25 Films That Intentionally Spoil Other Films

David Zellner’s Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter follows the titular office worker (played by Rinko Kikuchi) as she abandons her regular life in search of hidden treasure. Kumiko comes into possession of a VHS of the Coen brothers’ 1996 black comedy Fargo and, focusing in on the scene in which Steve Buscemi’s Carl Showalter buries his satchel of ransom loot in a snowy highway verge, decides to head out to the United States in search of it.

The fact that the plot of Fargo is a plot device in this film means the Minnesota-set escapade can’t help but be spoiled in detail in the process. And, as if the metafiction at play here wasn’t enough, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is actually based on a real story - like the Coen brothers’ movie purports to be.

Believing Fargo to be true, real-life Tokyo office worker Takako Konishi went searching for the treasure in 2001. She never found it, though, and her body was discovered out in the fields of Minnesota by a bow hunter. No spoilers, but the film version has a happier ending.