I was a young man in 1999 and it was also around that time I saw Takashi Miike's Audition for the first time, on VHS. It didn't really impress me the first time, probably because I expected something more graphic, something more spectacular. It's very much the same after you're a kid and watching Zombie Flesh Eaters and then tries to find another Italian horror movie of the same calibre. It's hard, very hard. Those first moments of horror from a new country, a new filmmakers, is often unbeatable. I haven't watched any of Miike's new movies - I think the newest one I've seen is Zebraman (which was brilliant), but like after reading 150 Stephen King novels as a teen - I know the artist's language by now and have no reason to read it any more.
But I'm very sure I will get back to both King and Miike sooner or later. I just need to find the perfect moment.
I've only owned Audition on VHS before, so when I found it cheap on DVD I bought it directly. Because there's no use for a VCR in my home anyway and I needed to watch it again. It's one of those urges. It feels like I need to see it, experience the drama once again before deciding if it's his best. The more I watch Miike the more I appreciate the drama parts in his work, and Audition is 80 percent drama, 10 percent mystery, 5 percent thriller and 5 percent horror. And that makes it one of the most fascinating movies ever made.
The tale of a lonely, slightly conservative Japanese middle-aged man, Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi) - but bascially a nice fella - who wants to find a new wife, someone to take care of him and his son, cook food and still be an intelligent person to talk with still manages to shock and touch me. The horror and the gore, I've seen it before. I'm more fascinated by the traditional life and love of the Japanese, how a man so cold - but still very warm - wants to find his wife through an audition, and almost expect her automatically to want to marry him. That's the controversial part of the film. When Asami (the girl he finds, played by a brilliant Eihi Shiina - who's now wasting her career on rotten Sushi Typhoon productions) - slowly reveals her true self we should almost be on her side. And maybe we are, for a second or two, but then... even if she's created by an abusive pedophile father (Miike veteran Renji Ishibashi), we still ends up wishing that Shigeharu and his nice son will win. She's just taking revenge on a manipulating man, doing what he's always done.
Is that the thing that makes people feel disgusted when watching this film? It's not about the gore I think, it's a question of morality. That's also what makes it so brilliant. The grey scales. Nothing is black or white. Life is much more complicated than so.
Audition is a masterpiece, but I still think my favorite Miike movie is Visitor Q. I might revisit that film one day, don't know where, don't know when. The only thing that bothers me afterwards his why I'm living in a country, Sweden, who makes so mediocre movies when I've could have been born in a country with a far more advanced cultural impact.
It would have made me very happy.
"I was a young man in 1999 and it was also around that time I saw Takashi Miike's Audition for the first time, on VHS. It didn't really impress me the first time, probably because I expected something more graphic, something more spectacular."
Fo me, it lacked the tension I was looking for.....think of Marnie(1964), Wait Until Dark (1967), House of Games (1987)etc.....this was too bland.
At least that´s what I felt in those days, in 1999, and I don´t think I´ve seen it since then.....time for a revisit.
But the critics in Sweden liked it, alot.
"and Audition is 80 percent drama, 10 percent mystery, 5 percent thriller and 5 percent horror. And that makes it one of the most fascinating movies ever made."
This could be the reason why I got such a bland impression on it.....expecting a horror film, getting a drama film.
"how a man so cold - but still very warm - wants to find his wife through an audition, and almost expect her automatically to want to marry him. That's the controversial part of the film. When Asami (the girl he finds, played by a brilliant Eihi Shiina - who's now wasting her career on rotten Sushi Typhoon productions) - slowly reveals her true self we should almost be on her side. And maybe we are, for a second or two, but then... even if she's created by an abusive pedophile father (Miike veteran Renji Ishibashi), we still ends up wishing that Shigeharu and his nice son will win. She's just taking revenge on a manipulating man, doing what he's always done."
Yeah, the audition is the most controversial thing about it.....in a way the film discusses domestic abuse issues in Japanese society.
Perhaps that´s the point...?
And mailorder brides exist in Sweden too....we both probably seen this, it doesn´t always end up with a happy ending.
"Is that the thing that makes people feel disgusted when watching this film? It's not about the gore I think, it's a question of morality. That's also what makes it so brilliant. The grey scales. Nothing is black or white. Life is much more complicated than so."
Could be.....Miike has always been good with grey scales....look at Koroshiya 1/Ichi the Killer(2001), one of the oddest gangster flick I ever seen.
"Audition is a masterpiece, but I still think my favorite Miike movie is Visitor Q."
Well....I haven´t seen that many films by Miike, but I think Bijitâ Q/Visitor Q (2001) is my favorite too....dysfunctional families are always interesting.
"The only thing that bothers me afterwards his why I'm living in a country, Sweden, who makes so mediocre movies when I've could have been born in a country with a far more advanced cultural impact.
It would have made me very happy."
Well, don´t forget, Akira Kurosawa was heavily criticized by his country, for making mainstream crap that only westerners watched.
But I agree that Sweden at times....could do better.
Posted by: Megatron | March 17, 2013 at 15:09
I forgot....great review.
Posted by: Megatron | March 17, 2013 at 15:14
Good one. For a long while, this was my favourite after party movie. People would crib and moan for the first half about how dull and boring it was and why I was playing a relationship drama and then the bag would move and it would be absolute silence after that. What an awesome movie.
Posted by: gk | March 18, 2013 at 06:04
Thanks Megatron! :)
Yeah, GK, I think that's part of the plan. Miike knew what he was doing. And he really shocked some people. I wish he could do something like this again.
I must confess I actually liked One Missed Call also, one of his few horror films.
Posted by: Fred Anderson | March 18, 2013 at 08:22
There's a great post over here on the new book about Takashi Miike - http://www.mangauk.com/?p=another-fine-mes
Posted by: Edward | June 03, 2013 at 03:45