Battle Royale

holy smokes! this movie was incredible. I just watched it for the first time tonight and rewatched it soon after finishing it. Immediately what stands out in this movie is the Cinematography. The movie looks amazing the whole time and the way they the island is shot makes the movie feel both beautiful but also unsettling at the same time. it was mentioned in the movie near the end that the island is beautiful itself but it’s also the place where so many kids died. A lot of the shots were cleverly filmed, switching between wide shots to a fast close up and chaotic scene. the way it was shot makes the movie seem bigger than just a bunch of kids fighting to the death and keeps the movie pretty engaging the entire time.  Another thing that stands out is the use of sound, specifically orchestral and classical music. The use of these music in many violent scenes throughout the movie makes the scenes stick harder. additionally, instead of making everything seem so brutal in the movie, the music makes it seem tragic and sad rather than upbeat which fits the whole message of the film really well.  Takeshi Kitano as Kitano was also super fantastic. His performance was so calm and casual throughout the whole movie even though he’s running something as violent as the battle royale. This contrast makes the character seem intriguing as well as unsettling. I also loved the sense of humor that he had throughout the movie and the way he played it in general as it made it really memorable.  Even though this movie is technically a battle royale and horror movie, it’s still an emotional film which I enjoyed. The movie did a wonderful job following students and their time at the island, showing all of the different personalities of the students and how each of them reacts to being put in such a place like a battle royale. because you get to learn more about the characters, it doesn’t really feel like a nonstop fight to the death. getting to learn more about the characters in depth as well as their relationships and emotions makes the story deeper than it really is on the surface.  this movie was great ! it’s very intense, emotional, visually appealing, and way more thoughtful than I would have expected before watching the film.