The Movie: In a dystopian future, each year the Japanese government force a class of students to take part in the Battle Royale, a deadly game in which the students are issued with weapons and forced to kill one another. Trapped on a remote island and fitted with exploding collars, as the number of survivors decreases as the violence escalates, the students attempt to subvert the game to guarantee their survival. What Makes It Original: As a commentary on the Japanese education system, reality TV and violence in society director Kinji Fukasaku has successfully crafted a clear, biting satire, but it's the use of teenage actors in such a violent context which makes Battle Royale so effective and unsettling, transforming the high octane carnage into a truly transgressive work of cinema. While The Hunger Games is clearly indebted to Battle Royale, it's impossible to imagine such a film being made in America - few movies offer such a provocative, challenging and cynical portrait of society and culture.
