Battle Royale is a great film directed by Kinji Fukasaku about human nature and capabilities, based on a highly controversial book by Koshun Takami. It thematically evolves around one of the most traumatical experiences that teenagers might hypothetically encounter: the survival of the fittest, while being forced to make use of violence. The films worth is to be seen in its relevance for today's Japanese society: violent video games, teenage anxiety, and a nation that is literally terrorized by their youth. But international themes are being referred to, as well (school shootings and reality tv shows), resulting in a satire of present interest. Moreover, the movie has a bit of dark humour and a lot of brilliant action scenes. Even though it is quite violent, it's not a bloody parade of carnage. The theme itself is disturbing enough to satisfy on more layers than just the visual. I recommend it, but in order to grasp the concept of the movie, you need to dispose yourselves of hollywood-ian preconceptions of any kind. And maybe also be a bit aquainted with Japanese film-making. Watch a fan-made trailer here (caution: this movie is very violent and has been aproved for restricted audiences: 17+)
Trivia: BR is Quentin Tarantino's all-time favourite movie. Chiaki Kuriyama, the actress playing Takako Chigusa in BR also plays Go Go Yubari in kill Bill. She wore a yellow track-suit in BR, not unlike Uma Thurman's suite in Kill Bill. Of course, Uma's attire is actually a tribute to Bruce Lee's "The Game of Death". However, it's likely that Tarantino first hit upon the idea of the yellow track-suit after watching BR. Tarantino gave credence to the film big time when he showed up at the Boston screening of Kill Bill in a BR T-shirt (adapted from here).
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