BATTLE ROYALE (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000)

People know that I love film and I get recommendations to watch movies all the time. And although there are a few people I listen to when it comes to these recommendations, for the most part I tend to ignore what people tell me. It's not that I completely discount what they say, it's just that with tastes so divergent and choices being limitless, there are very few I trust when it comes to people telling me a film is a must see. Also, when you hear things about a film prior to watching it you go into that viewing with preconceived perceptions of what the film will be like. Earlier today I wrote about FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (Will Gluck, 2011). I went into that with all my ideas and prejudices against its genre and came away pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the film. So, a film like BATTLE ROYALE (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) came to my attention with more baggage than a divorcee at Sharkey's in Huntington on the Fourth of July. Recommended by one who I trust, she told me how the film has been banned in the U.S., how I probably wouldn't get to see it and finally how the film is brazenly stolen to craft the narrative for the popular book and film THE HUNGER GAMES. As you can see, there was a lot going on when lo and behold one day in my Netflix there was BATTLE ROYALE! My expectations for the film were rather high. Because I had been told it was banned (more on this later) and since I knew the plot involved school age children murdering each other I wholly expected a blood bath of epic proportions. Knowing that INFERNAL AFFAIRS>THE DEPARTED I expected this film to so devastate THE HUNGER GAMES film adaptation and to further cement my belief that there is no American originality left regarding film. I wanted the film to be a revelation; I wanted a film that inspired me. This is why you never listen to others. First, the film has never officially been banned. It has never been able to acquire American distribution therefore securing itself a similar legacy. And there is no reason for it to be banned. The film is rather tame, particularly in its representations of blood and violence. Far worse is released here in America each month. The narrative to the film was rather pedestrian and the translation from Japanese to English was just awful. This translation being so bad really hampered the film, because after reflecting on it and reading some production history, the film actually deals with some great thematic content. Thematically the film deals with the transition from childhood to adulthood; how we all face it differently, how we each take separate paths, the differences which we all encounter. The film chose kids which were just finishing middle school, an age which bridges this gap most effectively. Many of the children in the film profess love for other characters and it is this confused reflection which speaks volumes about this transition. Still children, they don't know what real love is, yet they speaks the words of people who are adults. Just a magnificent representation of a difficult time for every person. The film also shines light on another aspect of this transition, a generational one. The children are chosen due to their refusal to submit to the authoritarianism of their elders. In a society like the Japanese, one that brings many together for the benefit of one, this is a big problem. And the children that survive longest are those that adhere to the old ways; ones that work together, sacrifice for others, become a part of a microcosm of society. Basically they survive because they successfully bridge that transition to adulthood better than the rest. I've read there are those that intend to make an American version. If this comes to pass then I'd hope it would be with significant import placed to what the original film set out to accomplish and actually did rather well.