Following is a justification of my undying love for Battle Royale. But I haven’t done one of these for so long that I’ll go on massive deviations on things that are barely relevant.
First of all just to make it clear that Battle Royale is an exploitation film that tries to be nothing more than just that. If that isn’t your ‘cup of tea’ then my trying to convince you becomes significantly harder.
Now, you may think that you can name loads of exploitation films that have made film history but I can assure you they are fakes. The distinction between a real exploitation film and a fake one can be seen in the difference between ‘Jaws’ and ‘Shark Night’. People are under the impression that ‘Jaws’ is a film about a shark eating people, but that’s just not true. What ‘Jaws’ is really about is man trying to deal difficulties with his family and son, tackling a new job in a new town etc. The shark is deprived of its dignity and power, becoming little more than a metaphor for this guy’s inner turmoil or some crap. A real exploitation film about a shark eating people would be ‘Shark Night,’ a film that would not win an Oscar.
I’m of the opinion, however, that everybody loves exploitation flicks simply because they’re just down to earth entertainment. The only thing stopping people who dislike this certain brew of tea is the fact that it’s not highbrow or artsy-fartsy. Watching an exploitation film if self-indulgent and therefore little more than a ‘guilty-pleasure.’ Indeed, taking entertainment out of the misery of others, Schadenfreude, is the cause of much guilt in itself. Zombie films were created for this reason. In a Zombie-ridden universe there is no morality. You can watch people hack other people to bits without the slightest sense of guilt.
Getting back to the point. Battle Royale is not simply good because of its unabashed status as an exploitation film, but what it succeeds in doing within the restraints of that genre that deserves it a certain respect. Perhaps the main criticism of any exploitation film is that after a certain number of deaths you feel unconnected and ultimately bored. The solution is often to limit the numbers and make each individual death as interesting as possible, see ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’ (not horror films). It is a testament to the skilful pacing, editing and style of the film that Kinji Fukasaku is uncompromising; able to introduce 42 students then proceed to, throughout the rest of film, kill them off.
It’s the style that really gets me though; if you are familiar with Japan, or watch lots of anime you’ll understand what I mean by this. The film is just unrelentingly Japanese. I reckon what most represents a country, however, is not the crème de la crème of its films, but the rubbish. America isn’t what the Coppolas and Scorseses would have you think; America is the Die Hard rip-offs and American Pie sequels. By the same principle Kinji Fukasaku is inspired by the trash of Japanese film and anime.
The main complaint is that of the melodramatic love interests and relationships, but for one they are an awesome contrast to the ultra-violence, and I can assure you the humour and bad acting is intentional despite some people’s doubts. Extreme contrast to create humour can be seen in the cutesy Chibi TV presenter at the beginning with the backdrop of murder and suffering, good films are always trying to make you laugh at the most horrible things.
Indeed, Certain archetypes are plucked from anime and placed unadulterated into the film: the fucking useless girl sidekick, the pervert teacher, the evil badass etc. Even certain scenes are awesomely corrupted by the Pop-Japanese influence: The quasi-Samurai duel surrounded by fire inevitably ending up with someone crying blood, the large number of tragic Kokuhakus, invariably heart crushing, all taking place in Japan’s iconic school uniforms.
BORED- UNFINISHED
