note: also appears on my film review website, ShaunMunro.co.uk, and Dooyoo!
Battle Royale, the adaptation of Koshun Takami's fabulous novel of the same name, is near enough controversy at 24 frames per second, unleashing a downbeat, counter-culture, subversive tone from its matter-of-fact opening, to its twist-filled end. Much furore has surrounded the fact that this film is still unreleased in America (contrary to the belief that the film was banned), most postulating that a film involving school kids killing each other is simply too close to the bone in the wake of the Columbine, and more recently, Virginia Tech shootings (which means that things don't bode well for the already ill-fated American remake of this film).
Much comparison has been drawn to Kubrick's cerebral masterpiece A Clockwork Orange, in how both films accompany violent scenes with classical music, a sort of macabre juxtaposition that really is quite beautiful to behold. I would deem such a comparison to be only a compliment to the dedicated auteurship present in both Kubrick's and Fukasaku's efforts here.
Battle Royale opens by informing us that employment is at an all-time low in Japan, and truancy at an all-time high, so to combat this problem, every three years a class of school kids are randomly selected and taken to an island where they must fight to the death, with the victor granted safe passage home. We are soon enough greeted with an iconic image of the previous winner - a blood-soaked, smiling young girl holding a toy doll. It's pretty harrowing stuff, and with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, it familiarises you with what is to follow in the next 115 minutes.
Prologue aside, we are introduced to the various personalities of the next class who are unknowingly to be placed in the BR program. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about the pasts of the central characters, and soon enough the bus full of kids are on their way to the island (and still unaware of this fact). A dark undertone very quickly pervades and permeates through this film, hiding under the tender, piano-scored, cookie-sharing moments (which astoundingly manage not to reek of cheese), ready to leap out at a moment's notice.
The
students are all gassed on the bus, and awaken in a classroom on the island, quickly informed by their old teacher, Kitano (near enough playing himself, with gusto, I add), that they are the next victims of the BR Act, and that they must kill each other if they want a chance of surviving. All of the students are fitted with neck collars, which explode if a student attempts escape, breaks the rules, or if there is no single victor after 3 days.
Kitano is somewhat of an embittered old man, apathetic towards the children's plight as he finds them to be "no good", no wonder, given how one of the students stabbed him years previously. Kitano has a vendetta, and violently carries out his revenge on one student, whilst making an example of another. Understandably confused and frightened, the students are sent off with a weapon and basic provisions, and worse still, there are two additional "transfer students", one who signed up for fun, Kiriyama (Ando) and the other, Kawada (Yamamoto), a mysterious, shotgun-totting fellow with his own agenda.
Mere moments later, the bodies begin to hit the floor, and the students realise that this is no joke - one student uttering "it's for real", after killing another student in self-defence. Some decide to play the game, others simply cannot bring themselves to play and kill themselves, whilst others caught up in the frenzy, such as our protagonists, Shuya (Fujiwara) and Noriko (Maeda), run and hide as hard and fast as they possibly can. From this point, the film is essentially a fight to the death, interspersed with flashback-driven character development. Disturbingly, the film also has a disquieting undercurrent of dark humour. Kitano constantly cracks facetious little lines such as "Your parents have been informed, so go for it!", and at one point even accuses the students of slacking off on the killing. Furthermore, the instructional video that the kids are shown before being sent out to kill is hosted by a ridiculously chirpy individual, and I'd even go as far as to deem it a little creepy. Even as the carnage ensues, this undertone never lets up - a student has an axe embedded into his skull, and proclaims "I'm fine" before dying. You might laugh, but you might also feel guilty for it afterwards.
Things soon begin to look very bleak for our protagonists - their main adversary, Kiriyama, is quickly offing the other students, and amassing an ever-increasing arsenal of weaponry as he does so. Kiriyama seems to take a sick pleasure in murder, even going as far as to decapitate another student, shove a grenade in his mouth and hurl it through a window at our hapless protagonists.
As the useful title card counts the remaining students alive (and reminds us of the dead), we also meet Kiriyama's female counterpart - Mitsuko, a sly, murderous individual who is near-psychopathic in her modus operandi, even decapitating a girl with a scythe at one juncture, presenting yet another obstacle for our heroes to overcome.
What is truly fascinating about Battle Royale is each of the little relationships and subplots that transpire - some find this island a blessing in disguise in a sense, a chance to settle scores and grudges, be it for a boyfriend stolen away by another girl, or a girl who would never date them. Mitsuko herself says "What's wrong with killing? Everyone has their reasons". Others use it as a means of declaring their undying love to someone, more often than not in their final moments after having been mortally wounded. It's a risky approach, in that it could well have seemed overly-sentimental, but it is kind of touching when you consider that some characters, foolishly or not (it's teenage logic, remember), take this chance to seek out those they love, even risking death to do so.
Friendships are also put to the ultimate test, and in one notable instance, paranoia infects a large group of friends, causing them to viciously slaughter each other, with one girl declaring in her final words "We're all idiots, we might have survived".
Ultimately, Kitano is the key to the equation - he is quite the forlorn, and in a sense tragic character. His daughter wants nothing to do with him, and so seeing all of these young teenage girls in need of a saviour only naturally invites certain paternal feelings that begin to overrule his obligation to see the game through to its inevitably bloody and violent end.
Things eventually slow down a little, and Kawada takes Shuya and Noriko under his wing, professing that he has a way out, a strategy that involves our dynamic duo more than they could ever have anticipated. Meanwhile, a classmate by the name of Mimura and his friends discover a wealth of electronic equipment, and work on bringing the BR system down, determined to fight back against their oppressors.
Fukasaku manages to wedge some impressive symbolism into the definitive Special Edition of the film, an example being that one student confesses his love for another girl in his dying moments, and we then flash back to him at a basketball game, shooting the ball and narrowly missing. Similarly, as the hackers implement their plan to bring down the system, Mimura, the leader of this group, scores, and as each basketball flashback appears, they become more and more harrowing, and more saddening as we realise just how many students in these flashbacks are now dead, and how the friendships shown in these clips are now severed. Sure, it's not the most subtle symbolism in the world, but it works.
The film is as such more cerebral than you might expect - characters seem to occasionally either be talking to some form of a God, or breaking the fourth wall, and talking beyond the grave, one girl proclaiming "I just didn't want to be a loser anymore" after dying. I don't quite know if Fukasaku intended for the film to be interpreted as such, but nevertheless, I thought it as a nice touch.
As the number of surviving students begins to dwindle, Mimura and his gang of activists strike back, throwing their plan into action, in a highly exhilarating scene (thanks in large part to Masamichi Amano's wonderful score). The fate of the hackers following their last stand is perhaps some sort of political statement, but semantics aside, it's still a wonderfully-envisioned scene.
The surviving students proceed to band up for the final battle, surrounded by fire (with high-art cinematography that anyone can appreciate), and whilst this fight is swift and decisively-fought, it is no less effective, exciting and iconic. Following this, twists are thrown in, which will likely either disappoint you (appearing to be a copout), or (and considerably more likely) will fascinate you and cause you to wonder quite what just happened. Even once the credits roll, some points are still up for debate, and are still argued as I write this.
The ending of the Special Edition does take some of the kick out of the effectiveness of the film, but it does append some interesting but ultimately unimportant scenes. The manner in which the scenes are almost procedurally appended to the end of the original cut with interspersed title cards is a little crude, and flows nowhere near as well as the comparatively restrained end to the original cut. If you do ultimately decide to see the original cut, this new cut does not drastically change things.
In an age where many people's children, not many years older than the children here, are sent to what many consider an "unjust war", Battle Royale is extremely relevant, and thrives on its controversy rather than impresses in lieu of it. Furthermore, given how a few of the more risqué deaths are shown in only fleeting detail (such as Mitsuko curiously walking away from two dead, naked boys), it certainly inspires one to read Takami's novel if one hasn't already. In short, Fukasaku is a master, capturing superb bunny-stunned performances from all of the youngsters involved, and at the time of writing, I would deem this the greatest foreign film I have ever seen. It's a word I'm very cautious of using, but "flawless" comes to mind, and even if not, something damn close.
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
I tuned into this film a couple of years ago on TV quite by accident within minutes of it starting and was captivated and had to watch it to the end. I can't understand why I was so fascinated by it as I don't generally like films of this genre but it's definitely a film I'll never forget!
With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence its ... more
only fitting that Kenta FukasakusBattle Royaleis being touted asA Clockwork Orangefor the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a s...
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With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence its ... more
only fitting that Kenta FukasakusBattle Royaleis being touted asA Clockwork Orangefor the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a s...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is ... more
at an all-time high, and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiraling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing thei...
At the dawn of the new millennium Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is ... more
at an all-time high and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing the...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Battle Royale [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78522790.jpg "Battle Royale [DVD] [2001]")
Sep 26th, 2009
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