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Audition
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| Editorial Reviews: | | |  | | If you want the full sledgehammer-to-the-stomach effect of Audition, stop reading this review now. Just watch it and take the consequences. At first glance, Takashi Miike's jack in the box of a movie works like a romantic comedy: amiable widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) decides it's time to find a new wife, and a friend suggests holding a fake audition to find the right girl. It soon becomes clear that there is something wrong with Aoyama's choice. This is no ordinary Fatal Attraction-style thriller, however; Audition slowly and carefully builds into a wrenching exploration of both deep male fears and the stereotype of the cute, submissive Japanese woman. Audition is by no means an easy movie to watch--even hardcore horror fans may have trouble--but it will stay with you for a long, long time. --Ali Davis | |
| Custom Reviews: | |
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| A Modern Horror Masterpiece | |
| | Takashi Miike's Audition is a disturbing and at times confusing film. That being said, try to judge it for yourself while watching it, as the film takes you on an interesting and deceptive ride that plays on our definitions of film genres and cliche devices. In this respect Miike is not unlike Tarantino. He is a director who thinks outside of the box and seemed to recognize the potential in expressing himself with this story...and used this wisely to scare the hell out of me.
The story is about a widower who decides to finally begin a search for a new wife at the suggestion of both his son and his movie producer friend. But how will he find his new bride? Well, this man's friend is of course a filmmaker and he decides to hold an audition for this widower, so he can look for an attractive girl with a history in some kind of artistic discipline (i.e. dancing, piano, ballet etc.). Our protagonist possesses a handful of applications and must choose 30 girls to audition for a part in this faux movie. His friend agrees that he must find a girl who is happy to be his wife, and happy women are never good enough actors, so whoever he chooses will convincingly not be acceptable for this fake movie role to being with. However, contrary to his friend's advice our protagonist chooses a girl named Asami, who is profoundly unhappy. She used to be a ballerina but broke her hip and feels that having to quit something she loves can be paralleled to accepted death itself. Asami is not happy but she is an attractive 24 year old girl who has intrigued our hero and he more or less chose her before the audition happens anyway. The film takes a turn as we begin to see some hints as to what kind of person Asami is and all her mysteries are gradually revealed. Trust me when I say there is plenty about Asami to reveal.
Miike gives us a film that comes off as a Romantic Comedy in the first 80 minutes and then slowly transforms into a thriller/mystery kind of film, and then smacks us over the head with it's intense climax and conclusion that is shock, horror, gore and utter madness. Audition could've easily become a one-trick-pony in it's goal to play with our understandings of genres and what to expect, but it actually goes far beyond that and rarely gets credit for doing so. This is a very sharp film on many levels and in many ways. It is smart and surprising. I highly recommend this film to anyone willing and able to deal with it's violent content. I also see this as a gateway and introduction to Miike's films and other films like his. You shouldn't regret discovering this filmmaker.
I have heard people say this is exploitative but that is likely a judgement on Miike overall, as Audition is one of his few films that really isn't exploitative at all. In fact, in terms of `gore' films Audition is not even close to Ichi the Killer but it should be taken with a warning as it is still very violent and realistic. I don't think this film deserves beyond an R-rating when we take into account the violence portrayed in "The Passion of the Christ". The limits have been pushed enough to allow films like Audition wider release in the United States without forcing either an NC-17 or no rating at all. There is almost no nudity in Audition but the violence and torture is creepy and well beyond acceptable for children to view.
| | | I must have missed a scene or something while watching it because I don't get what all the fuss is about. The gore isn't as bad as it's played up to be, I was confused the whole time after about 3/4's of the film, and really, besides the fact that the Asians were cute, there's nothing that great about Audition. It's not a bad movie, but it's not great.
| | A disappointment from start to finish. | |
| | Miike's psychological thriller "Audition" (don't understand why it's classed as a horror film. Even the uncut version is not very horrific) was a disappointment from start to finish. The acting was ordinary, the plot was weak at best, and the style, unoriginal. Yes, that's right, unoriginal. Been there, done that. Miike seems to try very hard to imitate the great directors of the French Nouvelle Vague era of the 60's (see Truffaut, Godard, Resnais, Rohmer, Chabrol). More specifically, "Audition" reminded me a lot of Alain Resnais' "L'Année Dernière à Marienbad" (1961), adapted to this genre. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Imitation is a form of flattery as they say and many directors have done it and still do in homage to earlier filmmakers they admire. However, unlike his predecessors, Miike gives his audience no deep hidden messages, mind-bending twists or even nerve-racking moments in "Audition". The rhythm is strung out and dry. Character development is weak to non-existant: there is no reason to get attached to the main characters, we learn very little about them and we all know from the start that Asami is a psychotic loner with a dark past ... how original! (Sigh). Don't be fooled by all the breaks in continuity and jump cuts, there is nothing clever about them. They contribute very little to the film other than bring attention to themselves.
Now, I can hear all you "film buffs" already ... crying bloody murder and pointing your accusing finger at me while shouting "burn the witch!" for my blasphemy. But before you do, just remember that just because a director breaks the rules of mainstream cinema, doesn't automatically make him a genius.
| | My foot was lost in trasnlation (and my ear and tongue) | |
| | Audition illustrates how our expectations and interests color what we perceive. There seems to be a lot of debate about whether it's horror or romance, but really it's both - and an excellent example of both genres at the same time. I don't believe there's really a sucker punch here either, as it's clear throughout that something doesn't add up about the woman, and the man is too blind to listen to reason. What happens, though, is your emotional investment in the characters in the first two thirds of the film makes you hope against hope that there can be a happy ending. We're used to the Hollywood kid-glove treatment. The gore, violence, etc. isn't as bad as most reviewers would lead you to believe; watch Jack torture suspects on the USA television show 24, or see some episodes of Oz, and you'll find scenes as bad as this. What makes the snakes slither in your gut and bite your spleen is the emotionally crushing element, which - in this era of anything-goes desensitization - is a testament to Miike's directorial prowess. There's also a wonderfully bizarro sequence where Miike finally pulls out all the stops and plunges you into the pain, skillfully show you the what and why without "explaning" things in the typical dumbed-down Hollywood way. Audition is a must-see film, especially if you're into cross-genre work.
| | | The other reviews will give you a description of what the film is about (though probably too much of one), so I won't dwell on the subject. It's a film that Should be seen and not described anyway. This Is one of my all time favorite films, so I am going to be incredibly biased. This film is excellent: Takashi Miike (the director) is perfectly in his element with this kind of film. The best way, I think, to describe this film is to say that Audition is to Japan, what Silence of the Lambs or Psycho is/was to America. The lead actress, Eihi Shiina, does a frighteningly great job in her film debut. Simply put, Audition is an awesome and exceptional film :).
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