Battle Royale
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DVD: Region Code 0Movie Reviews of Battle Royale
Movie Review: Today I killed my best friend....
Summary: 5 Stars
Battle Royale.... Wow, what a movie viewing experience. First off I have to commend the director, Kinji Fukasaku (who directed over 50+ films in Japan) for actually having the nerve to direct such a movie. I personally could not classify what genre this film is, but it is definitely in the realm of "horror" and here is why...
The Synopsis: The turn of the century. Japan is on the brink of collapse. Fearing rising indiscipline and rebellion amongst the youth of the nation, authorities pass the Millennium Educational Reform Act, allowing the implementation of the `Battle Royale' programme: classes of 14 and 15 year-olds are chosen at random and sent to a remote island where they are given weapons and three days to kill one another, until the sole survivor emerges as the winner.
As I viewed this film (and I have seen a LOT of Japanese films) I felt very sad for what these kids, or should I say "children" had to experience, but here I was, experiencing this tragic roller-coaster ride right there with them. From the opening SECONDS of Battle Royale, I was caught up in the mayhem and it did not let go until the credits started rolling.
You have to understand that the majority of these kids don't want to kill their classmates, some unfortunately do, but for the most part, most don't want too. They are chosen to carry the burden of what society deems as the "rebellious youth". They are the ones that are to be made the example of what happens when you disregard "authority". What makes this all the more tragic is that this particular group of students are not the ones that should be battling; they are not the indiscipline youth, they are not the rebellious youth, they are not disregarding authority. What they are though, are just regular children who have dreams and aspirations, and who just wanted to lead a normal school life...until they are thrust in to the "Millennium Educational Reform Act aka BATLLE ROYALE PROGRAM".
As for technical side of the movie; I would have to say the Kinji Fukasaku directed what I considered one of his best movies. The movie is tightly paced and never let's up; Kinji let's you breathe for perhaps a moment but then he hits you unexpectedly. Great direction.
As you probably have heard before, this movie is extremely violent, but it is certainly not senseless. It is not the violence that is shocking in B.R., it is the realization of who is performing the violent acts that are truly haunting. The children are forced to kill or be killed, nothing more, nothing less.
As for the music, it contains well-known classical pieces as well as having it's own classical pieces that plays throughout the movie. It presents the movie with a sense of a being a sort of tragic stage play.
The acting was very believable for the most part, each character displaying emotions such as fear, shyness, deception, love, jealousy, humiliation and helplessness with convincing potrayals. What is great about each character is that it hurts you when every one of them dies, because they are that REAL. I particularly enjoyed Takeshi Kitano's performance of the school teacher, I truly believe he wasn't acting at all, it was just him playing himself.
So is Battle Royale a masterpiece? I would have to say "YES" simply for the fact that after viewing the film, you will never forget it. It is a beautifully haunting piece of cinema that will thoroughly exhaust you by the end of the movie but also invite you into the deeper interpretation that the film provides. Definitely check BATTLE ROYALE out.
Summary of Battle Royale
Languages: Japanese Subtitles: ENGLISH,Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified) An explosive film about a class of teenagers who are stranded on an island and forced to kill one another--or be killed. Overview: Thinking they are about to enjoy a field trip, a class of 9th graders calmly boards a bus that brings them face-to-face with the worst instincts of mankind. Director Kinji Fukasaku decided, at the age of 70, to make a film warning young people not to trust adults. The message may be obvious, but its delivery is chilling. It's a nightmare teenage version of Survivor, a deadly game with no talk show appearances awaiting the victor. And your host for the carnage is the stone-faced Takeshi Kitano, a past teacher of the students. Kitano explains the rules. Each student is given a backpack with minimal supplies and one weapon (some of which appear completely useless). They are given a limited time to kill each other off; failure to do so will result in their own termination, via bomb-enabled collars affixed to their necks. The disbelieving teens are shocked into action when Kitano demonstrates the deadly force of the neck collars, and the murdering quickly begins. Some students band together, some try to figure out how to avoid killing anyone, and some give in eagerly to their basest instincts in order to exact revenge. The question changes from Who will survive to Who wants to, when the price is so high. Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama, Yuko Miyamura. . . Running Time: 114 mins. (approx.) Features: Letterboxed 1.85:1 Dolby Digital 5.1 SurroundSimilar DVD Movies
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