Battle Royale is a sick and twisted film full of gratuitous gore that provides a voyeuristic view into the world of the sadist. One views from a safe position behind the lens as children brutally murder each other. Technically, the movie is extremely well made, which creates a strong compulsion to keep watching. The plot makes no sense at all - the whole point of the "BR act" is to somehow act as instruction to children, yet, despite being in force for several years - all but two of the 42 children have never heard of it. But the plot really doesn't matter, as the film is really just a series of vignettes of each bloody killing. Battle Royale provides a window into the darker side of Japanese culture and institutions that has produced such memorable moments as the Rape of Nanking and the Bataan Death March. Given the success in Japan of this movie and the novel on which it is based, this evil tendency would appear to be still lurking in the Japanese psyche.
Review of Battle Royale
