Movie of the day: "Battle Royale"
 

Now, THIS is a seriously demented film.

I picked this one up from an online dealer in Hong Kong video CDs (and if anyone knows a location in the Philly area that sells VCDs over the counter, PLEASE let me know. There are a ton of anime series I'd love to track down in VCD form, as they're much more affordable that way).

The plot: It's the near future, and Japan is crumbling. The nation's youth are becoming increasingly unmanageable and violent, so the government decides to fight fire with fire. They pass a law that allows one randomly-selected 9th-grade class to be kidnapped, gassed, taken to a deserted island and fitted with Running Man-style explosive collars. (Uh, right. Bear with the non sequitur, it gets the plot moving.)

Their assigned task is to kill one another over the next 72 hours until only one remains alive; if more than one survives three days, the collars all detonate and they ALL die. Weapons are randomly distributed: some get guns, some get knives and machetes, one gets a taser, others get crap like paper fans, binoculars or pot lids. Not that they can't overpower classmates and take THEIR weapons, of course, but it's a hell of an initial disadvantage...

The kids scatter, and react to the situation in a variety of ways. Some reject the game outright and commit suicide in despair. Some refuse to trust anyone, lashing out at all who cross their path. Some form alliances, attempting to stick around through teamwork, knowing that they must eventually turn on each other. Some look for a peaceful (or at least non-lethal) way out of their dilemma. Will they succeed? Well, that would be telling.

Now, if this sounds like "Survivor" taken to its logical extreme, it should. If this sounds like a parody of the ultracompetitive Japanese school system (where one has to pass rigorous exams and battle tooth-and-nail to get into a quality high school), it should. And if it sounds like both a hell of a lot of fun AND a striking commentary on violence in our modern world, you're spot on.

Highly recommended, if not for the squeamish.

I think this concept should be adapted for a real reality TV show. At least that way, you don't get all the contestants showing up in movies and TV shows after they've been kicked off the show.

Why does series 7 come to mind? =)