Golden Kamuy

It's a new month, which means it's time for me to review old movies. And by old, I mean several months old. Golden Kamuy, the live-action film of Satoru Nada's manga, debuted in Japan in January and premiered stateside on Netflix in May. It's already been adapted into four seasons of TV anime, of which I've seen some impressively animated snippets. Let's see some more.

Saichi Sugimoto (Kento Yamazaki) is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War, where he was nicknamed "Immortal Sugimoto" for his persistent inability to die. By 1907, he's down on his luck, panning for gold in the Hokkaido hills. His fortunes seemingly change when a drunkard, Goto (Makita Sports), tells him of a huge stache of gold. It was stolen from the Ainu - the indigenous people of Japan - by Noppera-bo, a prisoner of the infamous Abashiri Prison. Noppera-bo tattooed a map to the gold amongst twenty-four of his fellow prisoners, all of whom soon escaped. Goto is one of those prisoners; he soon unsuccessfully tries to silence Sugimoto and is later killed by a bear.

Sugimoto sets off for the gold, joined by the Ainu huntress Asirpa (Anna Yamada), and Yoshitake Shiraishi (Yuma Yamato), another of the escapees. Asirpa's dad was among those killed for the gold by Noppera-bo, while Sugimoto's full reasons for the gold are revealed way too late in the film. In the meantime, they encounter Sugimoto's old army division, the Seventh Division, who are also looking for the gold. Their leader, the creepy First Lt. Tsurumi (Hiroshi Tamaki), won't let our heroes have it without a fight. Our heroes will have to fight to survive. I think that sums it up.

On one level, the screenplay by Tsutomu Kuroiwa is an introduction to the usually underrepresented Ainu culture. Throughout the movie, we and Sugimoto learn several Ainu words, such as aca (father), matakarip (bears who missed hibernation), and the titular kamuys (spirits). Asirpa and Sugimoto take some convincing to try each other's cuisines; Asirpa's aversion to miso is a surprisingly funny running gag. The film even opens on a contextually profound proverb, which translates to "nothing comes from Heaven without purpose." It's interesting enough to make one want to look up more on Ainu culture; I did during the writing of this review.

On another level, it's an excellent period action film. We don't learn Sugimoto's full story until the end, but he's still an engaging protagonist. We feel for him when he openly doubts his chances of going to heaven. Asirpa is a great moral anchor for Sugimoto; her chewing him out at the end funny as it is moving. Retar, her white wolf, maybe a CGI creature along with most of the wildlife, but he's still a good presence. Shiraishi is a bit too hammy, especially when he and Sugimoto fall into a freezing river, but he's all right. Tsurumi is an unnerving villain, while the twin psychopaths under him, Kohei and Yohei Nikado, are perfect hate sinks.

Any gripes I have are relatively minor. Throughout the film, Asirpa holds Sugimoto to a "don't kill humans" rule. Yet, there's little time to dwell on Sugimoto killing someone at the end. Granted, it was one of the Nikados, but that doesn't come up in the finale. There's also a third faction who also wants the gold, who are led by the historical samurai Toshizo Hijikata (Hiroshi Tachi). Hijikata knows that the gold is worth much more than what was estimated. But that revelation is also saved for the end; he never encounters Sugimoto and company. Again, those are minor gripes because the overall story is that engaging.

We are introduced to Sugimoto's luck, along with the film's excellent production design and cinematography, at the Siege of Port Arthur. That opening battle succinctly displays the actual battle's brutality in just under ten minutes. There's quite a bit of obvious CGI, especially the aforementioned animals, but it doesn't detract from the brutal violence. Just ask the Seventh Division guys who meet a bear later on. The best visual effects allow Shuntaro Yanagi to seamlessly play both Nikados at once. Its visualization of the forests of Hokkaido and the city of Otaru are much more pleasant. The characters' manga designs are approximated rather well by the makeup and costume designers. Finally, there's a grand score by Yutaka Yamada to accentuate the action.

Golden Kamuy is supposed to have a live-action sequel series, which is why we get a somewhat incomplete ending and a montage of future characters in the mid-credits. I say somewhat incomplete, because after all Aspira and Sugimoto go through, it's narratively satisfying when they affirm their partnership. It left me intrigued to see where these two would go from here. I know I could do that already with the manga and anime, but I'm still intrigued about that live-action show. See what I'm talking about once you watch Golden Kamuy on Netflix. 

Next up, more Netflix.