If you think Japanese things are cool then you'll like this film. You'll probably enjoy the black and white acting, the ridiculous premise and the joke-like special effects.
If you've never encountered Japanese films before, then start elsewhere. Try "Departures".
What is interesting about this film is what it says about Japanese society. There is an underlying fear of the younger generation that this film cleverly exploits, tapping into the anxiety of the older generations. And there is the creepy love of high school students, as shown by our high school teacher and his unfounded love of one of his students. It features in Manga and Anime across the culture so it would have been nice if writer Koushun Takami came up with something a little more original.
Many readers may think such criticisms are unfair, regarding Japanese culture to be too different for us to be able to judge. But there are basic principles in film-making which are broken at almost every stage here, and a general misunderstanding with Japanese culture across the world that allows a film like this to get an inexplicable 8/10 rating on the IMDb.
The spraying blood and comical death scenes are not intended to be comical. Director Kinji Fukasaku experienced atrocities himself as a child, not dissimilar from some of the violence on display in Battle Royale, so it would be bizarre if he were to then parody such violence.
When Japanese people watch this film (that is people who have been educated in the system and have not left the country), they experience something very different than that of most Westerners. To them, the acting-by-numbers is something they encounter in most TV dramas and movies.
The misunderstandings of Japanese culture that renders this film to get an 8/10 score can be summed-up with the teacher exercising to the radio scene. To most Western viewers, this is a quirky, slightly surreal scene, which blends in with the surrealness of the whole film. But such a thing was (and getting less so now) common place in Japanese cities - morning exercise for the salarymen in their financial collectives. But there is a depth here; stabbings, suicides (of which Japan has one of the highest rates in the developed world) and the all-encumbering importance of high school are real elements of Japanese society.
But there are one too many ridiculous notions in the film that ruin this depth: the internet access on the island, the cheap use of classical music to paint scenes, the one-dimensional characters and the way almost everyone gunned down, regardless of how many bullet wounds they receive, has enough energy for another bout of fury, or even to calmly make a phone call.
So you'll like this if you don't understand much about Japanese society.
But hey! It's just entertainment!
If you've never encountered Japanese films before, then start elsewhere. Try "Departures".
What is interesting about this film is what it says about Japanese society. There is an underlying fear of the younger generation that this film cleverly exploits, tapping into the anxiety of the older generations. And there is the creepy love of high school students, as shown by our high school teacher and his unfounded love of one of his students. It features in Manga and Anime across the culture so it would have been nice if writer Koushun Takami came up with something a little more original.
Many readers may think such criticisms are unfair, regarding Japanese culture to be too different for us to be able to judge. But there are basic principles in film-making which are broken at almost every stage here, and a general misunderstanding with Japanese culture across the world that allows a film like this to get an inexplicable 8/10 rating on the IMDb.
The spraying blood and comical death scenes are not intended to be comical. Director Kinji Fukasaku experienced atrocities himself as a child, not dissimilar from some of the violence on display in Battle Royale, so it would be bizarre if he were to then parody such violence.
When Japanese people watch this film (that is people who have been educated in the system and have not left the country), they experience something very different than that of most Westerners. To them, the acting-by-numbers is something they encounter in most TV dramas and movies.
The misunderstandings of Japanese culture that renders this film to get an 8/10 score can be summed-up with the teacher exercising to the radio scene. To most Western viewers, this is a quirky, slightly surreal scene, which blends in with the surrealness of the whole film. But such a thing was (and getting less so now) common place in Japanese cities - morning exercise for the salarymen in their financial collectives. But there is a depth here; stabbings, suicides (of which Japan has one of the highest rates in the developed world) and the all-encumbering importance of high school are real elements of Japanese society.
But there are one too many ridiculous notions in the film that ruin this depth: the internet access on the island, the cheap use of classical music to paint scenes, the one-dimensional characters and the way almost everyone gunned down, regardless of how many bullet wounds they receive, has enough energy for another bout of fury, or even to calmly make a phone call.
So you'll like this if you don't understand much about Japanese society.
But hey! It's just entertainment!