cute japanese schoolchildren, murdering the fuck out of everyone

[lauralh]

I'm still not sure what all the hubbub over Battle Royale is. It was an intriguing idea but I still don't really get the point. I mean, they had just enough "backstory" in the introduction to semi-justify it, but maybe it would have worked better if the BR Act was more secretive. Too many characters, and, well, what can I say, it was no Starship Troopers. The only character I actually liked was the scythe-chick.

Comments

[verybadlady.livejournal.com]

I liked that movie. The girl who gives the instructions is all sorts of peppy, I want to be her on Halloween! I can walk around and tell everyone how to use deadly weapons while waving my arms around like a traffic control agent/britney spears back up dancer.

[astralbeats.livejournal.com]

I just watched Zaitochi, a samurai flick with less blood, more humour by the same director. it's not bad :)

[xkissikx.livejournal.com]

the part i liked about that movie was the numerous ways in which they showed reactions under pressure in a situation like that. i thought it was actually well done... and had more depth to it than i noticed the first time i saw it. had someone asked me response the first time, i probably would have responded with "that was crap."

BR

[satanseviltwin.livejournal.com]

I think alot of the hubbub has to do with the same kind of hubub that is being given to the reality shows that the film sets out to critique through parody. That is to say that there is probably some overlap between the audience of Battle Royal and the same goofballs that find Survivor, et al. compelling on a regular basis. It is for this reason that I don't believe Battle Royale would have been better if the contest had been private. The contest had to be a mass media specticle in order for the film to make it's criticisms about society in an effective manner. The opening scene of the previous years victor being mobbed by the media forces the audience into playing a member of that society. The overall thrust of the narrative was focused on the society that produces a show about the butchery of it's own youth for the dual purpose of law enforcement and entertainment. The characters were specifically designed to be abbreviated. They were all cliches. These cliches played out to their logical resolution: mutual assured destuction. If the film had been any more nuanced in it's characters then it would have become too intimate and I believe that the point of the film was to be more general.

Re: BR

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

did you see Series Seven?

Re: BR

[satanseviltwin.livejournal.com]

No, but I'll give it a spin and get back to you.

Re: BR

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

see, BR got all this hype because, I dunno? Asian kids? And Series Seven: The Contenders was actually a reality show parody where people were killing each other and no one fucking watched it.

Re: BR

[satanseviltwin.livejournal.com]

Soooo, does that mean you are not recommending it? Did you see it? Did you like it? What was good about it? What was bad? How does it compare to Battle Royale byond the parody/satire scheme? Why should I care?

Re: BR

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

no, see it, i loved it, it was masterful and wickedly funny.

Re: BR

[satanseviltwin.livejournal.com]

It was much better than Cats....I'll see it again and again?