This film is in parts very gorry, thats not to say the violence is over the top considering the plot, just the it is seen rather than infered. I am not adverse to gore but at the same time that was not my intention for watching it. I had heard alot about this film, much of it to do with the violence but i was intrigued to view it for myself.
The plot revolves around a class of school children, in not to distant future Tokyo. It is a time where not only is the population increasing rapidly, but the younger generation is out of control, respect for there elders is non existent. Teachers are dictated and atacked in schools. To resolve this the government passes the BR act, which consists of a class of children choosen at random each year to be taken to an island, fitted with collars which can explode and told to kill each other, all under the watchful eye of a former teacher with problems of his own. The last one remaining gets to leave the island, if there is more than one remaing at the end of the three days the collars explode.
The point of this film is not to be deliberately violent, what it does is to analyse relationships especially adolecent relationships in a sometimes violent way. There are many children all representing a different attitude to life, a different section of the population and a different view on friendship. The charcters are well written and well acted, it is easy to recognise ourselves and people we know or knew in school. We see paranoia set in, who is really your friend?
The main characters, two sweethearts, resist the game and try to outwit it, while others play the game and others hide. Some turn against there so called friends and gang members, some try to find freedom, some are betrayed by people they thought where there friends. It is only when near death are the true fealings of the children towards each other shown, hidden crushes, hidden loves, and hidden anger.
Yes this film is what you would call ultra violent in places, in the same way that A Clokwork Orange is ultraviolent. But that is not the only place the similarities end. The film is well directed and set to clasical music. But the most important similarity is the underlying message. The questioning of society and of our relationships with those around us. During and after watching this film I found myself thinking about being in that position, pressured towards killing the people you care about just for your own survival. This for me was the true point of the film, it left me questioning my relationships with friends, how would they react if taken to the extreem. Luckily I can say that I would trust my friends not to play the game, but it is a worrying possibility to consider.
This film is violent, but not without reason. It makes a valid point, raises uncomfortable questions for the viewer and may leave you shaken, but not as a result of the violence or subject matter.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Good review. Wonderful film; my particular favourite is the collars that explode if the kids are in the wrong zone. Gory, but quite tongue in cheek all the same.
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Advantages: Original storyline, emotionally involving, relevant to today's fears of escalating juvenile crime Disadvantages: A couple of unclear plot quibbles
blinderben 22.11.2002 (22.11.2002)
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