Kumiko The Treasure Hunter // Fish without water

KUMIKO THE TREASURE HUNTER
Directed by David Zellner
Starring Rinko Kikuchi

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS AND IS RECOMMENDED TO BE READ AFTER SEEING THE FILM

It’s interesting that the title of the film labels her the Treasure Hunter, as if that is the only thing she is. She plays other roles but this is who she is. It may be easy to say that the film turns her into an archetype but because through Kikuchi’s brilliant performance as Kumiko, she escapes that fate and turns her character into somebody who is truly complex. I learned to care about her but I was also frustrated with her. I laughed at her but felt extremely guilty afterwards.

Starred Up // Caged Kin

STARRED UP

Directed by David Mackenzie

Starring Jack O'Connell and Ben Mendelsohn

Family forms a kind of a prison and the sentence is for life. Our kin determines two things that make up who we are: genetics and upbringing. Even if we distance ourselves or become separated from our families, their presence will always be there, whether its from memories or from the likeness that we see when we look at a mirror. Starred Up takes the prison drama and elevates it by focusing its attention towards the relationship between a father and a son. It is a relationship that is simultaneously destructive and loving, the bonds of which cannot be unshackled.