Battle Royale (2000)

42 randomly selected high school students are brought to a desert island. They are given a map, food and various weapons, and forced to kill each other until there is only one left. If they do not kill each other until the last person is killed within the three-day time limit, the collars on all the students will explode.

In the ’90s, violent crimes committed by teenagers were a big problem in Japan. Against this backdrop, the film, in which teenagers kill each other, was regarded as so controversial that whether or not it should be screened was debated in the Japanese parliament. Its unusual “R-15” censorship rating contributed even more to the film’s fame, eventually leading to its massive commercial success. Although most of the attention has gone to the film’s violence,  it’s also a coming-of-age story. The students confront their dreams, hopes, friendship, and romance while they face the extreme, deadly conditions.

Battle Royale (2000) is based on the bestselling novel of the same name published in 1999. The film’s director Kinji Fukasaku, known for his famous out-law Yakuza film series, was inspired by his youth when he experienced the Second World War. Ever since its release, it has become a global cultural phenomenon, influencing The Hunger Games (2012), Squid Game (2021), and many others including one of the film’s many passionate fans, Quentin Tarantino.

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