Review of Battle Royale (2000) by Dillinger P — 11 Apr 2014

Very few films will have an impact on you quite like this japanese action thriller. Its films like this that stay with you for your life, ones like these you recommend to everyone. Battle Royale is indeed a complete masterpiece of asian cinema and indeed cinema itself.

In a not to distant future, youth have been uprising against their government and adults, becoming hooligans and wasters, due to this, the government pass a legal act called the BR act, stating that every year one class from one school will be nominated to be pitted against each other to the death until there is only one winner.

Naturally we follow a class undergoing this very act but with it comes a multitude of genres from romance to horror, slasher to art house and all in one sitting. Noriko and Nanahara are two destined lovers who decide to pair up to try and survive the game while taking help from an ex winner of the tournemant Kawada.

What is ensues is a bloody, chilling and violent game of school kids brutally murdering one another in order to become the sole survivor. Its thrilling at its finest, each character regardless of how small a role all have a full character or a best a story to tell, giving emotion and weight to everyones performance, unlike hunger games that only gave you insight into a few and that had 38 less characters to flesh out.

It never drags and it never bores, in fact it bearly lets you breathe in places and has some shockingly potent imagery going on the majority of the time. The camera work is as elegant as it is abusive, really making you feel like your living this nightmare with our heroes.

Its definatley not for the faint hearted but its impossible not to recommend such a powerful, meaningful and inspiring film such as this one, A must own for all serious movie fans and a sheer joy to watch.