Battle Royale(2000)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Beat Takeshi, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando and Chiaki Kuriyama.
Japanese language. English subtitles(if your lucky)

****

Welcome to the most important game of your life. We have kidnapped you, a 9th grader, along with your entire class. You are on a remote island in the Pacific. If you wish to leave the island you may do so... right after you kill your friends. That's right, to get off you must be the last man standing. You may have noticed a silver collar attached to your neck. We will monitor your progress with these handy collars.

Try and take the collar off, and it will explode killing you very painfully. Try and escape off the island and it will explode. If you haven't won in 3 days it will explode and no one will be the winner. Get caught in a danger zone and it will explode. The collar monitors your pulse and position.

You have 3 days to eliminate every single one of your friends. To assist you we have given you a bag. Inside the bag you will find a map of the island, and a weapon. It might be a gun, a knife, or anything. Use these tools well. Also inside is enough food and water to last you 3 days. We will be giving you updates every 6 hours, 4 times a day, as to your classes' progress and the location of new danger zones. You can mark them on your map. Don't get caught in a danger zone.

This is Battle Royale. A work of Japanese brilliance. Based off the book of the same name by Koushun Takami, Battle Royale paints of violent and glorious picture of a near future Japan. This movie is the ultimate reality show. If you took Lord of the Flies, Survivor and gave it machine guns and a kill counter you wouldn't even be close to this movie.

However, if not for the deft acting and tasteful direction this movie would be nothing more than an orgy of violence. Beat Takeshi delivers a very creepy and somewhat moving performance as Kitano, the 9th grade classes former teacher. He is the ringleader to this round of Battle Royale. Imagine him as a sort of sadistic Jeff Probst host in a jogging suit. The only recognizable name (at that time) to American's was Takeshi. This gives the rest of the movie a sort of unnerving reality. We don't know the students from previous work. This allows them to sink into their roles and give the film's realism a harder center.

Kinji Fukasaku, notably known to American audiences for directing the Japanese's half of Tora, Tora, Tora, delivers his final completed work. His camera moves gracefully and never finds a dull moment. In the midst of violent situations Fukasaku is able to find beauty within the forests of the island. A tender scene involving Takeshi students Aki Maeda, Tatsuya Fujiwara and a see-thru umbrella is a strange juxtaposition to sudden and brutal violence. Fujiwara also chooses to score the movie with familiar classical orchestrations, reminding me of Evangelion(an anime, which is equally awesome). I could elaborate but I really think the less I say about this movie the better. You just have to experience it for yourself.

And unfortunately that will be difficult. The Japanese studio, Toei has refused to distribute Battle Royale in North America despite numerous offers from notable North American studios. What's this mean for you? EBay my friend. That's how I received my copy. Or, come over to my casa and we can enjoy 122 minutes of cinema bliss. Highly Recommended.

****

You all saw Kill Bill vol. 1, yes? You remember Go-Go, Lucy Lui's crazy teenage, mace wielding sidekick? Yeah she's in this. And guess what she is wearing? Bruce Lee's yellow jumpsuit, worn in KB vol. 1 by the Bride. Okay now that we've dispensed with the Six-degree's of Quentin Tarantino... Speaking of Tarantino, if not for him Battle Royale would not have been brought to my attention. I like when circular structure shows up in real life.

****
July 5
House, evening

-Nick Vinson