In today's fast paced world Kinji Fukasaku takes the single idea of competition and twists it into a stunning metaphor for the battle for a place in society. Set in a fictional reality, the story tells of how in the early 22nd century Japan's economy collapsed and nearly 800.000 people were out of work, nearing 15% of the population. Seeing their chance, the students revolted against school and the system itself. Fearing the youth and the rise of teen violence, the adults along with the government passed the re-educational system also known as the BR act. The story takes place approximately 5 years into the future after the BR act has been put in order, a group of rowdy ninth graders are chosen to play the Battle Royale. While the outer look of BR may seem like a cheap excuse for pointless slaughter, the movie itself offers numerous views and critiques against the modern society in which we live in. From the opening scene with the stunning use of visual and audio techniques, when the winner of last years game is presented to the press, to the taunting instruction video in how to play Battle Royale properly, the movie seems to take a bite at every aspect of the Japanese and perhaps even the western culture. The instruction video that is shown to the `contestants' features a young and beautiful girl who, wearing a similar necklace as the contestants, instructs with an overly cheery fashion the rules and layout of Battle Royale, while at the same time their former teacher taunts them sadistically. When the game begins, the viewer is constantly kept aware of the situation in it, an almost deity like being informs the viewer every now and then of the contestants who have died in the brutal battle. Also a certain subconscious like text appears to the characters in times of need, this can be interpreted as the directors way of showing last thoughts that go through a dying contestants head before they finally die or the despair or motive of a contestant. The single scene in which a contestant that has been portrayed as a ruthless killer to the viewer dies, a single sentence makes the viewer re-think their opinion about her. Kinji Fukasaku was one of the most revered directors of Japanese movies. He directed over 60 movies in his lifetime of which Battle Royale was the last one, and while some have proposed that he had lost his touch over the years, BR proves otherwise. Fukasaku directs steadily without resorting into too many gimmicks of visual presentation and some scenes almost attain a film noir visuality. While certain moments are very Kubrick like, the movie is refreshingly different from the western style of movie making, and perhaps in the hands of a younger director the movie possibly couldn't have made such valuable points that it now makes. In Japan the movie received a mixed reception. While Fukasaku wished that the movie would open for mostly all ages above 15, the censors believed that the brutality would not suit children that age and placed the movie into the over 18 movies. Annoyed, Fukasaku edited a new version of his film for he wished that younger audiences would see the movie for it's message, he succeeded and the movie opened then for audiences of 15 and above. What the censors did not see was that while Fukasaku edited the movie so that many killings were explained and made more understandable and the ending was changed to a more satisfying one, Fukasaku actually added via computer technology more blood into certain battles and some critics even consider that the edited version is even more brutal than the original. Fukasaku uses surprisingly young actors unknown outside of Japan to portray the out of control 9th graders who are chosen to the game. This mainly is that he wanted to show the Japanese youth that where being over competitive can lead to. Fukasaku also uses veterans fromm Japanese movies, Takeshi `Beat' Kitano portrays with unquestionable devotion the sadistic yet melancholy spirit of Kitano, the teacher who runs the BR program. Kitano's presentation rises well over the other actors mainly because of the talent that he has attained over the years of cinema and theatre, his other movie roles include the renowned `Hana-Bi' and `Brother' which he directed himself. Also the acting talents of the young rising star Kou Shibasaki stand out of the crowd. The atmosphere in the movie can be compared even to the bleak and depressing image of George Orwell's `1984'. But while `1984' uses subtle yet depressing imagery to portray a society gone wrong, BR focuses on shocking people into realizing the wrongs of the society that occupies our everyday lives, and while BR may portray this in a surrealistic and over the top way, deep down it portrays a biting satire that really has something important to say.
Review of Battle Royale
