Battle Royale (2000)
The natural evolution of Reality T.V.?
Who among us hasn't wondered how great it would be to take all of these self-absorbed twits from all of the annoying reality T.V. shows, drop them on an island with weapons and limited food, and let the carnage unfold naturally? Battles Without Honor and Humanity director Kinji Fukasaku takes it to that level, then a notch or two above it, with Battle Royale. Whether it be a condemnation or a mere glorification of violence is open for debate, but the images of teenagers killing each other is grimly effective either way.
Set in the Japan of the near future, Battle Royale lays a thin framework of back-story indicating that a collapsed economy has led to millions of people being unemployed and a rise in civil unrest, especially among the nation's youth. Presumably under the pretext of "setting an example," a class of high school children is randomly chosen to participate in the Battle Royale program every year -- and participation is mandatory.
In this case, the chosen class belongs to Mr. Kitano (Beat Takeshi). As the 42 students in his class (with an equal male to female ratio) board a bus to go on a supposed field trip, they receive a rude surprise when armed soldiers greet them at their destination. They quickly learn, through the instructions of a painfully exuberant orientation video hostess (Yuko Miyamura), that they have been inducted into the Battle Royale Program, of Which Mr. Kitano is the director. They are told that they will be placed on an island where they will each be given weapons and be expected to kill each other in a televised three-day marathon of "Last Man Standing."
In short order, they are each fitted with an electronic collar that will explode if any of them try to escape (nice homage to low-budge sci-fi classic Deadlock), or if there is more than one person left alive by the end of the third day. They are each given a bag with food and supplies and a "weapon" of some kind, but while some of them get firearms, others receive a club or knife, or some kind of special tool. This forces many of the students to survive by their wits while a lucky few run rampant on the island killing whoever gets in their way. Among the latter are the pretty but unstable Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki), who decides on a course of revenge against the other girls who picked on her at school, or the psychotic Takako (Chiaki Kuriyama of Kill Bill fame), who combines her sexuality with a seemingly innate predatory nature to chilling effect. Others, like Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and his girlfriend Noriko (Aki Maeda) decide to stay together and avoid bloodshed while seeking a means of escape.
Many who have not seen the film may still be aware of the controversy that surrounded it. Nearly banned in its native Japan, and barred from any U.S. distribution whilst in the shadow of the Columbine shootings, Battle Royale is known for its scenes of surprisingly visceral teen on teen murder. While the violence is cartoonish and at times darkly amusing, the only thing more disturbing than watching these adolescents die, is watching them do it at each other's hands. Unlike an American film, which would probably cast people in their mid-20's as high-school students, these actors really are just kids, and it lends a chilling sense of reality to the film. Despite its thin premise and sometimes over-the-top delivery, the film manages to make a gut-wrenching statement about teen violence. However, as associations form between the students, the subsequent examples of villainy and heroism are intriguing. While some abandon their humanity for the thrill of killing, others prove themselves willing to die for their friends, or even someone that they barely know. The Battle Royale brings out the worst or best in everyone. Oddly enough, the film's greatest moment of emotional impact comes during the closing credits montage, which serves as a poignant reminder of each of the film's characters and their lives that were wasted by the Battle Royale program.
Battle Royale may be an overly violent film based on a thin and shaky premise. It may be a hypocritical "statement against violence by glorifying extreme violence" ala Olive Stone's Natural Born Killers, or a filmmaker's genuine stand against the insanity of teen violence. But whatever else it may be, it is a haunting and effective piece of work that succeeds despite its narrative flaws, benefiting especially from a solid ensemble performance by a group of talented young actors. Now, if we could only make this happen for real with the casts of Survivor, Big Brother, and The Apprentice, the world would somehow seem a little better.