David Zellner's snow-bound psychological drama is, if nothing else, daring.

It may be an audience splitter whose purpose is inscrutable at best, pointless at worst, but there's never doubting his ability to keep you hooked by the trials of Kumiko, a troubled young Japanese woman convinced that an old VHS copy of the film Fargo is also a treasure map. In an odd pre-credit sequence, she finds the tape buried in a cave. Perhaps. On that, as with many other moments in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, we can never be entirely sure about the veracity of what we're watching despite this being a true story: it says as much in the opening credits.

After a meandering first half in which it becomes clear that Kumiko's obsession with Fargo is an unhealthy one, the action shifts to Minnesota. She leaves her disapproving mother and worker-bee occupation in Japan to retrieve a satchel full of cash buried by Steve Buscemi in America. Why she believes this is one of many mysteries that caught the attention of Alexander Payne (Nebraska), and propelled Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter into competition at the Sydney Film Festival. Surrender to opacity and the film delivers at different levels: cinematography and music are provocative; the narrative is at turns melancholic and amusing, occasionally poignant.

But start looking for meaning or purpose and Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter melts like a handful of snow. Or ephemeral nonsense, depending on your patience. It's undeniable that Zellner has sturdy command of location (his wintry images are breathtaking) as well as support characters, even if they are more interesting than Kumiko herself. They underpin the sadness of isolation that the story alludes to, notable is an elderly widow for whom 'solitude is fancy loneliness'.

But these robust elements don't make for a cohesive whole and by the time you get to an ending as frustratingly ambiguous as the beginning, it becomes clear that this road movie is more calling card than fully realised film.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at The Reelroom, Sydney, on 13 May 2014