The mesmerising Rinko Kikuchi (Babel, Norwegian Wood) stars in David Zellner’s (Kid-Thing) exquisitely odd fable inspired by the story of Takako Konishi, an office worker from Tokyo who was found dead in the Detroit Lakes region.
Urban legend has it that she had travelled there under the impression that the events depicted in Fargo – the Coen brothers’ mordant 1994 film – were real, and that she was looking for the missing money depicted in the film when she died.
Using the unsubstantiated legend as a jumping off point, Zellner has crafted an eccentric, darkly comic and rather hypnotic film. Kikuchi gives a beguiling performance as the mysterious Kumiko, who escapes a dead-end job to undertake an incredible journey over the Pacific and through the frozen Minnesota wilderness to fulfil her quest.
Beautifully photographed and with an ambient soundtrack from long term collaborators the Octopus Project, the film balances a tone of whimsy and madness to give us a lovingly crafted modern day myth whose rewards are plenty.