Review of Battle Royale (2000) by Ashish T — 14 Jul 2013

I think I'm beginning to finally get Japanese movies. Batoru Rowaiaru is a satire so sharp, tongue-in-cheek and darkly humorous, it's going to leave you gasping. It takes skill to take 30 different characters and make them all real, tragic, vulnerable killers, and each one entertaining, each one someone you can empathize with. It takes skill to tell 30 different stories in the course of the one main - some small and ordinary, some complex and grand... and all of them a little delicate, a little heartbreaking.

There are no blacks and whites... just lots of varying shades of grey, often in the last place you expected.

And, of course, there's the gory red sprays, gunfire, edged weaponry, psychotic murderousness, and interesting twists over two hours of bloody violence. I've become a major fan of Ko Shibasaki with her absolutely bang-delivery of the bloodily crazy little princess Mitsuko, probably better than almost anyone else in the movie.

Hunger Games, you suck. Watch this to see how it's been done.