride after finding her walking down a bitterly cold country road.
"You don't want to go there, hon, trust me," the woman replies. "I'll take you to the Mall of America. It's a lot more fun."
The Zellner brothers, who are originally from Texas, shot "Kumiko the Treasure Hunter" in Tokyo and Minnesota on a tiny budget.
"We approached the production almost as two separate movies," said Nathan Zellner, who produced the film.
The two brothers also act in the movie, and while on location relied first on a Japanese crew and then one based in Minnesota. That kept costs low while giving a special flexibility and built in valuable local expertise, particularly when it came to shooting during a Midwestern winter, Nathan Zellner said.
"A local crew that is used to cold weather, and that can sleep in their own beds at night, and help us with finding these unique locations, and that sort of thing," he said.
The finished film is a bittersweet tale that swings from dry comedy to philosophical inquiry about what makes people happy.
When the film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, critics loved the performance of Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi, who plays Kumiko. The film, which has been on the festival circuit ever since then, is being released in theaters.
Speaking through a translator, Kikuchi said it was a challenge to portray Kumiko, who is both shy and very stubborn.
"I know that I wracked my brain," she said, "trying to figure out how would a person who is like that appear? How would she be?"