Audition

Rating:
Summary: Chiller...
Review: Audition (1999)
Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Jun Kunimura; dir. Takashi Miike.

A widower of 7 years, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ishibashi) starts looking again. Reluctant to use the normal channels (understandably, in my view) he has a friend set up a phony audition for a TV film, as a way of interviewing 30 eligible young women. The strategy works. He meets Asami Yamazaki (Shiina) - and she meets his requirements. She is demure, sensitive, educated, with a mature, somewhat pessimistic sensibility, to which Aoyama is drawn. She is responsive to his interest. And then it all goes horribly wrong. The film isn't exactly a horror movie, though. It's more of a short story which goes gorily surreal. The first three-quarters or so are shot at a leisurely pace, and constitute an engaging investigation of Aoyama's situation, with a good cameo by his cynical, ever-smoking friend (Kunimura), whose uneasy warnings fall on deaf ears, even though Aoyama has similar intuitions himself. The film is cinematically well-made, although a more rigorous approach to framing and composing every shot would have been an alternative approach. Director Miike is apparently a busy man, however, and perhaps he was in a bit of a hurry. Anyway, the light comedy seeps out of the film, continuity and point of view are fragmented and the spooky moments mount up (including one real eye-opener) as we follow a somewhat tortuous progress to the torturous finale where Aoyama is confronted by the monster Asami. The ending may have a little too much grue for some. Extreme depictions of violence seem to be a Japanese national characteristic (probably the direct consequence of their excessive politeness and unnaturally low crime rate, which would seem to stimulate these fermented fantasies). Despite the weirdness, however, "Audition" retains psychological plausibility, particularly with regard to Asami. Her character confronts the viewer. We are given no explanation of her motives - beyond a fairly superficial hint at abuse as a child. The suggestion that she is taking revenge on behalf of Japanese women for their treatment by the patriarchy is obviously ham-fisted (and besides, one could argue that in Japan everyone is oppressed by society) - but in a strange way there is something to it. Does Asami have some kind of grounds for her revenges? Is Aoyama guilty? For manipulating women? Or just being a complacent bourgeois male? These notions at least get a toehold; they wouldn't if the roles were reversed. Perhaps we tend to cut villainous females a little more slack than their male counterparts. Overall, a good film, provocative and worth seeing, but not for the faint of stomach.

Rating:
Summary: A+
Review: AUDITION - directed by Takashi Miike (2001)
DVD/VHS
10/10
Japanese with English Subtitles
This film is un-rated and contains graphic violence.

Takashi Miike has accomplished drawing the audience in slowly with subtle and well-made storytelling that turns into a roller coaster ride of white-knuckle extreme terror. At first it seems as though Miike is presenting at straightforward family drama. Husband/father Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) widowed seven years prior decides under the gentle and humorous direction of his son (Tetsu Sawaki) it is time to remarry. Simple? Well, no. Aoyama's drinking buddy Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura) decides to hold a fake audition for a film in search of the perfect woman. The editing during this sequence has a natural rhythm and humor that highlights the whole facade as the numbers of unusual women are asked a series of questions. Enter Asami (Eihi Shiina), a former ballet dancer, who seems to have suffered in her past. Aoyama falls in love quickly, and against the warnings of Yoshikawa moves forward in quest for the perfect mate," a compliant woman is best." Takashi quickly cuts to a still shot of Asami, sitting on the floor her head bent down, her hair falling over her head so we can't see her face, a telephone in the foreground, and a very large canvas bag. Throughout soundtrack is very well done and there are very different types of music to fit each scene. At this point, however, there is total silence. Long enough to create tremendous tension. Miike takes the audience with Aoyama as hints Asami's of psychotic disintegration almost subliminally sneak into the narrative. At the midway point we become just as disoriented as Aoyama. Is love blind and deaf? In a series of well-edited montage scenes we are shown previous shots of conversations with different dialog, or simply, more direct. Asami seems to be disclosing all of her painful and tragic past. Or is she? Do we really listen when we are in love, or do we simply hear what we want to hear? Asami's lifelong forced submission and compliance have been driven so deep they boomerang ..standing these traits on their heads. I enjoyed Takashi's sense of direction. The film flows, picking up pace towards the final scenes effectively employing the lost art of giving the audience the maximum amount of tension and fear while revealing little. By then it is too late. Throw in a couple of misplaced acupuncture needles, dismembered limbs, three fingers and a tongue. Well, you can imagine the scenarios. Or can you? This is a slow burn, with a great pace and it really pays off. Not for the squeamish, faint of heart or anyone who is afraid of needles. Deeper, deeper..deeper.

Rating:
Summary: Why reference checking is important
Review: Auteur of more than 50 movies since 1991, Takashi Miike gained an international cult reputation in the year 2000 with the release of Audition. This film is an examination of the roles of women in modern Japanese society that completely shatters the myth of the Japanese woman being submissive and gentle.

Aoyama is a lonely man who lost his wife seven years ago. At the urging of his son, Aoyama agrees that it might be time to start seeing other women. His co-worker proposes a scheme: Set up a fake audition for an upcoming film (Aoyama is a media mogul) inviting several dozen women to try out for the part. The Audition in question is really an opportunity for Aoyama to be able to select from the pool his ideal woman. His choice is Asami, a former ballet dancer who seems to fit the profile of "beautiful, classy and obedient".

One of the more recurring themes in Audition is loneliness and how it can drive some to the brink of madness and do very questionable things. Although his co-worker's idea of this fake audition is sleazy and deceptive, Aoyama goes with it anyway. His personality is anything but mean or sleazy but Aoyama just doesn't possess the requisite social skills with the opposite gender to be able to find a woman in the more traditional way. His supreme sense of loneliness is what drives him to agree to the scheme. Asami, the object of his affection, seems even lonelier. She lives by herself in a tiny apartment and spends all of her time either curled up in bed or sitting motionless on the floor doing absolutely nothing. Miike's portrayal of this is effectively chilling, a tragic situation of two lovers who, because of their social awkwardness can never completely know each other.

Audition benefits greatly from the strength of the characters that Miike creates. Asami is a beautiful woman with godly looks who redefines the term "sweet" for most of the film. Once the movie ended however I could barely get myself to look at her image on the DVD box cover without feeling repulsed. That says lots about Miike's power to lull the viewer into a state of shock. The first ¾ of the film moves slowly and makes us feel for the characters until we get assaulted in the last half hour with image after image of unpleasant gruesomeness (especially for a male viewer). In yet another example of the unpredictable and unconventional style of director Takashi Miike, the last half hour of the film turns into an exercise of surrealist cinema where things are never what they seem and what is a dream and is not a dream is unclear. Not many directors would be this good at playing it straight up for so much of the feature's length and then effectively turning it into a nifty David Lynch style head trip towards the end. A true masterpiece of disturbing cinema by a director that we're used to being disturbed by.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful, surreal exploration of loneliness
Review: After the death of his wife, producer Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) has thrown himself into developing his career and raising his son, Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki). When his son suggests that he remarry, Aoyama decides that it may finally be time to end his loneliness. A friend (Jun Kunimura) suggests that they arrange a fake audition so that he can meet prospective fiancées. He is captivated by Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), whose philosophical thoughts on living with loss mirror Aoyama's own feelings after the death of his wife (Miyuki Matsuda). He pursues a relationship with her with results that will shock all but the most desensitized viewer.

This is a powerful meditation on how loneliness and abuse can warp a human personality. As repulsive and horrific as Asami ultimately proves to be, it seems clear that director Takashi Miike feels sympathy for her and, in a weird way, I did, too.

Be warned: the last act of this film will test your tolerance for non-linear narratives.

Rating:
Summary: Fatal attraction japanese style
Review: Audition tells the tale of a widower who under advice from his son decides to interview woman supposidly for a movie role whilst really trying to find a woman for a relationship. It's a Japanese film with subtitles available for the non-japanese speaking.

He mets a young lady and they seem to hit it off. She carries around her a mysterious canvas bag which seems a little odd.

Things get violent near the end. She sticks needles in this guys body and eyes and cuts off his feet with piano wire, also the canvas bad contains one of her old boyfriends who somehow is still alive but quite dismembered and she feeds him vomit, it's phony to the max. I used the fast forward button and got through this thing in record time!! It's meant to shock but I found it quite ridiculous and fake. Recommend Ringu for a real scare without the phony violence.

Thanks for reading.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally Disturbing Thriller Film
Review: Disturbing is too kind of a word for this film, yet in its way Audition works as a shock-thriller meant to sear itself into your brain.

Suppose your wife dies, and you're getting old and lonely. Do you hit the bar scene to find an annoying, giggly, snobby girlfriend (watch the film...)? No! You get your movie producer friend to set up a fake movie so you can screen the young women auditioning for the lead role as prospective wives. Perhaps what later ensues is simply turnabout for fair play...

Everyone has a "bad feeling" about Aoyama's choice, and for good reason. Demure little Asami spends her free time at home, sitting hunched-over and drooling while waiting for the phone to ring... with a large, bulging sack in the background.

The film does explore very well the fears of men in Japan today while at the same time looking hard at and twisting the role of the "obedient" and proper traditional Japanese woman that Aoyama so desired. Looked at from a cross-cultural perspective, the film makes much more sense--which only heightens the horror and disturbing nature of its message.

I would wonder (or perhaps worry) about those who claim to truly love this film, but at the same time those who enjoy psycho thrillers or like to be disturbed will find this movie worth a watch. It's not what I'd call true horror, but you will definitely be horrified!

Rating:
Summary: It was okay.....still better than most Hollywood thrillers!
Review: I went into the viewing of this film with great anticipation since I'd heard how terrifically chilling it is. Although I will try and write about the film as a whole without giving away too much of the events, please be warned that some plot points may exposed.

However, as you may already know, the story centers around a single father(Aeyoama) that is considering the prospect of a second marriage; with his 16-yr old son's approval and recommendation, actually. After holding phony auditions, with the aid of his friend, to find the "perfect" girl, he is smitten as a kitten with a girl named Asami, and together they begin the courting process.

Too much time was spent in scenes where Asami proclaimed how happy she was that Aeyoama had called her for a date, or happy he called her, blah blah blah. I don't know how Aeyoama could not help but roll her eyes (I was!) after listening to her express that sentiment over & over, but hey, perhaps that is the type of complacency he was searching for in a wife? Originally, he'd picked Asami out of a stack of eligible partners as a result of the thoughts she had written down on her application. After meeting her though, it seemed like he became much more interested in her physical appearance. In one isntance, Aeoyama
compliments his son on the sexy young lass that followed him home from school that afternoon.

Eventually, she disappears and Aeyoama completely loses it, goes against his best friend's advice as well as his dead wife's warnings (in dreams) and goes to search her out, whatever the cost.

When she finally does reappear, Asami is no longer her shy bashful self. Instead, she is at the far end of the sensitive scale, to put it lightly. She inflicts pain on Aeyoama that can be expressed as the novel "Misery" times 100.

It seems as though the unspoken arrangement between torturer & torturee was written soon after Asami had gained Aeyoama's love for her. But apparently, this love was based on the love that Asami had been shown in her own life, as we are treated to scenes of Asami growing up & her studies of ballet. This is something that Aeyoama was not aware of, or probably failed to pick up on. It would be interesting to discover if he would have volunteered for the severe torture at the end of the film, had Asami asked; in comparison to Van Gogh's cutting off of ear. Apparently baking a cake for the loved one was not an option.

Anyway, there is a bit of confusion on this last idea since she is definitely getting her cookies out of the carnage she is inflicting; the idea being that she is the heroine and Aeyoama is the filthy "man" that uses and abuses females. She must phsyically alter him to represent the grotesque being he really is.

Very interesting ideas, very well adapted into film, but falls short in arriving at a conclusion of any kind. Some may view that as a plus, but I wanted Aeyoama to either accept responsibility for the violence infliced on him, or reject it.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: Audition is a film that relies heavily on the last twenty minutes of its running time. In the first eighty minutes there is only one, but good, scare. Otherwise this is a fairly tedious film that has very little emotion, for which the director is to blame. On imdb.com this film is given a 7.3/10 rating. I feel that this film deserves more of a 4/10 rating, becasue it really is boring. The amazon.com review states that this film will stay with you long after you have seen it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is good. This film relies on the violence towards the end of the film for its substance. This violence too is ridiculous, just like the rest of the film, which is not really a true horror movie. I am not a person who rejects violence; I like movies like The Wild Bunch, Kill Bill Vol.1 and Evil Dead, because those movies actually had something to go with the violence. I don't recommend this film unless you are a true horror fan or you are just curious.

Rating:
Summary: It freezes your blood
Review: It is probably the most awful, chilling, horrible movie ever made. You need nerves of steel to endure the tension and the horror. It is also a work of dark art like no other. Director Miike is a genius and a master of the creepy stuff. If you thought Brian De Palma was tough, well he was a choir boy compared to Miike.

The story was somewhat slow to develop, however did not lack on chilling scenes. The las 30 minutes were incredible. Buy it by all means, but be warned: it is at the verge of the unbearable. And it looks too real, if that is possible.

Rating:
Summary: Skillful and real
Review: This movie is much more polished than Miike's other films; it's a professional movie with deliberate pace. I found it highly disturbing - Miike manipulates all elements of atmosphere in unison and focuses on creating that impact. The character of Asami is played quite intensely and deeply, and you can FEEL her psychosis. Trying to get past the indisputable shock value, I decided this movie transcends its vile subject matter by creating a real experience of its characters. Amazingly it never gives itself over fully to revelling in horror, and the movie ends with a hint of its initial soft and sad vibe.

A lot of people compare the dream sequences to David Lynch scenes, but I hardly understand Lynch yet I found these scenes pretty clear. It really seems that Miike is keeping his narrative accessible to ensure that the impact is not undermined by a misunderstanding of events. The whole movie uses foreshadowing and direct plot divulgence to create its tension.

WARNING, I AM ABOUT TO GIVE PLOT AWAY... When the guy is getting tortured and he lapses into a dream, only to wake up to the torture, it's far from indicipherable. Instead, it's visceral. I honestly was hoping to God that the torture was a dream myself, and was very unhappy to wake up to the torture reality. This movie does not require academic analysis to understand, yet it is very well-thought out.