FLUXEUROPA: BATTLE ROYALE

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BATTLE ROYALE (2000)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Leading cast members:

Takeshi Kitano .... Teacher
Tatsuya Fujiwara .... Shuya
Aki Maeda .... Noriko
Taro Yamamoto .... Kawada
Masanobu Ando .... Kiriyam
Kou Shibasaki .... Mitsuko
Chiaki Kuriyama .... Chigusa

Now, here is a concept movie and a half. Based on a novel by Koshun Takami, featuring Takeshi Kitano, the Harvey Keitel of oriental cinema, and directed by Kinji Fukasaku (who is best known to western audiences as the co-director of the Japanese sequences in Tora! Tora! Tora!), Battle Royale seems certain to become that which is referred to as a "Cult Classic".

In Japan, in the not so distant future, the long-standing fear of the Japanese system has been realised. The children have ceased to respect their elders, the education system has all but completely broken down and adolescents across the nation are running wild.

There is obviously only one thing that can be done to remedy this situation. Organise a yearly game show in which a randomly picked class of fifteen-year-olds are drugged and taken to "Battle Island". Here they are given seventy-two hours within which to kill each other; the last man (or in this case, young oriental student) standing is allowed to return home to their life. If there is no clear winner then a metal band worn around the neck sets off an explosive charge, disposing of those left living in the process.

If there are any doubts as to the rules, then the instructional video included in one of the movie's most darkly comic moments should set you straight. Herein, a typical Japanese Pop Idol bounces around like a Pokemon on amphetamines explaining the "competition" in a tightly cut mock military uniform.

Understandably, the children look on in disbelief - the reality of the situation made clear by the blood spilt of two of their class mates as examples of the seriousness of their situation. They are then released into the island's undergrowth, some in tears, some vowing that they'll all still be friends and all equipped with a mystery weapon of various degrees of effectiveness.

What follows is nearly two hours of the most beautifully choreographed death scenes imaginable, made all the more chilling by the fact that the actors are obviously in their mid-teens. This is not a Hollywood movie, where the "children" look to be in their early twenties. These are Japanese school children gunning each other down with semi-automatic machine guns, that is the class geek with a cross bow and that really does look like the most popular girl in school wielding a scythe.

This keeps the movie in context and makes the murders all the more real. Often fueled by petty classroom bickering and rivalry, crushes and schoolyard jealousy are used as motivation and justification as we watch a group of friends battle against each other to the death. There are also some genuinely touching scenes when long felt affections are revealed, often to the person who just has (or is about to) deliver a fatal wound. For once, the over sentimentality of much oriental cinema fits in perfectly with the movie's characters - the saccharine dialogue sounding credible when issued from young mouths.

The sheer number of deaths and the fact that they do come very swiftly after each other does make the overall piece a tad repetitive. Bleak comedy does go someway to breaking up the gritty scenes offered by Battle Royale and there are a few surreal moments to keep us on our toes. Flashbacks are provided to give the characters and their motivations a little more substance which isn't quite enough to convince the viewer that this isn't merely a series of well produced (and often set to classical music) murders of children.

This film is reported to be on general release, though I have so far only seen it playing in smaller independent cinemas. This is hardly surprising considering the movies subject matter, and this twined with its subtitles may make larger chains reluctant to pick the piece up. Obvious comparisons have been drawn with Goldings The Lord of the Flies, although the fast cutting and violence of the film are more reminiscent of something found in an amusement arcade than in the halls of literature.

This is perhaps made clear by one thread that runs throughout the movie. Each death prompts text to appear on the screen giving details of the child that has been murdered (or committed suicide) and how many more adolescents remain to be slaughtered. This is taken to its logical conclusion towards the end of the movie with the legend "Game Over".

MARC BLACKIE - 1 October 2001