Audition

A class act horror film - not for anyone with a queasy stomach. Japanese subtitles don't deter from the fact that it can easily rank as a landmark in cinema horror, pushing back taboos. Like Sixth Sense, you could watch half the movie and not know it was going to be a shocker. When the shocks come they make you want to jump out of your seat right into the aisle and then crawl back under it with your face over your hands. More Hitchcock than Cronenberg, there is little in the way of special effects, but lots in the way of a very precisely crafted plot, great acting and editing, atmosphere and moments of evocative beauty as well as terror. The story concerns a Japanese businessman whose friend thinks of a novel way for him to look for a second wife. That's all I'll tell you!

Art-house horror flicks are not a very common genre (few come to mind except 'Don't Look Now') but Takashi Miike's film 'Audition' is a welcome addition to the canon. Beautifully shot and orchestrated, it is both a subtle personal drama and one of the most genuinely horrifying things I have seen. The early stages of this film resemble a work by Claude Sautet, only seen through a Japanese sensibility, about the relationship between an older man and a beautiful young woman, but there's something slightly discomforting both in the man's definition of the perfect partner, and in the person he finds who fulfills it. The story slides into first a mystery, and then a full blown horror story, the power of which comes from following a very simple golden rule: namely, make the audience care about the characters first: one small needle can be very very scary if you think that it's for real. And by keeping the meaning ambiguous (unlike, say, 'The Shining', with its self-defeating collapse into hyperbolic mania), the film also retains its impact after the initial shock.

This sense of ambiguity is also crucial to the film's claims to be something more than simply an unorthodox gore-fest. 'Audition' constructs, and then deconstructs, a certain vision of the world and the "horror" scenes are only part of this. The result is utterly beguiling, and one can even see similarities with Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' in 'Audition's' portrayal of a man's complicit relationship with hell.

In some ways, this is not a universal film and I could not imagine it working in English: can you envisage any Western actress speaking the Eihi Shiina's lines with a straight face?. Whether that's because the film is saying something profound about Japanese culture, or whether the fact that it appears to do so can finesse the issue for foreign audiences, I'm not sure. Dramatically, 'Audition' is, despite its climax, not the best film ever made. But atmospherically speaking, it's a masterpiece.

In Tokyo, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) is a widower that grieves the loss of his wife and raises his son Shigehiko Aoyama (Tetsu Sawaki) alone. Seven years later, the teenage Shigehiko asks why his middle-aged father does not remarry and Shigeharu meets his friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura), who is a film producer, and tells his intention. However, Shigeharu has difficulties to approach to available women to date and Yasuhisa decide to organize a sham audition for casting the lead actress for the fake movie. They receive several portfolios of candidates and Shigeharu becomes obsessed by the gorgeous Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina). Despite the advice of the experienced Yasuhisa, Shigeharu calls Asami to date and he falls for her. But who is the mysterious Asami?

"Ôdishon" a.k.a. "Audition" is a great horror movie with a creepy, disturbing and even realistic story but with less violence, weirdness and gore than the usual, for a movie directed by the Japanese director Takashi Miike. The characters are very well developed and the beautiful Eihi Shiina is perfect in the role of Asami. The scene when she says "deeper, deeper, deeper" is scary and remains imprinted in the mind of the viewer. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Audição" ("Audition")

Note: On 21 March 2017, I saw this film again.

Seven years after his wife dies, Shigeharu Aoyama takes his con's advice and begins looking to remarry. With help from a film producer friend, he sets up a mock audition looking for a woman to play a part that matches his image of his future wife. Whittling the list to 30, he picks the one that strikes a chord with him and, despite not knowing a great deal about her, starts to see her and fall in love.

I had heard a great deal of hype about this film – even the announcer on tv said it caused `outrage' in Japan when first shown. So worried was I that this film would freak me out, that I waiting until a weekend morning to watch it so that I could have daylight everywhere for hours after seeing it!

However, I must admit to having been misled; this film is a very slow little chiller rather than a horror as described. There are horror style moments but overall this is a chilling little tale of one woman's past. The build up is excellent, at times it almost comes across as a comedy; but the film does lay it on a bit thick that `something is not right' at times while not totally explaining things until near the end. That said it is still enjoyable and a little creepy, but you should prepare yourself for the fact that this is not a very fast film – it has a patient pace and you need to be into that; I was a little impatient for the first 15 minutes but after that I settled into it.

The cast are pretty good. Ishibashi is a strong lead male and it is easy to emphasise with his character. Shiina is very good despite the fact that she has to clearly show things beneath the surface. That said, she does a good job of keeping her character real and making the jumps acceptable rather than out of the blue. The telling of the story helps them both out though, keeping it slow but eerie.

Overall, I was a little disappointed with this film as I had hoped to be scared more and freaked out as much as I can be by weird stuff. As it was, this was a well told little creepy film but it is not totally deserving of the reputation it has gotten.

I was extremely underwhelmed by the much hyped Japanese horror film 'Ringu', so I approached 'Odishon' with some caution. I needn't have worried. 'Odishon' bears no resemblance to the lame supernatural chills of 'Ringu'. It is in fact closer to the more extreme moments of David Cronenberg, and the profoundly disturbing movies of Jorg Buttgereit, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Gaspar Noe.

Directed with great flair by Takashi Miike, and based on a novel by the amazing Ryu Murakami ('Almost Transparent Blue' and 'Coin Locker Babies'), 'Odishon' wipes the floor with Hollywood's recent output of supposedly "confronting" movies ('American Psycho', 'Boy's Don't Cry', 'Requiem For A Dream') and by-the-numbers serial killer thrillers ('Hannibal', 'Kiss The Girls', 'The Cell',etc.). Forget those safe, mediocre bores THIS is the real deal!

Miike lulls you into a false sense of security with his leisurely storytelling and quiet character development, which makes the pay off of the last part of the movie even more shocking and unexpected. Ryo Ishibashi is well cast as the middle aged businessman stuck in a rut, and the beautiful Eihi Shiina is absolutely astonishing as the girl of his dreams who turns out to be not QUITE what he expected.

The less you know about 'Odishon' the better. If you enjoy extreme movie making at its best you'll go ga ga over this first rate slice of shock cinema. Simply unforgettable.