Maps take you to other places

About a month ago, I watched a beautiful film called "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter." The story is about a Japanese woman, Kumiko, who has certainly lost herself, slowly detaching from reality, she embarks on a trip to North Dakota. Her life in Tokyo is very lonely, she abhors her job in a tedious office, and has a terrible relationship with her mother, Kumiko has deep obsession with an American movie called "Fargo" she goes home every night and watches it during supper, she even has a room filled with old cassettes of previous Fargo tapes. For some reason she has come to the conclusion that Fargo is some sort of documentary of a true story. she is later convinced that she must go to North Dakota in the middle of  the winter and dig up the ground to find a treasure that is buried in the movie. 

“I am like a Spanish conquistador,” she tells the security guard at a library where she tries to learn more about North Dakota. - Neil Genzlinger, New York Times

What I love most about Kumiko is the photography and the art direction of the film, Japan is portrayed beautifully, her office, her home, and the library everything is so symmetrical and gleaming. The images are shot so meticulously as if every shot was a piece of art. Then when she arrives to North Dakota, the colors of her costume in contrast with the white snow adds up to the artwork sense of the film. I think that it is so beautiful to such an extent because the director is slowly trying to detach from reality as the film progresses.

still shots from Kumiko, David Zellner

There is something that I want to steal from Kumiko, her map. In the beginning of the movie when she is planning her escape, she sews her own map, with threads and needles and a piece of white fabric. This decision adds so much meaning to her escape from reality and from her insipid life in Tokyo. It feels like her desire essentially her need to flee is so vital and significant. I think the map is a crucial symbol in the film, and I want a sewn map in my film too, to emphasize the significance of my character's escape as well.

Kumiko's map

"Going off on a journey to uncharted territories can not only be terrifying but also dangerous, so why do we yearn to take a trip that could potentially be our last?" - Stacie Sells, The Mary Sue.

References:
Genzlinger, Neil. "Review: ‘Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter,’ Inspired by an Urban Legend." The New York 
Times. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
Sells, Stacie. "The Heroine’s Journey: Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter." The Mary Sue The Heroines Journey Kumiko the Treasure Hunter Comments. The Mary Sue, 09 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.