I am like a Spanish Conquistador.
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Watching Kumiko the Treasure Hunter again made me realize how personally applicable I found this film to be. I don't claim to have severe depression, and I don't wish to draw a lot of attention to my own personal problems. But when my doctor told me that I had depression a few months ago, some things started to make more sense, and after watching this film again, I understand it better than ever before.
You see, Kumiko is a severely depressed woman who feels crushed by social acceptance. Her mother is constantly insisting that she get married or move back in with her. Her boss suggests that she hasn't been successful in life and vaguely threatens to replace her. Her house is a mess, and she likes to wander off on treasure hunts. Her demeanor throughout the film also suggests a severe depression issue, or at the very least she is extremely introverted.
Depression can take people to some dark and weird places at the same time. When I want to escape reality, I do one of three things: play music, play video games, or watch a movie. Usually I end up doing the latter two choices, and I can say that watching films really does help raise my spirits up frequently. Depression can cause people to form fantasies, or delusions of grandeur. Kumiko clearly knows that Fargo is a film, yet she is convinced that Steve Buscemi and the Coen Brothers left the money in the snow in Fargo, North Dakota. This is her chance. Her chance to redeem herself. Finally, she can get enough money to move into a better house, meet new people, maybe even get a better job. All of her problems will be solved, she just needs to find that case of money. So what does she do? Absconds with her company credit card and goes to America to find the treasure, of course.
When a depressed or regressed individual goes through with their fantasies, people may find it difficult to pull these people back into reality. These people are trying to better themselves by formulating a reality that, while it doesn't exist to the normal individual, it gives the depressed person a motive, a goal to complete. Kumiko doesn't want help from others, she doesn't even have a penny to her name. She steals, and escapes others to avoid paying for the base comforts she can't afford. She left her home and traveled thousands of miles overseas to find a buried treasure. She wants to be able to prove herself to her stuck-up mother and her rough boss, and live on her own in "The New World." There really isn't any stopping her, she has regressed so deeply into her fantasy that no one will convince her otherwise.
Even after this rewatch, I still love it and find it more relatable than I thought it would be. The story is both funny and heartbreaking, and the psychology of Kumiko makes much more sense now than before. Retreating into fantastical endeavors as a means of escaping depression and reality is something that I can somewhat relate to, though not quite to the extent that Kumiko goes to. Fantasies, while too many of them are fairly unhealthy, can go a long way in small doses. They help ease some mental stress and can be fun to have from time to time. Although it is necessary to frequently get jolted back into reality, I feel that some people don't really understand the psychology behind mental fantasies, and why it can be so vital to some people with severe cases of depression to at least have some mild bouts. Sometimes, reality is just a little too hard for some people, and it's good to forget your problems for at least a little while. Fantasies don't solve life's problems, but they certainly help ease the strain of them.