When The Hunger Games hit theaters a lot of fans of Japanese cinema
cried foul (as they are want to do). Many of the same concepts and style were
already unleashed on the world back in 2000 in Battle Royale. I’ve actually had this movie on my radar for a few
years, because it came up as one of the most brutal movies featuring teenagers
killing each other ever put to film. It had quite a reputation when it came out
on DVD way back when, but I never got around to seeing it. Well Netflix
obtained it and I figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about.
Summary:
In a dystopian future Japan
deals with it’s youth problems in a special way. Each year forty two students
are put on a deserted island for three days. They are each given a bag with a
random item (could be a weapon, could be survival gear) and some food and
water. Each is fitted with tracking collar. If they try to remove the collar it
explodes. If they stay in one place too long it explodes. At the end of each
day, the death toll is announced and players can see who is left.
Kitano (Takeshi Kitano)
keeps an eye on the tracking screens and provides statistics as the days pass.
But he also appears to have a special interest in some of the kids, and goes
out into the field on a number of occasions. It doesn’t take long for a couple
of the kids to figure out that if they take out Kitano they may be able to
escape from this very deadly Battle
Royale.
Good Points:
- Relentless pacing keeps the whole film exciting and disturbing
- Becomes a study in how different people cope with life or death struggles
- Has a dark sense of humor that will make you laugh out loud a few times
Bad Points:
- Brutal and cruel for the entirety of the running time
- Never delves into the world that created this situation
- Performances and style may be too over the top for some viewers
Overall:
At times Battle Royale feels like a live action
anime, with a style that is in your face and at times darkly comic. This tone
may be the major distraction for some viewers. But if you can get into its
crazy groove the movie is entertaining and disturbing all at once. The social commentary
isn’t lost, but the movie makes sure you aren’t beat over the head with it. I
can see why the film was so popular when it came out, but if you’re looking for
a Japanese version of The Hunger Games
you may be disappointed.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 4
Sound: 4
Acting: 4
Script: 3
Music: 3
Direction: 4
Entertainment: 4
Total: 4
Curious about a full review,
sent me an email and I’ll make additional thoughts to this review.
Very little is truly new in SF. There is, for example, "The 10th Victim" (1965) the Franco-Italian film adaptation of Robert Sheckley’s tale (a good read btw) in which contestants voluntarily compete in the Hunt for prizes, sponsorship deals, fame, and fortune. Each contestant plays 5 rounds as hunter and 5 as victim; the victim doesn’t know who his or her assigned hunter is. You win by surviving all ten rounds – in other words by killing all your opponents. The game is not confined to a special arena. There are severe penalties (and disqualification) for killing the wrong person. The Hunt is the most popularly followed sport in the world, and has the advantage of eliminating from society some of its most violent members.
ReplyDeleteMaking the contestants involuntary and teens, however, adds other dimensions to the premise. This is one of those movies about which I’ve heard good things, but never saw. Thanks for the reminder.
That sounds like a really interesting book. I'll need to check that one out. Just discovered they made a sequel to "Battle Royale". Curious to see how that one turned out.
DeleteI`ve always regarded "Battle Royale" as one of the most ludicrously over-rated films of the last 20 years.
ReplyDeleteYeah I've run into quite a few people who feel that way. I think there is a lot of interesting stuff going on in it. And you can watch it for just the straight up visceral experience of watching the teens kill each other. Or you can enjoy the satire of the whole thing. For that simple fact alone, I can't write it off. But yeah, the hype on this one can hurt expectations.
DeleteYes, I didn't care too much for Battle Royale either--I didn't feel like I knew the characters as well as in The Hunger Games or that there wasn't enough backstory to BR. I'd be curious what they did with the sequel. I didn't know they made one.
ReplyDeleteYeah my sister felt the same way. On top of that, the over the top nature of it annoyed her too. :)
DeleteI've heard that the film is based on a novel and that a long running manga series was made based on the novel as well. In both of those, the world is fleshed out a lot better. The movie was going more for the shock value I think.