Battle Royale (2000)

Director: Kinji Fukusaku

Regardless of any sociopolitical subtext, whenever you've got a movie featuring 13-year-olds brutally killing each other, it is going to be a cult classic. Battle Royale is extremely violent and has got compelling plot that never fails to keep your attention. Kids fight each other with all sorts of weapons and engage in all sorts of survival techniques, it is certainly fascinating. But there is also some great subtext about the divide between the world of adults and the world of children. The plot of the movie represents the disdain the filmmakers have for the inhumane dog-eat-dog world of adults, especially in a time of economic woes, such as the time Japan was in when this movie was made.

The actual details of the premise and plot are sometimes thin, which is not a flaw. Too much backstory would have taken away the allegorical quality of the plot, but there is some unclarity in the end that I would have liked to see improved. There's also a whole lot of unnecessary teenage melodrama, and much of it focuses on a select few characters making the question of who lives and who dies very predictable. But ultimately, the movie is extremely entertaining and leaves a whole lot of room for contemplation on the relationship between children and adults.

Grade: B

Filmcap: The week of May 22-29

A great week of movies this week. Two really good brand new yet-to-be-released 2011 films (sure to be two of the years most talked about amongst some circles), and then one movie released more than 50 years ago just to spice things up. Two great new filmmakers, and one all time great. 

Filmcap: The week of April 24-May 1

Still a few days behind with this one because of finals, but they are now over thankfully. Finals are also why only 3 movies this week and expect something of the same for the next filmcap. This week though does feature a nice variety. A colorful Spanish film, a black-and-white American film, and a samurai Japanese western. 

Filmcap: The week of April 10-17

This week I review a recent HBO miniseries, a quirky but great movie, two thrillers from different eras, one character study, and another Iranian film in my continuing research for a paper on Iranian cinema I'm going to write soon for my Art & Society class.

Filmcap: The week of Feb 6-13

This week I watched a couple great foreign movies from the late 50's (Bergman and Kurosawa), what is known as the first ever film noir, a contemporary movie about an infamous African dictator, a fascinating documentary, and an also fascinating TV movie.