The Japanese government have lost control of their country. Mass unemployment, violence and a young generation intent on rebellion.
So, they introduce the Battle Royale Act; a nationwide lottery plucks a public school class out of their relative comfort and dropped onto a deserted island, where they are forced to fight to the death until there is only one survivor.
‘Battle Royale’ (adapted from the novel by Koushun Takami and inspired by his TokyoPop manga) follows a class of 42 as they pick out their allies, discover their enemies and battle the deadly ‘special guests’ picked out to make their battle that little bit more exciting. Armed only with a random weapon (ranging from binoculars to a scythe, and from a pot-lid to a handgun) and told that only one will survive, it is up to each individual to play the game, fight the system or bide their time.
Wonderfully conceptualised and chillingly appropriate for today’s society and recent events, following the ‘heroes’ Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa (Tatsuya Fujiwara and Aki Maeda) is simultaneously a heartening and troubling watch. A cult classic in Japan, and likened to ‘A Clockwork Orange‘ in the UK, this film certainly made a mark, and resassuringly, it did so with the full co-operation and writing skills of it’s original creator, Takami.
Although ‘Battle Royale’ is a violent film, it is, against it’s print counterparts, dramatically less sexual and gruesome (it’s 18 classification is scarcely justified). However, it is given a classical and imposing force by the soundtrack, which is orchestral and bhugely, hugely powerful. As a result, ‘Battle Royale’ is a masterful film with a poignant message, delivered in an all-too-realistic timeline parallel to our own, and it is truly gripping and powerful as a result.
One of the few films that has truly made me reflect on my own life and after watching, I went back and bought the novel and the full manga collection. I reckon that speaks volumes.
Find out more here (IMDB) or buy it here (Amazonuk).
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Tags: action, Aki Maeda, Batoru rowaiaru, battle royale, drama, film, foreign, horror, japan, Kinji Fukasaku, review, Tatsuya Fujiwara
