Just perfect...

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This seemed like an interesting movie to watch on mubi, I didn't actually know much of what it is about, but based on the trailer the cinematography and mood seemed to be top notch, and they were, but nothing else really worked for me.Another reviewer wondered what motivates someone to make a movie like this, I was thinking about this too. The movie was slow, so there was a lot of time to think about. So I read this is based on a true story, I must have missed it if it was mentioned in the movie, but this might be one motivation. My initial idea when watching the movie was that they just wanted to be creative and artsy, probably made by people who work on advertising or music videos, but this may as well not be the case.So, the images on screen were stunning, the cinematography is absolutely great. The script is somewhat interesting, although I've never liked it when they reference other real movies within a movie. I don't know why, this just never worked for me, especially when it's such an integral part of the movie. But there are many more problems. Kumiko was left as a mystery. Maybe there were hints why she was the way she was - depressed, anti-social, delusional, autistic? She had a driving ambition to get money, but why? I never understood what was the motivation. Was it a social commentary for expectations towards women in Japanese culture? They surely underlined the work and family aspect, how women are expected to build their lives. Her mom was constantly asking Kumiko about dating etc, I have a hard time believing a mother of an autist or a mentallly ill would do this. She also meets an old friend which suggests that Kumiko wasn't always as she is now, so something must have happened, but what? And what's the connection between this and the quest for money. Why would a depressed woman obsess so much about money, what would she do with it. She also showed emotions towards her pet, but was clearly not big on people skills (even without the language barrier).Kumiko started out and stayed very distant in the movie and it was difficult to understand any of her actions. Maybe if she had been slightly more relatable this would have worked, or if they had opened a bit more of her past, but as it is, it definitely didn't work for me.

Nowadays, I'm so grumpy about movie selections and I really want to watch a movie that is generally using metaphors and artistic imagery&shots to reflect society, inner-self, social awareness, self- actualization, and the culture. When I come across with the movie Kumiko, it took my attention. I searched and found out that there is a urban legend related to movie as well so, when I was watching the trailer, or reading the urban legend story, I found some pieces that is also maintained within my perception: the country and the society that I am in, the opportunities that I both have and do not have... For these reasons it's a must watch.

After i finished watching this film i kept asking the same question over and over... what was the point? We see the life of a social outcast Kumiko which is dissatisfied with her life, we see that she lives a reclusive life, she is obsessed with film FARGO. She sees the movie thousands of times to locate the suitcase with the money that was hidden by the character of Steve Buscemi. She is convinced that the film is real for reasons...The main theme in the movie is loneliness in all its forms,in the case of Kumiko it is self imposed, she does not connect with the world around her,because thats how she feels inside, they do not really give us a reason why she feels that way. Still she seeks a purpose in life and feels that finding this treasure will do so, it is better to find purpose in something false than knowing that there is non at all. that's the dilemma in this movie.But what would have happened after she found the treasure. Kumiko was never interested in anything but finding the treasure what would be the point in life onwards? Many people give positive reviews to this film but they do not ask the real questions, why was Kumiko the way she was, if she suffered a mental illness. There is much tragedy in the movie but I do not feel bad for her,she chose to be as she wanted to and everything around her was a result of her decisions alone.Definitely not for everyone,particularly if you seek concrete explanations, watch it for what it is and what it tries to say and find your own conclusions.

It's beautiful to look at, and it held my attention. Mostly because the story was at once realistic and absurd. I've read the other reviews here and am surprised other people found it funny, and, more so that it's hailed as great art. It's a metaphor? A fable? An allegory? A riff on Fargo and the American dream? I get the reference to "based on a true story"/Fargo concept. And I bought into it. Until she has the encounter with the Minnesota sheriff. I'm from that part of the world (Wisconsin). The woman would have been assessed and recognized as somebody mentally ill and treated as such. What's shown is pure fantasy, but it's the film maker's fantasy, not the character's. That's where the reality train jumped the shark for me. From that point on the movie just became poorly done, too much of a departure from what had preceded, which was dark, convincing, and compelling.So I guess I didn't see the same movie others saw. What I saw was a movie about a severely depressed woman who had a psychotic break from reality. There wasn't anything funny about it to me. But it interested me enough that I wanted to see the payoff, how it ended. I kind of had to, I had invested so much time in the story. But it wasn't worth it, and I felt cheated. If that's the point of the movie, it succeeded.