By Dana Woodruff
If you’ve paid any attention to the latest craze in dystopian fiction, you might have noticed that “The Hunger Games” has been all the rage. I mean, what’s not to love? You’ve got the star-crossed lovers, the corrupt capitol of a futuristic world, and, of course, the perverse thrill of violence and danger.
And when film producers decided to take it to the big screen, I can imagine many a fan girl fainting with the sheer giddiness of seeing her favorite book come to life. But what no one realizes is that “The Hunger Games” has a predecessor: “Battle Royale,” which hit Japanese theaters in 2000 after the release of the book in 1999
If I hadn’t participated in film club in high school, I don’t believe I ever would have stumbled across such an excellent find, seeing as “Battle Royale” is a Japanese film that until recently wasn’t sold in the United States. The remarkable thing, though, is that the plot of “Battle Royale” is eerily similar to that of “The Hunger Games” a group of children, strategically placed on a remote island by their cruel government, is forced to brutally murder one another until only one child remains and is declared the winner. Sound familiar? I thought so.
“Battle Royale” begins by taking you on a tour of life in a futuristic Japan, where students with no respect for authority are beginning to overrun the schools with unnecessary violence. Feeling like an intervention is needed, the military steps in with an iron fist. One particularly aggressive middle school class – class 3-B – is sent on an apparent “field trip” but is gassed halfway to their destination. Upon waking up, the confused and disoriented students realize they’re in a classroom on a military base, where they’ve been sent for their final punishments. Their teacher informs them that they are to participate in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, where only one child will survive and be deemed the winner. After watching an ironically peppy instruction video on what to expect, they’re given duffel bags containing supplies and sent into the vast jungle to fend for themselves.
Most people probably head into this movie with the mindset that it will be nothing but violence and gory, intense survival scenes. While this is true, there’s also a lot more under the surface. In a word, this movie is utterly hilarious. It seems like a twisted thing to say, but really, “Battle Royale” was intended to be a dark comedy. Like the brightly-clad, perky TV announcer in the instruction video? It’s delightfully ironic that she’s sending the students to their deaths with such obvious enthusiasm, much like Effie Trinket in “The Hunger Games.” What’s even funnier is that the characters are awkwardly straddling the fence between angsty teen drama and the reality of the death they all face. Not only are there serious scenes of ruthless murder, but also catty fights between the girl competitors, who belong to different levels of the social pyramid and can’t seem to abandon their now-insignificant middle school issues. I think it’s this oddly appealing combination of violence and humor that makes “Battle Royale” so unique and one of my personal favorites.
