Battle Royale
Battle Royale is an undisputed shot to the chest, an adrenaline-packed punch to the face, and a machine-gun blast where it counts. The film is based on the novel by the same name and was directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Fukasaku took the project on after the novel reminded him of his time as a 15-year old munitions factory worker. The novel, written by Koushun Takami, spawned a manga series and a sequel. The film, like the novel, aroused quite a bit of controversy, which led to trouble finding an American distributor for the film. Rumours that the film is banned in the United States are not true.
The plot of Battle Royale is generally faithful to that of the book. It takes place at the dawn of the millennium under tremendous national upheaval. Students are boycotting school and millions of people are out of work. The adults have lost confidence and are afraid of the youth, leading to the passing of the Millennium Educational Reform Act. This Act, also known as the B.R. Act, has resulted in a “game” led by proponents of the Act and the military. The “game” is that the students must kill each other until only one remains. This “last man standing” game takes place on a deserted island with an abandoned school. A teacher, Kitano (Takeshi Kitano), is behind it all and is on the island with the kids, barking out orders and “updates” to inform the students of who has been killed and where “danger zones” are on the island. There are more complicating facets to the “game,” but that is the general idea behind it.
Battle Royale is a gritty and dark film, given the subject matter, and it utilizes these bizarre and brutal circumstances to draw the characters into the light. There are relationships, crushes, and petty disagreements. There are school cliques, bullies, and other aspects of high school life that are explored within this hyperbolic framework and callous violence. The violence is indeed brutal and Fukasaku takes no prisoners when it comes to showing all of the bloody and gory realities of the “game.” The students blast away at one another with a variety of weapons, some more effective than others, and the film chugs away creating a gruesome amalgamation of Lord of the Flies with savage horror.
The film takes aim at issues such as civility, demonstrating the complete and utter breakdown of any form of society when extreme circumstances are introduced. The students react with shock and horror at the outset of the “game,” but some students are more quickly assimilated into the survival tactics and the “kill or be killed” attitude required to make it through to the end. Others team up and try to figure out a way to beat the system, attempting to escape the island despite their tracking collars. Other still decide to kill themselves, either alone or with a loved partner, as a penultimate defiance of the realities of this violent “game.” The way in which the students deal with the events in Battle Royale is one of the ways that Fukasaku paints a humane picture within the ferociousness of the plot.
Whether dealing with Kitano’s loneliness as the savage leader of this “game” or dealing with the heartbreaking realities of Shuya Nanahara’s life, Battle Royale allows the depth of the characters to sink in while bearing off on the violence. Characters begrudgingly form alliances for survival, only to slaughter one another for idiotic, simplistic reasons. Other characters reveal long-held crushes or obsessions, only to be taken down by an uncaring rival. All of the idioms and travesties of high school life are on display here, except instead of using a highly sexualized context in which to frame the story, Battle Royale aims at something more animalistic.
The result of this experimentation in brutality is a shocking and compelling film that unravels at an incredible pace and contains tremendous performances throughout. It should be noted that none of the performers in the film used a stunt double. Battle Royale is one of the most popular films in Japan and was the subject of an attempted banning by the Japanese government. As with most things of this nature, however, the seemingly negative publicity only helped break the film to a larger audience. The film created a debate in Japan over media violence and was described as “crude and tasteless” by members of Parliament. There also was an “Americanized” version of the film planned, but as a result of the Virginia Tech massacre, the remake was put on hold.
Battle Royale is a shocking, compelling, and electrifying film that features a captivating and original narrative and a great cast. With Kitano leading the way, there are reasons to care about each of these characters and wonder about where they have come from and explore what they think about where they are. It’s a brutal, callous film that also has a lot of hidden heart. Strip away the layers on Battle Royale and discover a brilliant film.
Trailer:
