Battle Royale

Some time in the new millennium Japan falls into economical decay, mass unemployment reigns in the country. With no clear future available, the student no longer respect school, violence increases due to riots and many students drop out of school. With the chaotic situation the government enacts the Battle Royale act, which consists of selected one of the poorest performing classes and sending off to an island where they must fight for survival and only one student can leave alive. The students have 3 days to complete the game or everyone dies due to explosive devices on their necks, they are given random weapons and the only rules to follow is avoid the danger zone and don't cause any trouble or the army will kill them. Mistrust, fear and hate run rampant and chaos spread among the students and they soon give in to the fight for survival.

The story starts off on an immoral edge, simple to follow and keeps surprises to a minimum and most importantly gives you time to better understand the characters. Overall this is a very entertaining experience and very interesting to follow, there is only a slight detail slight hole in the story near the end but we wont mention any spoilers. The movie is taken from a manga, it is most probably that the producer cut out certain things from the movie version but in general the story holds together very well and there aren't any real slow moments.

The fact that the cast that is about to kill each other are all teenagers is a shocking factor. The ways the kids kill each other can be pretty brutal from a knife to an uzi or a crossbow, all for the fight of survival. This is the real reason for the controversy around the movie is that fact that kids killing kids, in North America with all the school shootings this is an especially touchy subject. If this movie was the fight of survival between adults instead, we don't think it would have generated as movie hype. There are about 30 students thrown onto the island but the story focuses mostly 5 or 6 students and we follow their fight for survival from start to finish. The acting is great and their emotions are really visible, the context is easily understandable, what if you were stuck there and you have to kill classmates and friends alike for your own survival. As for Kitano he still remains the king, each of his appearances on screen are striking and memorable.

It is true that violence has an important place in BR but to say that the violence is shocking and hard to watch is totally false. There is nothing new or extreme when it comes to violence in BR, what is shocking about the violence is who is doing it and to who. Having innocent students forced into a situation where they must kill each other is the troubling part of the movie. Fans of violence should enjoy this movie if you don't expect splattering guts every 5 minutes else you might be really disappointed.

Violence might have a strong place in this movie but there is one thing to know it is far from being senseless violence as most people have said. Not everyone may perceive this movie in this fashion but we find there are several strong messages in the movie, certain reflections of society or human nature, this is a movie with a point to it. This movie makes brutal and dark references of the incomprehensible moments of everyday life such as fear, shyness, deception, love, jealousy, humiliation and helplessness. In this extreme situation the characters have a way out from these trivial matters and make the better of themselves and maybe become or say what they really always wanted to or to come face to face with an enemy they must fight or be killed.

In conclusion Battle Royale has far more to offer than a orgy of blood and senseless violence as some would say. Some may not like this movie while others will completely adore it but one thing is certain this is a movie that will not be forgotten. If you like Japanese cinema which is not scared of showing true violence with the emotions that go along with it, then you will probably enjoy this one. If you are looking for a movie with shocking action you can give BR a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised and for sure entertained. Oh! and just for Kitano`s fans, this movie is worth it.