Naman Shrestha
A live-action adaptation of the award-winning eponymous manga series by Satoru Noda, Netflix’s ‘Golden Kamuy’ is a Japanese action-adventure thriller film helmed by Shigeaki Kubo. Set in the early 20th century in Hokkaido, Japan, a war hero named Saichi Sugimoto, also known as Immortal Sugimoto, wishes to start afresh and plans to raise money by panning for gold in the area. During his search, he learns about the story of the gold nuggets and how Noppera-bo stole all of it from the indigenous Ainu people. However, he hides the gold nuggets before he is caught and tattoos the location onto the bodies of 24 inmates in the prison. Soon, Noppera-bo gets out of prison along with those 24 prisoners.
Meanwhile, Saichi gets attacked by a huge wild bear, but fortunately, Asirpa, an Ainu girl, is there to save the day. Since Asirpa’s father was murdered by Noppera-bo, the two realize that they are after the same man, though for different reasons, and begin working together. One is out to avenge her father’s death, the other wants to retrieve the gold nuggets. Featuring compelling performances from a talented Japanese ensemble cast comprising Kento Yamazaki, Anna Yamada, Gordon Maeda, Asuka Kudo, Shuntaro Yanagi, Yuki Izumisawa, and Yuma Yamoto, the movie takes us on an adventurous journey across Hokkaido as the lead characters go after the villain.
Golden Kamuy Filming Locations
‘Golden Kamuy’ was reportedly filmed in its entirety in Japan, specifically in and around Hokkaido. From the looks of it, principal photography for the adventure movie seemingly took place in late 2022. By shooting in the winter, the cast and crew were able to incorporate actual snow-filled sites in the movie, sprinkling a hint of authenticity to the narrative.
Hokkaido, Japan
Situated in the north of Japan, Hokkaido served as the primary production location for ‘Golden Kamuy.’ The second-largest island of Japan is known to be the nation’s coldest region, with cooler summers and ice-cold winters. The production team took advantage of this feature as they taped several pivotal sequences in the snowy sites of the island. Since the story is set in the early 20th century, the filming unit seemingly modified a few establishments and streets as per their requirements to make them appear like the 20th century.
While many exterior shots were recorded on location, a few portions might have been lensed in a sound stage of one of the film studios. Over the years, Hokkaido has hosted the production of several film and TV projects, including ‘Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah,’ ‘Tokyo Drifter,’ ‘Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion,’ ‘Heaven and Earth,’ ‘The Triple Cross,’ and ‘Saishû heiki kanojo.’
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