Battle Royale (2000)

There are just not enough "Wow"'s that I can say, to express how amazed I am, by this film. This, truly is THE PERFECT movie, and pretty much the best movie, I've seen, of the last decade.

It paints a very bleak picture of Japanese society on the verge of the new millennium. The country is on the brink of anarchy, with over 80'000 students outright boycotting school and attacking their teachers. The Teachers, now in fear for their lives, work together with the Japanese goverment to pass the BR act - Battle Royal. Every year, one class in the entire country is selected, to be placed on a solitary island and forced to kil each other, until there is only 1 survivor. If they don't have a winner in 3 days, then they all die anyway, killed by special necklaces they are strapped with, which explode (mildly enough to blow a nice hole in your throat). Every hour, there also appear danger zones. If any student is in a danger zone - they get killed. So they are all put in the situation where they have no choice but to fight each other. They are each given a bag, containing essential supplies - Food, water, a map and a random weapon (ranging from an SMG to a pot-lid... REALLY random). Now, keep in mind, these students are roughly 15 years old - Just graduating from High School. During all this chaos, there are students clinging to the popular kids, small organizations that TRY to be organized and united during the mess, students who have gone insane to the point where they actually enjoy killing other (driven mad by the need to survive) and of course - students professing love to each other - in a point of their lives where they barely understand what love is. It's just incredible to see this all unfold.

As this is a Japanese movie, there is a LOT open for interpretation - such as students that recite math problems, while attempting to murder their fellow students, as their teachers promised that math will be incredibly helpful in the real life. And and off-the-wall, out-of-nowhere ending that you NEVER saw coming, because you didn't think an ending like that could even be concieved. And even after you see the ending, you're thinking to yourself "What the f*ck was that?", making you want to watch the movie again, to try and make some sense of it.

The acting is great. Most of the actors who were cast, were actually around 15 years old themselves, at the time, so they all look the part, and they do a very believable job with their roles. And I gotta say - the movie makes the strangest use of music, though that only adds to the chaotic nature of the film.

Overall, this is an amazing movie that you REALLY should watch. It is just a perfect movie. 10/10, 5 stars, 2 thumbs, whatever. It's just perfect.