Fargo is a 1996 dramatic and dark comedy film created by Joel and Ethan Coen who claimed it to be "based on a true story", but just how closely it adheres to true events is the subject of considerable debate. It is believed that the story was actually inspired by a number of real events which occurred at different times and places.

In 2001 a Japanese woman, Takako Konishi, was found dead near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. It was widely claimed at the time that she had frozen to death while looking for the money hidden in the movie, but there is little evidence to support this theory. Based on the presence of sedatives in her system and a letter sent to her family, her death was ruled a suicide.

The movie is named after Fargo, North Dakota, although most of the action is set in Minnesota in midwinter, but unseasonably mild weather meant that fake snow had to be used for many scenes.

Primary cast:

• Frances McDormand  : Marge Gunderson
• William H. Macy  : Jerry Lundegaard
• Steve Buscemi  : Carl Showalter
• Harve Presnell  : Wade Gustafson
• Peter Stormare  : Gaear Grimsrud

The movie tells the story of a Jerry Lundegaard (Macy), who due to financial troubles, hires two men (Buscemi and Stormare) to kidnap his wife and try to obtain a ransom from his father-in-law. The plan falls apart. The kidnappers murder a policeman and two witnesses to his killing, and their deaths are investigated by a local police chief (McDormand), who just happens to be seven months pregnant.

As the movie narrative moves from establishing characters to exploring the consequences of crime, it also moves from comedy to suspense, drama, and even horror. The film's initial scenes satirize the blandness (both visual, with the unrelenting white of snow, and emotional, with repeated lines of dialog without serious content) and innocence of the upper midwest, as criminals are mere bumblers and police are interested in niceness and decency. However, with the insensate, unpremeditated, infantile violence of Stormare's character, the nice and delicate comedy gives way to primal brutality. Snow changes from a blank canvas of emotionlessness to a layer of forgetting and burial, and the humor of the first half of the movie is thoroughly negated by a glimpse into what has lain beneath the white surface. The denouement of Macy's apprehension emphasizes the unpreparedness of the characters for the meaning of crime and impact of violence.

Award wins:

• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film
• Academy Award for Best Actress (Frances McDormand)
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Joel & Ethan Coen)
• BAFTA David Lean Award for Direction (Joel Coen)
• Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director (Joel Coen)

Award nominations:

• Academy Award for Best Picture
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
• Academy Award for Directing (Joel Coen)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture (Joel Coen)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Frances McDormand)
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (William H. Macy)
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins)
• Academy Award for Film Editing (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Joel & Ethan Coel)

Trivia

The car dealership featured in the movie was in Richfield, Minnesota. The business has since been razed, and the site is currently home to Best Buy's corporate headquarters.

External links

• MGM's page on the DVD release of the movie
• Snopes on Fargo
• Snopes on Ms. Konishi's death
• Greatest Films
• RaveCentral