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slumberBattle Royale is a Japanese film that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
unrouen lent me. I watched it and it was... overwhelming, to say the least. I can't say much about the technicalities, ie, cinematography, use of flashback, acting, etc., but for reasons not wholly revealed I find myself struck by this movie.
The Premise
Battle Royale starts off with an absurd concept: At the dawn of the new millenium, kids begin rebelling (ie, boycotting school), and adults, fearing that kids may dominate the country, passed the Battle Royale Act, wherein every year, a ninth-grade class will be chosen (by impartial lottery), sent to a deserted island for three days, and made to kill each other off. They have collars in their necks tracking their every movement, with a bomb that can be detonated should they make one false move. If there is no winner by the time the three days are up, then they will all be killed.
The Characters and What Happened to Them
There are 40 students all in all, but these are basically the more important ones, ie, the ones I remember:
SAKURA and her BOYFRIEND - jumped off a cliff together.
YUKA, YUKO, CHISATO, HARUKA, SATOMI, YUKIE, etc. (all girls) - a group of friends who killed each other off when they began to be suspicious of each other.
CHIGUSA (female) - a runner who had a crush on SAGIMURA, who used to ride a bike behind her every time she ran. Was killed by MITSUKO. Died with SAGIMURA beside her.
SAGIMURA (male) - Loner; Protecter of CHIGUSA, loved KITOHIKI. Killed by KITOHIKI, who thought he was going to attack her when he only wanted to protect her.
KITOHIKI (female) - killed by MITSUKO.
MIMURA and TWO FRIENDS (all boys) - set up computers and tried to hack into the BR system so they could bomb the headquarters. Killed by KIRIYAMA. (Was a good plan, but like all good plans, it lacked execution.)
MITSUKO (female) - Only girl who worked and killed alone, and was one of the last eight people on the island. Was killed by KIRIYAMA. (She never had a chance.)
KITANO (male) - their seventh grade teacher, the main villain, who supervises the whole thing. Was killed by SHUYA in the end.
KIRIYAMA (male) - an outsider who signed up "for fun". Killed by KAWADA.
KAWADA (male) - an outsider who won the Battle Royale three years ago; killed his girlfriend KEIKO when she attacked him. Was one of last three survivors, but died of wounds sustained from fight with KIRIMAYA.
KUBO (male) - SHUYA's best friend, who had a crush on NORIKO. Killed by KITANO early on, before BR even started.
TENDO (female) - NORIKO's best friend. First one killed.
SHUYA (male) - Protector of NORIKO. Orphan. Survivor.
NORIKO (female) - Has crush on SHUYA. Survivor.
My Comments
I love love loved MITSUKO! She was such a bitch, but she was so cool it was hard not to be impressed. I want to be just like her when I grow up! (Except for the being killed bit and the part where I'm actually older than her. LOL.) When every other girl in their class hid, got themselves killed immediately, had protectors, or were clustered, MITSUKO took her scythe (each was given a weapon--it could be anything from binoculars to trackers to guns) and made sure she would survive. She killed people until she got a gun, and then she killed more people. Out and out offensive--gotta admire that. When she found NORIKO looking for SHUYA and KAWADA looking out for NORIKO as well, MITSUKO smiled this catty smile and cockily commented, "Two princes looking after you? You must feel like a real princess." Ack. I mean, how can you not love that? :D She got killed, but she was one of the three people who would have deserved to get through Battle Royale.
The CHIGUSA-SAGIMURA-KITOHIKI love triangle was just too funny... First SAGIMURA gets to CHIGUSA, who has already been shot repeatedly by MITSUKO. She's dying in his arms, and she asks him if he loves someone else. He says yes, and she says it's fine. She still thinks he's the coolest boy in the world. She dies, and SAGIMURA looks for KITOHIKI, the girl he does love. He finds her with his weapon, a tracker, but she is so scared and panicky that she shoots him before he gets the chance to tell her he comes in peace. In his dying breath he reveals to her that he loves her, and she cries over his dead body. "You never even spoke to me!" she says. *rolls eyes* Ah, love.
MIMURA and his gang I was rooting for too. All the time they could have spent whining or killing they spent in making plans to fight the system. They connected their computer, set up a hacking program, went off to make some bombs, and were constructively working for a way out, so the three of them could get out together. Under circumstances when friends lost trust in each other and let doubts take over their judgment, or when they gave up and killed themselves, or when they simply did what was asked, MIMURA and his friends were thinking outside the box. If it weren't for KIRIYAMA coming in at that point in time, they would have succeeded too. They'd already hacked into the system, all that was left was to transfer the bomb to the school and blow it up, and everyone (all seven of them) would have been home-free. Tsk tsk.
YUKA, YUKO, CHISATO, HARUKA, SATOMI, YUKIE, etc's story was a great study on human behavior. They're all friends and have lived on the island for two days. They took SHUYA in after he had a run-in with KIRIYAMA, but YUKO saw him kill OKI, and was suspicious of him. Of course, the killing was accidental and an act of self-defense, but YUKO was afraid. The other girls weren't, so it was understandable that YUKO didn't tell them she put poison in the lunch she was going to serve SHUYA. Unfortunately, YUKA came down from her watch and ate the meal. She died immediately, and suddenly SATOMI, who has always felt uneasy, was putting the blame on CHISATO, who cooked the meal. CHISATO said it tasted fine, though, but HARUKA also cooked it. YUKIE wanted them to stop arguing, but they became hysterical and CHISATO told her to stop the leadership crap. They began fighting and SATOMI took a gun and started firing. They all but YUKO ended up killing each other. YUKO, realizing what she had done, ran all the way up the lighthouse they were staying in and threw herself off the ledge.
It's just a sad way for them all to die (Before she died, YUKIE said they were all so stupid, that they would have survived if they didn't distrust their friends.), but it was so eerily plausible. I think this is what I loved best about the movie--it brought out all these issues on human nature, our instinct for survival conflicting with our sympathetic natures, and just how strong trust and hope can be. It was so scary, seeing what people are capable of (ie, killing), and what they are not capable of (ie, trust), under the right circumstances, and what is so disturbing is the fact that under the normative circumstances of society, it's supposed to be the opposite. We're supposed to trust, and we're supposed to be incapable of hurting anyone. The ease with which human nature can turn around is just plain twisted.
unrouen lent me. I watched it and it was... overwhelming, to say the least. I can't say much about the technicalities, ie, cinematography, use of flashback, acting, etc., but for reasons not wholly revealed I find myself struck by this movie.The Premise
Battle Royale starts off with an absurd concept: At the dawn of the new millenium, kids begin rebelling (ie, boycotting school), and adults, fearing that kids may dominate the country, passed the Battle Royale Act, wherein every year, a ninth-grade class will be chosen (by impartial lottery), sent to a deserted island for three days, and made to kill each other off. They have collars in their necks tracking their every movement, with a bomb that can be detonated should they make one false move. If there is no winner by the time the three days are up, then they will all be killed.
The Characters and What Happened to Them
There are 40 students all in all, but these are basically the more important ones, ie, the ones I remember:
SAKURA and her BOYFRIEND - jumped off a cliff together.
YUKA, YUKO, CHISATO, HARUKA, SATOMI, YUKIE, etc. (all girls) - a group of friends who killed each other off when they began to be suspicious of each other.
CHIGUSA (female) - a runner who had a crush on SAGIMURA, who used to ride a bike behind her every time she ran. Was killed by MITSUKO. Died with SAGIMURA beside her.
SAGIMURA (male) - Loner; Protecter of CHIGUSA, loved KITOHIKI. Killed by KITOHIKI, who thought he was going to attack her when he only wanted to protect her.
KITOHIKI (female) - killed by MITSUKO.
MIMURA and TWO FRIENDS (all boys) - set up computers and tried to hack into the BR system so they could bomb the headquarters. Killed by KIRIYAMA. (Was a good plan, but like all good plans, it lacked execution.)
MITSUKO (female) - Only girl who worked and killed alone, and was one of the last eight people on the island. Was killed by KIRIYAMA. (She never had a chance.)
KITANO (male) - their seventh grade teacher, the main villain, who supervises the whole thing. Was killed by SHUYA in the end.
KIRIYAMA (male) - an outsider who signed up "for fun". Killed by KAWADA.
KAWADA (male) - an outsider who won the Battle Royale three years ago; killed his girlfriend KEIKO when she attacked him. Was one of last three survivors, but died of wounds sustained from fight with KIRIMAYA.
KUBO (male) - SHUYA's best friend, who had a crush on NORIKO. Killed by KITANO early on, before BR even started.
TENDO (female) - NORIKO's best friend. First one killed.
SHUYA (male) - Protector of NORIKO. Orphan. Survivor.
NORIKO (female) - Has crush on SHUYA. Survivor.
My Comments
I love love loved MITSUKO! She was such a bitch, but she was so cool it was hard not to be impressed. I want to be just like her when I grow up! (Except for the being killed bit and the part where I'm actually older than her. LOL.) When every other girl in their class hid, got themselves killed immediately, had protectors, or were clustered, MITSUKO took her scythe (each was given a weapon--it could be anything from binoculars to trackers to guns) and made sure she would survive. She killed people until she got a gun, and then she killed more people. Out and out offensive--gotta admire that. When she found NORIKO looking for SHUYA and KAWADA looking out for NORIKO as well, MITSUKO smiled this catty smile and cockily commented, "Two princes looking after you? You must feel like a real princess." Ack. I mean, how can you not love that? :D She got killed, but she was one of the three people who would have deserved to get through Battle Royale.
The CHIGUSA-SAGIMURA-KITOHIKI love triangle was just too funny... First SAGIMURA gets to CHIGUSA, who has already been shot repeatedly by MITSUKO. She's dying in his arms, and she asks him if he loves someone else. He says yes, and she says it's fine. She still thinks he's the coolest boy in the world. She dies, and SAGIMURA looks for KITOHIKI, the girl he does love. He finds her with his weapon, a tracker, but she is so scared and panicky that she shoots him before he gets the chance to tell her he comes in peace. In his dying breath he reveals to her that he loves her, and she cries over his dead body. "You never even spoke to me!" she says. *rolls eyes* Ah, love.
MIMURA and his gang I was rooting for too. All the time they could have spent whining or killing they spent in making plans to fight the system. They connected their computer, set up a hacking program, went off to make some bombs, and were constructively working for a way out, so the three of them could get out together. Under circumstances when friends lost trust in each other and let doubts take over their judgment, or when they gave up and killed themselves, or when they simply did what was asked, MIMURA and his friends were thinking outside the box. If it weren't for KIRIYAMA coming in at that point in time, they would have succeeded too. They'd already hacked into the system, all that was left was to transfer the bomb to the school and blow it up, and everyone (all seven of them) would have been home-free. Tsk tsk.
YUKA, YUKO, CHISATO, HARUKA, SATOMI, YUKIE, etc's story was a great study on human behavior. They're all friends and have lived on the island for two days. They took SHUYA in after he had a run-in with KIRIYAMA, but YUKO saw him kill OKI, and was suspicious of him. Of course, the killing was accidental and an act of self-defense, but YUKO was afraid. The other girls weren't, so it was understandable that YUKO didn't tell them she put poison in the lunch she was going to serve SHUYA. Unfortunately, YUKA came down from her watch and ate the meal. She died immediately, and suddenly SATOMI, who has always felt uneasy, was putting the blame on CHISATO, who cooked the meal. CHISATO said it tasted fine, though, but HARUKA also cooked it. YUKIE wanted them to stop arguing, but they became hysterical and CHISATO told her to stop the leadership crap. They began fighting and SATOMI took a gun and started firing. They all but YUKO ended up killing each other. YUKO, realizing what she had done, ran all the way up the lighthouse they were staying in and threw herself off the ledge.
It's just a sad way for them all to die (Before she died, YUKIE said they were all so stupid, that they would have survived if they didn't distrust their friends.), but it was so eerily plausible. I think this is what I loved best about the movie--it brought out all these issues on human nature, our instinct for survival conflicting with our sympathetic natures, and just how strong trust and hope can be. It was so scary, seeing what people are capable of (ie, killing), and what they are not capable of (ie, trust), under the right circumstances, and what is so disturbing is the fact that under the normative circumstances of society, it's supposed to be the opposite. We're supposed to trust, and we're supposed to be incapable of hurting anyone. The ease with which human nature can turn around is just plain twisted.
