June 8th Movie of the Week

BATTLE ROYALE

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Actors: Tatsuya Fujiwara
Aki Maeda
Tara Yamamoto
Chiaki Kuriyama

Ratings: 7.9/10 on IMDB
82% on Rotten Tomatoes

Trailer: Battle Royale

Plot Summary: In the near future, Japan's society is diminishing it's respect for elders. To set society straight, it enforces the "Battle Royale" Act which summons one 9th grade class to an island and forces them to kill each other. Each armed with a different weapon than the next, they must decide whether or not they have the ability to kill their own best friend. It begins with 42, it must end with 1.

Opinions: Wow. Before I get into the opinions, mad props to Dan Sherrard for throwing this movie my way. I never would have known about it had he not said "You should watch Battle Royale, it'll blow your mind away". I waited months in anticipation for this, and when it came, it was more than what I expected (that's what she said?).

So, let's go over a couple points that I hope convince you to give this movie a try. I have always tried to be unbiased in my approach to life, so I will also give a few negative points.

What I disliked: The acting in the movie was good. It wasn't great, which is why the movie doesn't hit on a perfect level. Some of the actors were good, some were bad, but I figure you get that with every movie. My only regret is not having seen enough Japanese film in order to grasp what degree of acting a regular movie star can equate to in Japan. I saw "Mr. Baseball" with Tom Selleck once, but that didn't help.

Also, it's in Japanese. I hate subtitles. F*** reading, that's why the television was invented. Go to hell Kindle.

What I liked: For one, the idea. What a creative, smart, mind-bending way to think about fixing a society.

Grumpy old person #1: "There's no respect for elders anymore".
Grumpy old person #2: "I know. I give out hard candies and don't get nothing in return"
Grumpy old person #1: "You know what we should do. Put a group of kids on an island and have em kill the s*** out of one another with various weapons".
Grumpy old person #2: "Brilliant! Now someone change me."

That's how I imagine this idea coming about. As unrealistic as it sounds, the way it is written and directed makes it feel as though it could somehow work in a society such as, let's say, Cuba.

For two, the authenticity. What I mean by this is what actually started to go through these kids minds when they started killing. O yea, in case you were wondering, they kill. They kill.......... a lot.

Let's take a journey back to your oily faced youth when hair was growing in funny places and you had to slow dance at arms length because someone used to get a little overexcited. Did you ever have a friend who stole your girlfriend/boyfriend and you were so pissed about it you feel like you could just kill them? Well, now you can. The writers really dove into the issues that students have, which lets you allow yourself to fall into the realism of this movie. It was a great way to define the problems of youth, but an extreme way to solve the problems, which I loved.

Lastly, I enjoyed the story. Redundancy aside, it was a love story, a bloodbath, and a twist all in one. That's one way to keep all fans involved.

Favorite Scene: By far, my favorite scene is when the class is instructed on how "Battle Royale" works. In this scene, all the students are forced into an old classroom on the island by the Japanese Military and explained how the "Battle Royal" Act works.

Why I love this scene is the no holds bar approach. It takes the movie from a mild manner, and transitions it to brutal intensity. The video shown to the class made me laugh because it's a young Japanese girl wearing "Hello Kitty" looking attire with a high, enthusiastic, squeaky voice explaining the rules. I stopped laughing when the teacher hucked a knife through a students head. Yea, no holds bar.....

Interesting Facts:

• Nominated for 10 Japanese Oscars and won 4, including "Most Popular Film"
• One of the top 10 highest grossing films in Japan
• Many members of Japanese Parliament tried to get the book banned when it came out. They also tried to do the same when the movie was released
• No stunt doubles were used
  

Final Comments: If you are a movie lover and enjoy going out on a limb, this should be on top of your list. The subtitles can be a bother, as they are with any foreign movie, but the dialogue is brief and simple, so as to not be much of a problem. Nothing that should shy you away. In my rating scale, I give it:

3.75/5 Kevo's - An odd rating for this one, but I hesitated on a 4 because it may just not be to the liking of some because of it's brutal nature. However, if that isn't an issue, it's one that a movie lover, action fan, and foreign film expert would enjoy.

So many good quotes from the movie, but I'll end with this:

"Life is a game. So fight for survival and see if you're worth it. "