RESOURCES: Classic text revisited ... Battle Royale Kinji Fukasuku,2001

In the film, which evokes the likes of Lord of the Flies and A Clockwork Orange, 30 children find themselves pitted against each other and a brutal system where they are forced to turn against their friends. While this premise could offer a depraved two hours of fetishistic violence, thanks to the innovative script and some outstanding performances, it ends up being a very human film. When violence erupts, it is cruel and fierce, and this is a film that, right from the prologue, with a blood-streaked contest winner paraded before the press, smiling evilly, never pulls its punches. Yet the humanity of the players is accentuated by the cruel futility of their situation. Some refuse to play, others fight to protect each other or beat the system, while some become brutal killers. And to the filmmaker's credit, each death manages to carry a surprising emotional resonance.