If you are not familiar with Golden Kamuy, we highly recommend you check out the live-action adaptation!
Summary
- Golden Kamuy is one of the most elaborate period pieces.
- After landing on Netflix, the movie did well at first, but was quickly forgotten.
- The live-action adaptation, however, did justice to the original manga.
Published from 2014 to 2022, Golden Kamuy is one of the best-selling manga in Japan and around the world. So when the live-action movie was released on Netflix in May 2024, fans trumpeted it on all social networks.
Except it seems the movie was quickly forgotten. We don't think that's fair, because the live-action movie not only perfectly adapts Golden Kamuy, but also delivers one of the best Western dramas ever made.
Golden Kamuy Is a Japanese Western with In-Depth Historical Research
Golden Kamuy is an adventure period drama that incorporates many other genre elements. But first and foremost, it is stylistically and narratively a Japanese Western. In the past, the term 'sukiyaki' was applied to such Westerns in analogy to the Italian 'spaghetti' Westerns (Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django is a typical example), but we don't want to use it here. Golden Kamuy can best be described as a Hokkaido Western, since the main action takes place on that Japanese island.
The story is set in the late Meiji period (1868-1912). The story follows Saichi Sugimoto, a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, who is working as a gold prospector on Hokkaido, but at the very beginning of the story he learns of a legend, according to which the treasure of the indigenous Ainu people is buried somewhere, hidden by a criminal named Noppera-bo.
Sugimoto is joined by an Ainu girl Asirpa, bent on finding Noppera-bo, who allegedly killed her father. Along the way, the duo makes new allies and enemies (often playing both roles, depending on the situation). These include criminals escaping from the infamous Abashiri prison, the Ainu people, soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army, and even some characters from the Russian Empire.
Satoru Noda worked with anthropologists and linguists, so the story contains a lot of informative facts about Hokkaido in the early 20th century, as well as the lives of the Ainu, Japanese, Nivkhs, and Russians. As a result, the story has enough detective, action, psychological thriller, and some pleasant historical and cultural references.
Live-Action of the Best Historical Adventure Ignored by Netflix Users
On May 19, 2024, the live-action adaptation of the same name landed on Netflix, following its theatrical release in Japan on January 19, 2024. Though the film grossed $16.7 million at the Japanese box office, which is a pretty good number for the country's domestic market, global users of the streaming service seemed unimpressed with the movie.
According to a May report from Variety, Golden Kamuy broke into the Top 10 most-watched movies across all streaming platforms, with a total of 75.9 million minutes watched for the week of May 24-30.
On the one hand, these are impressive numbers for a live-action adaptation of a manga (albeit one of the best-selling), and for Japanese cinema in general. On the other hand, its May release was a rather poor choice, as Golden Kamuy was overshadowed by the Jennifer Lopez-starring sci-fi film Atlas, the Brooke Shields-starring rom-com Mother of the Bride, and other Netflix releases in May 2024.
As a result, the movie was mostly discussed by manga and anime fans, while general audiences overlooked it. Unfortunately, Golden Kamuy quickly fell off the radar.
How Good Was the Live-Action Movie?
While the anime produced by Geno Studio and Brain's Base has been hailed as a great adaptation, despite the rather jarring CGI, the live-action adaptation of Golden Kamuy may not appeal to everyone. Especially if you're not used to the expressiveness of Japanese actors.
However, if you're not ready to jump right into manga and anime, the movie can be a great introduction. Golden Kamuy boasts excellent direction and quality production, costumes and locations.
Source: Twitter.