BATTLE ROYALE

If you know The Hunger Games maybe you have heard about Battle Royale. If not, then let me guide you about Battle Royale!

Battle Royale is a Japanese film adaptation from Koushun Takami's novel of also the same name. It is an action thriller film directed by Kinji Fukasaku in the year 2000. 42 students were forced by the government to play in a game of survival at the abandoned island of Okishima. The 42 students who were in the same class, 3-B, had to kill each other until only one survives.

The said "game" that was created by the government was called the BR Act. This was to teach the students or the younger generations, who were rebelling at those times, to learn to follow and comply with the government.  The government was afraid of the younger generations learning to rebel because they might cause a disruption in the system and learn about their wrong-doings.

Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa were able to escape the game alive at the end, thanks to a transfer student who helped them. The transfer student, Shogo Kawada, was the previous game's winner, earning him an edge and the know-how's to escape or win in the game again. But instead of just playing for himself, he decided to help the two and escape together. Every film needs an antagonist and that would be Kazuo Kiriyama, another transfer student added in the game. He was everyone's strongest opponent. He killed for no reason and the film did not emphasized on his life as to why he was so merciless. At the near end of the film, Kiriyama emerges from a building that was bombed and he became blind because of the impact. Nanahara, Nakagawa and Kawada found him walking out of the building and it was from there that Kawada shot Kiriyama as he became an easy opponent now that he was blind.

Towards the end of the film, Kawada fakes the death of Nanahara and Nakagawa in order for them to escape. He goes back to the school to surrender to the teacher. But the teacher knows of his plans and intended to kill Kawada when Nanahara and Nakagawa suddenly showed up with guns pointed at their teacher. Their teacher then revealed his painting, all his students were dead except for Noriko Nakagawa who was at the center of the painting, emerging as the game's winner. It turned out that the teacher had helped Nakagawa to become the winner because he had a liking for her. They shot their teacher and there he died. On their way back to the main island of Japan, Kawada died on the boat due to his injury. Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa became fugitive murderers and they were escaping the country.

The film is full of action with merciless killing that some may find gory. Battle Royale presents a system that would do anything in order to keep their positions in tact. Every student or character in the film has their own story in order to explain their attitudes toward killing. The film shows a unique presentation of friendship and trust given the situations they were in. Shuya Nanahara was like a clueless person who had strong friendship and trust that he did not get the purpose of killing and would do anything in order to stop the situation. But being clueless, he was a forward person who would trust and submit easily to others, he represents the idea of not being able to rebel because he does not think deeply enough. Shogo Kawada is the character who would rebel against the system until he makes a difference.

Battle Royale is a symbol of rebellion and submission to the government or a system. It did gained controversies but I think it is really a great movie to watch. Try reading the novel too because it is more detailed and full of story. But then again, the movie itself is a really great piece :)