Japanese Reviews Reviews

Film Review: Battle Royale (2000) by Kinji Fukasaku

In his adaptation of Battle Royale, Fukusaku presents the violent destruction of teenage dreams in a world ruled by adults.

One cannot question the legacy of Kenji Fukasaku. Although internationally most known for his Yakuza films, he is one of those filmmakers who can not be placed into a particular preferred genre. In this way he is a precursor to modern directors with widely ranged filmography, e.g, Sono and Miike. His 2000 release, a controversial adaptation of an equally controversial novel by Koushun Takami, has become a cult classic and is considered one of his late masterpieces. In multiple later films, literature and most frequently in the gaming industry, “” is a major influence.

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In the near future, a devastating recession turns Japan into a turbulent nation. As a large number of adults become unemployed, juvenile delinquency reaches its peak. A frustrated authoritarian government passes the BR Act to curb the youth. Through the act, a random class is taken away to an uninhabited island, where they are instructed to kill each other off, until only one survives. In the narrative of the film, Class 3-B becomes the victim of the randomization, and are explained by soldiers, a video instructor and an ex-teacher on the rules of the game. In a time period of three days, the students need to kill their teammates in order to become the one who escapes unharmed. Uncooperative students are to be killed by an exploding collar, which also serves to kill them if they find themselves in any of the danger zones. Each student receives a weapon, varying from dangerous to utterly harmless, food, water, a flashlight and a map of the island. If multiple students survive in the end, the exploding collars are to kill all of them off.

Each student finds their own way to cope with the mechanism. The prospect of having to murder longtime friends makes them emotionally void for a moment, but then it results in a multitude of emotions, in which trust becomes a priceless entity. The torrent of violence never proves to be a distraction, as between each violent sequence the director uses ample time to explore backstories. The triumph of the movie is in the fact that backstories are revealed during the game, either incredibly subtle or more direct through dialogues and dreams. It serves as a dual tool to regulate the pacing of the movie and to provide both relief and anxiety between moments of brutality. The movie revolves around the psychology of each student as they are forced into the task which, while gravely immoral, may ensure their survival. While there are some characters who receive more screen time than others, Fukasaku juggles with the actions of 42 students and their ex-teacher Kitano, played by Takeshi Kitano. Ultimately, the BR Act and consequently the movie act as a display of teenage hurdles in a land ruled by ruthless adults with their own set of problems. Allusions to the economic depression in Japan following the boom period of the '70s and '80s are clear in the movie, as is the perception of government as representative of blame-prone adults: selfish and autocratic. However, the septuagenarian director has a goal in mind. He wants the teenagers to find their dreams and run away, for all their worth, into a happy spot.

Fukasaku's relation to the film is personal. As a teenager, he himself worked at an ammunition factory during the second World War. During an artillery strike, the children tried to save their respective lives by covering under each other. As a survivor looking at the corpses of his fellow teenagers, Fukasaku had an epiphany about the lies the Japanese Government spread to create support for the war amongst the citizens. In his own words: “The emotions I experienced then–an irrational hatred for the unseen forces that drove us into those circumstances, a poisonous hostility towards adults, and a gentle sentimentality for my friends–were a starting point for everything since. This is why, when I hear reports about recent outbreaks of teenage violence and crimes, I cannot easily judge or dismiss them. This is the point of departure for all my films. Lots of people die in my films. They die terrible deaths. But I make them this way because I don't believe anyone would ever love or trust the films I make, any other way.”

The cast, comprising of a mix of professional and amateur actors, provides brilliant performances. Tatsuya Fujiwara and , playing the morally driven pair, does justice to the amount of screentime they receive. Kou Shibasaki, playing the social outcast Mitsuko, becomes the star of the show through her mostly restrained performance complemented by bursts of anger. , cast as the eponymous ex-teacher of the class, provides expected excellence considering his experience in reality shows such as ‘Takeshi's Castle'. The director asks him to play himself, and he becomes a representative of the real adult, one torn apart by problems, distant from family, always finding someone or the other to blame. Yuko Miyamura, the voice of Asuka from ‘Evangelion', in a memorable cameo as the training video instructor, appears wearing a familiar hue of orange. The film cannot be complete without cinematography by Katsumi Yanagijima. In violent moments, his camerawork is haunting, while in between, the beautiful cinematography is a feast for the eyes. Masamichi Amano, the composer, uses classical compositions and his creations to great effect.

Fukasaku in his final solo directorial effort creates a movie to be remembered. ‘Battle Royale' is a movie of teenage dreams destroyed by the adult world. While it is haunting and violent, it is never devoid of hope and two decades later, remains as controversial yet as relevant as the year of its release.

About the author

Raktim Nandi

Hello, I'm Raktim Nandi, an Indian from the state of Bengal. I'm a student of Literature and a regular author for multiple sports sites. In addition, I'm a cinephile with a particular weakness for Asian films. One can find me watching ƌbayashi and Anno films in morning and Ghibli in evening.

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