Exploring the anti-war origins of ‘Battle Royale’
When we think of the most influential films in recent years, it’s impossible to leave out the 2000 Japanese thriller Battle Royale. Championed by the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Battle Royale has become an integral part of popular culture. Not only has it influenced filmmakers working in the same genre, but Kinji Fukasaku’s masterpiece has also permanently affected other fields – ranging from manga and anime to video games.
Adapted from the polarising novel by Koushun Takami, Battle Royale is a satirical commentary on the issue of teenage delinquency in Japan. It imagines a society which deals with important issues, such as skyrocketing unemployment rates and economic recessions, by rounding up teenagers and traumatising them permanently. The unruly children are forced by the military to participate in a deadly survival game where only one winner makes it out alive.
It’s a scathing attack on the ideological repression that is fundamental to the operation of the education system, presenting an absurd vision of children killing each other in the most brutal ways possible. While it is often interpreted as a film that deals with the universal theme of teenage ennui, Battle Royale is rooted in an anti-war framework that influenced the creative sensibilities of Fukasaku.
Although it can be hard to notice Battle Royale’s pacifist philosophical undercurrents due to its highly stylised take on violence, that’s what motivated Fukasaku. During World War II, the Japanese filmmaker worked at a munitions factory which was attacked by US warships. Since there was no proper way to escape, the children working alongside him were forced to use each other for cover from the artillery fire. This unimaginable brutality remained embedded in the director’s mind.
Fukasaku once said (via Archive): “I immediately identified with the 9th graders in the novel, Battle Royale. I was fifteen when World War II came to an end. By then, my class had been drafted and was working in a munitions factory. In July 1945, we were caught up in artillery fire. Up until then, the attacks had been air raids, and you had a chance of escaping from those. But with artillery, there was no way out. It was impossible to run or hide from the shells that rained down.”
While talking about the sociopolitical climate, he added: “We survived by diving for cover under our friends… After the attacks, my class had to dispose of the corpses. It was the first time in my life I’d seen so many dead bodies. As I lifted severed arms and legs, I had a fundamental awakening … everything we’d been taught in school about how Japan was fighting the war to win world peace, was a pack of lies. Adults could not be trusted.”
Even though the film might feel a bit dated to modern audiences, Battle Royale has retained most of its caustic political edge. Besides, it’s always fun to watch Takeshi Kitano playing the role of an incomprehensibly delightful madman.
