Battle Royale (Battle Royale (DVD))

Member Name: Barkers101

Product:	Battle Royale (DVD)
Date:	08/08/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Magna, Fukasaku

Disadvantages: None

Synopsis: In the not too distant future, the youth of Japan has become so out of control in the adult's eyes that they turn to desperate measures to suppress their rebellion.

Battle Royale is an expansion of the largely popular book of the same name, it shows a society that is stricken with worry and depression and thus takes it out the youth who they fear the most - matching a similar story that has been brought up in other films such as If..., A Clockwork Orange and Akira, Battle Royale takes public fear to the extreme.

The premise is pretty simple but masterfully crafter with a clever idea and plot which makes sure there are no loop holes and yet keeps all the tension and fear together. Granted i imagine many forum users and members of the public who have watched this film thought it was a little bit too full of with the Child violence and extreme graphic imagery but i think this only stresses its nature. By forcing us to watch such disturbing images and vile deaths Battle Royale is only hammering home its hidden satire message of society. The theme of punishment has no real reward, it seems that instead of an attempt to cure or help the children they take out societies problems on them by forcing them to fight to the death - instead of clearing up the streets and helping society they are instead just creating more - it seems that the government or the media does not care about the children that are made to do these horrific things but instead only wants to see brutal murder. And of course this can be said for the films audience as well. It depicts imagery of a society that is not unlike our own, where when youths don't conform to the states approval then there is something considerably wrong with the individuals - instead of trying to look for the reasons why and how to prevent them, they merely jump to the conclusion that the only way to 'cure' the younger generation is to punish them, which of course in a real world will only lead to more rebellion. Battle Royale deals with the fragility of human rights and individuality while at the same time making society take a step back and look at itself - the future of Japan that is portrayed in Battle Royale does not look futuristic or overly modern, in fact, it looks pretty much the same as it does today, and it is meant to.

With a film largely made up of a teenage cast i was suprised at how well they all performed, although yeah it has to be said the script does need a little bit of realism check - some of the things these teenagers say is so corny its funny. None the less i think everyone brought their A - game to this one, all depicting true emotions that might come about when faced with this kind of situation - everyone is on edge and the tension can be cut with a knife, which can be seen in the lighthouse scene where the group of girls are so stressed and fearful they end up killing each other. There is a real air of suspicion throughout the whole film which i think is bang on the atmosphere that you would expect. I generally think that the little details such as 'Danger Points', neck collars and the two males who were just in it for 'the fun' were nice touches, the made sure that there was no way for the players to escape and the only way to win was to kill you friends any way possible.

Deranged, disturbing, inhuman, disgusting and wrong could be the first thing that pops to mind after watching Battle Royale, because to be honest, it pretty much is. But beyond that the message is clear and very clever. Battle Royale is a film that will stay with you for days and for anyone with a good imagination - it can haunt you for longer. When it comes down to it, it is nowhere near flawless but it does have the balls to display something that has never been seen before.

Summary: Film