Cinema listings with film information and movie reviews
Battle Royale
Bold and bloody, and littered with graphic violence, Kinji Fukasaka's action thriller portrays a dystopian future in which governments meet violence with violence, pitting citizens against one another in mortal combat. Battle Royale is not for the weak-hearted or squeamish, yet for all its wanton bloodshed, there's an oddly poetic and lyrical aspect to the film. As teenage rebellion escalates out of control, the Japanese authorities pass a new law: Battle Royale. Each year, one high school class is selected at random to take part in the ultimate game of survival. The students are stranded on a deserted island with limited food and weapons, and are told to kill one another until only one remains. A 72-hour deadline is imposed by the organisers, and should more than one person be alive after the time expires, then everyone will be killed. Young lovers Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko (Aki Maeda) find themselves caught up in the latest round of Battle Royale, orchestrated by their sadistic former teacher (Takeshi Kitano). Will their romance survive this most terrifying ordeal?
