With the Japanese currently leading the way in
thought-provoking cinematic violence, its only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's
Battle Royale is being touted as a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based
on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images
of unruly Japanese schoolchildren, whose bad behavior provides a justification
for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with,
the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have
been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their
old teacher (Beat by Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they
are told of their fate: after an impartial lottery they have been chosen to
fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale." Their
only chance of survival is through the death of all their classmates.
Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or
try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for
survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love. Battle Royale works
on many different levels, highlighting the authorities' desperation to enforce
law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap. Whether you
consider the film an important social commentary or simply watch it for the
adrenaline-fueled violence, this is set to become cult viewing for the computer
game generation and beyond.
Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is among the most controversial films of last
years. It is based on Japanese novel that also was very provoking and "shocked
the nation." The plot is simple: at the dawn of new millennium (the film is set
in near future) nation collapsed and all kind of social menaces were born as
students started to boycott their schools and act very violently towards
teachers and adults in general. Unemployment number was alarmingly huge and
everything was going to fall apart. Battle Royale act was created and it meant
that every year, one ninth grade class was chosen by random to play "Battle
Royale" which turns out to be savage hunting game in order to stay alive. The
game is played in deserted island in the middle of the sea. The rule is that
only one of the 40+ students is allowed to survive and the winner is the one who
is last alive. They have 3 days time to fight and if there are more than one
person alive after three days, everyone will be killed. They can't escape as they
have deadly necklaces that explode if they try to rip them off or try to escape
etc. do something that is against the "rules." The chosen ninth grade’s teacher
is played by Takeshi Kitano with his usual charisma and sense of very dark and
wry humor. It is no necessary to tell anything more about the story since this
is all that can be told without spoiling anything. In few words: a human
hunting/killing game in which only one can be a winner. You may need to kill
your closest friend or girlfriend if you want to stay alive..
