Paperjam

Battle Royale on DVD

Film // Jim // 29th April 2003

Sometimes a film appears to be about one thing but is really about something else. X-Men seems to be about a bunch of super heroes having fights, but is apparently an allegorical piece about the civil rights movement. Hmmmmmmm.
Some connections are easier to grasp; David Cronenberg’s films of bodily mutation such as Videodrome and Existenz seem to stem from the fear of illness and disease, the feeling that your own body can turn against you.

So, as we can see, films can work on two levels, portraying one obvious meaning or plot to distract us while cunningly sliding in a more serious or real issue. If this means X-Men is a clever film then Battle Royale must be the brainiest film of all time - despite the fact that it is all about a bunch of Japanese schoolchildren killing each other in a rather bloody manner.
It is a real achievement to balance issues like politics, romance and loyalty with scenes of people getting stabbed, hacked and shot to pieces, but BR brings it off superbly.

A group of schoolchildren are chosen at random to compete in an annual competition where they must kill each other until only one remains, if they don’t compete then they are all going to die anyway thanks to nifty exploding necklaces after 3 days. Given random weapons and set loose on an abandoned island the children start to form groups and plans. Then it all kicks off bigtime.
As the carnage rolls along and the bodies mount up (accompanied by useful on-screen scorecards) the story jumps between the kids and fills in details which help to explain some of their actions and motivations.

The film has a real comic book feel to it, especially in the action scenes, however it is absolutely brutal and doesn’t pull any punches in the depiction of violence and the pain and suffering it causes. This mix of pathos and style works really well and rewards anyone who takes the time to get hold of this film. The sequel is out this summer but may not reach these shores for some time, American readers can have every reason to be gutted as apparently neither film will ever see the light of day in the states.

Movie Site - English Version
BR Fan site
Official Site For BR 2 - in Japanese