Battle Royale (2000)

VERDICT:
7/10 World’s Worst Field Trips

Exactly the kind of stuff that American film makers could never get away with.

Battle Royale takes place in an alternate Japan where society is collapsing, the youth are revolting and the only solution the higher ups can come up with to get these kiddies back on track is to randomly select a class of High School Freshmen, send them to a deserted island and give them three days to kill each other until there’s only one Frosh left standing. The story itself follows two kids in one of the said classes who fight to survive and beat the system so that one of them doesn’t have to literally bite the bullet in order for the other to survive.

Probably not the most sound course of action when trying to rebuild your country, but hey, times are tough, whatcha gonna do? After all, wouldn’t put it past those Tea Partiers to pull some wacko shit like this.

Now, over the years, this movie has truly taken on a life of its own. Just like with Ichi the Killer, it’s one of those things that sets off your Spidey sense whenever it comes up in conversation, like you’re part of some secret club that only you and that other guy you just exchanged glances with know about, something that Tyler Durden’s probably behind. You’ll never hear about it in mainstream media, Oprah would surely dedicate a week-long special lampooning it if she ever caught wind, Sarah Palin would undoubtedly tie it into her 2012 campaign so that the overprotective parents of this fine nation won’t have to worry about this sick filth, and that’s exactly why I’m glad to be a member.

See, this movie is an exercise in the extreme. It’s like a modern-day retelling of Lord of the Flies, only all the kids have crossbows and uzis instead of conch shells and bifocals, and something tells me that idea is gonna rub a lot of folks the wrong way. No, kids killing kids isn’t the easiest thing to endorse, but lucky for everyone, this isn’t a documentary, it’s a fucking movie, and the film makers are well aware of that, too.

After reading through the source material a few months back, it was nice to see that with the exception of a weird ending change and a general lack of message outside of why democracy isn’t such a bad idea after all, this is an adaptation that religiously follows its inspiration. Only problem is that the book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exactly great either. I don’t know, one can only wake up, get on the train to work and churn out twenty pages depicting kids offing one another for so long without getting a little tired of it all, but even if that was exactly what I was looking for complement my cup of joe, the novelty wears a bit thin after a while. On the other hand, this movie really doesn’t take itself seriously whatsoever.

And that’s kind of the pro and con of Battle Royale. It starts off with a sharp, dark sense of humor thanks to the addition of Takeshi Kitano as the class’ former gym teacher who treats the kids’ current circumstances like it’s a game of dodgeball, but then he goes away for a good long while, things stop being intentionally funny and the movie takes on this weird joke-y tone. I’m betting that this was intentional on director Kinji Fukusaku’s part, but as it becomes more and more unrealistic it takes away from the warped gravity of the situation when the violence equates to a glorified version of homicidal Power Rangers, just without all that morphin’ crap.

But I will give the guy credit for successfully managing to balance some 40-odd characters, making them all stand out in their own little ways and not just treating them as collateral damage. Well, that’s exactly how they’re treated in the novel, but I’m thinking it’s a lot harder to give everyone a story over the course of two hours than it is over the course of 500+ pages.

Although the rest of the cast and their laughable acting abilities aren’t helping matters much either, the only saving grace of the bunch being Chiaki Kuriyama (aka: Gogo Yubari) who actually pulls off being a stone cold badass in the short time she’s around. Nevertheless, everyone else pretty much blows. But like I said, Fukusaku’s making this movie with a grain of salt because I think I’d be a lot harder to swallow if it was a cringe-inducing experience on par with Audition, Jr.

I’ve seen this movie a couple times and while it’s definitely something different that’s very likable in a way that only non-American film makers can pull off, I’m still having trouble mulling over the reasons why this thing is so highly regarded in underground circles. In some ways, Battle Royale doesn’t quite live up to the hype and I strangely wish it had upped the shock value and toned down the camp, but it’s still a rite of passage for anyone interested in all things sick and twisted. For a one-trick pony of sorts, it’s still pretty gnarly, and if this is your first time hearing about it, give it a shot and see how it fits. After all, it is a pretty cool club to be in.