Battle Royale

Universe  |  2000  |  114 minutes
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

With Takeshi Kitano

B A C K G R O U N D
director, in cinemas, recent and related films

Occasional rumors of extreme controversy began circulating upon the film’s theatrical release in Japan in December 2000, and the fur really began flying when it played various film festivals worldwide. Audience response has run the gamut from amazed to appalled to disappointed to disgusted.

M O V I E

plot, performances, production

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?"

A one-line plot description, such as "a bunch of kids are stranded on an island and forced to kill each other until one is left standing" simply sounds outrageous and over-the-top in the audacity of its premise. Yet the film delivers by shoving its nose into the viewer's face and screaming, "Why are you watching?" Really, it challenges the very notion of the entertainment value of an action movie by asking very basic questions of the viewer: "Do you like to see people being killed? Are you prepared to die to defend your friends? At what age does a young man or woman become an adult? Are there any circumstances that justify murder?" At the same time, it cannot be denied that the film IS "entertaining" in the sense that the young performers are convincing in their desperation, the lush and romantic musical score is alarmingly ironic, and the direction is crisp and engaging.

Is this a perfect film? By no means. Some of the plot twists may induce eye-rolling and giggles rather than terror, the melodrama is laid on thick, and the ending is bizarre and not completely satisfying. It should also be noted that some of the violence depicted is quite bloody and explicit. Still, this is compulsory viewing for all serious film fans. And, considering its content and the current sensitivity about teen violence, it's not likely that a U.S. distributor will make this available anytime soon.

rating
Category III. Explicit gunshot and other bloody violence violence, one attempted sexual attack, disturbing imagery.

V C D

look
VCD quality is about average for a VCD, which means barely viewable.

sound
Nothing to blow away your sound system, but barely passable.

subtitles
The white non-removable (burned in) Chinese and English subtitles can be quite difficult to read at times.

features
None. Comes on two VCDs, as usual for VCDs.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
buy, rent, or pass?

Buy. One of the most thought-provoking and powerful juvenile action dramas ever made.

If your DVD player is capable of playing Region 3 disks, I would suggest the Universe release (the Region 2 version does not have English subtitles). But don't hold your breath waiting for a Region 1-compatible DVD version.

(Viewed 9/6/01; reviewed 10/6/01)

THE VCD AND DVD ARE AVAILABLE AT HKFLIX.COM