Foreign Films

Lili’s Pick: Battle Royale

Lanie’s Pick: Border

Continuing our journey through foreign cinema, and still somehow remaining adjacent to the category of foreign horror, we ventured to view the Swedish film Border and the Japanese classic Battle Royale this week. Truly the only thing that unites these disparate films is the fact that neither of them are in English, but that was unifying enough for us. Border is a tender and shocking film, unconcerned with aesthetic, setting, or budget, but entirely concerned with story, feeling, and nuance. It has a peculiar kind of beauty, certainly one that won’t fit everyone’s taste, but assuredly one that begs to be understood. There is an inescapable sense of loneliness with this film that will follow you even after the credits finish rolling, but it isn’t unpleasant or unwarranted. I hesitate to mention any details of this film as I feel it would ruin the its subtle magic, but I know it will be appreciated by those who’ve ever felt forgotten, invisible, or misunderstood. As far as Battle Royale goes, Hunger Games, eat your fucking heart out. What a tragedy it is that anyone has met Katniss Everdeen, but not Mitsuko Souma, the baddest bitch with a bloody sickle. Watching this film feels like getting on an amusement park ride for the first time, and quickly realizing that it is far more intense than you anticipated. The action, the anxiety, the heart-pounding uncertainty of who might be slaughtered next simply renders one unable to look away from the screen. And any true Kill Bill fans know that every violently choreographed scene of that film was inspired by Battle Royale’s ingenious brutality, it must be celebrated and given the credit it deserves.