Past
BATTLE ROYALE
2000
Before a thousand lesser imitators, there was BATTLE ROYALE.
A class of junior high students is shipped to a remote island, fitted with explosive collars, and told to kill each other until only one remains. Set in a dystopian future where a totalitarian Japanese government is dealing with a massive economic recession and soaring crime – especially amongst hopeless youth – BATTLE ROYALE is a shocking commentary on government’s reactionary violence towards its fear of younger generations.
Legendary director Kinji Fukasaku balances outrageously violent set pieces with moments of genuine pathos as friendly game show host Takeshi Kitano looms as the film’s deadpan overseer. Brutal, satirical, and deeply unsettling, BATTLE ROYALE is a landmark of modern Japanese cinema about coming of age drenched head to toe in the bloody viscera of your best friends.
“not a cell phone in sight, just teenagers living in the moment” - aliyah, letterboxd
A class of junior high students is shipped to a remote island, fitted with explosive collars, and told to kill each other until only one remains. Set in a dystopian future where a totalitarian Japanese government is dealing with a massive economic recession and soaring crime – especially amongst hopeless youth – BATTLE ROYALE is a shocking commentary on government’s reactionary violence towards its fear of younger generations.
Legendary director Kinji Fukasaku balances outrageously violent set pieces with moments of genuine pathos as friendly game show host Takeshi Kitano looms as the film’s deadpan overseer. Brutal, satirical, and deeply unsettling, BATTLE ROYALE is a landmark of modern Japanese cinema about coming of age drenched head to toe in the bloody viscera of your best friends.
“not a cell phone in sight, just teenagers living in the moment” - aliyah, letterboxd