[DVD] Battle Royale

Alright, I'm convinced that I got a bootleg copy of this incredible Japanese film, since all my online sources tell me that there isn't a legit US DVD copy that's ever been available. But as far as bootlegs go, it's a pretty damn good copy.

But anyway, this film is about a dystopic Japan, and in order to promote the importance of education as this world goes to hell, a random class of children is hijacked & taken to a remote island. There, they are given three days and one item/weapon at random (someone gets a shotgun, someone gets binoculars, someone gets a crossbow, someone gets a megaphone), and they are sent out into this island to kill each other. Only one student can be left alive.

It's kinda like "The Most Dangerous Game" meets "Lord of the Flies." The really incredible theme that runs through the film is that, above it all, as these kids are reduced to their base instincts, the things that kids build their academic lives on (extracurricular activities, cliques, and school crushes) remain the most important part of these kids' survival.

It's a amusing, disgusting and heartbreaking take on the direction that society is leading, not only in pop culture, but also with regard to socioeconomic status and the will to achieve. Even as these children proclaim to be friends, they're in cutthroat competition. Hey, save it for high school, kids, when you're stabbing your friends in the back to look attractive to the best colleges around!

2 & 3/4 count; wonky subtitling keeps it from being a 3.