Audition (1999) [Film Review]

Audition; or, Love, Unconditionally
     Only pain and suffering will make you realise who you are.
Takashi Miike’s Audition is one of those rare J-Horror films which I never thought would be discussed on this blog. As some of the readers already know, I am not a fan of the horror genre in general, but I decided to give this film a chance in view of my recent reinvigoration of interest in the works of Ryu Murakami. In view of the fact that Audition remains to date the most popular adaptation of Murakami’s famous novel, I finally caved in and I am sharing my thoughts on it.

Release Info

Directed by: Takashi Miike Starring: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Jun Kunimura

Language: Japanese Original Title: オーディション Runtime: 115 min

Synopsis
Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) is a TV producer who lost his wife seven years ago. His teenage son encourages Aoyama to get married again. The problem is that Aoyama has trouble finding the new other half. His colleague at work comes up with an idea to set up an audition call for a new movie. Out of the many women who compete to get the leading role, Aoyama choses a lady whom he finds the most intriguing, Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina).

Too Many Secrets
Like Hideo Nakata’s Ring (1998) or Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (2000), Audition is yet another classic instance of Japanese Horror that is continuously talked about and discussed among the academics. Personally, I regard this movie not so much as a horror (albeit it has a substantial amount of explicit content), but as a psychological thriller that throws shade at romance movies.

If anything, the first half of Audition feels like a parody of popular rom-coms penned by Richard Curtis. Such types of shugary sweet storylines about an honest guy and a fair lady finding true love through comedy-charged shenanigans only condition the viewers to repeat such patterns in real life, but the truth is that these do not work at all. In the case of Audition, they do not work either because the movie is not about happy-go-lucky cheerfulness, but about suffering: how traumatic events mess up our personalities.

Director Takashi Miike and cinematographer Hideo Yamamoto really brought to life this claustrophobic feeling of nihilism tainted by nostalgia for the Showa era that accompanies Ryu Murakami’s novels. Warm lighting in indoor locations and especially the usage of red colour really enhance the aspect of Aoyama’s depravation (the whole audition gig), but also of his victimhood whenever he interacts with Asami.

I apologise because I can’t help but cross over into the territory of deconstructing the film, but allow me to say that I regard the third act as pretty clear and straightforward. Asami was the childhood victim of her relatives, which subsequently turned her into a monster. Aoyama, on the other hand, never quite knew what he wanted as a man because he was essentially woman-less for a long time. The whole torture sequence is, in my opinion, Miike’s manifesto against pornography. What leads me to such an assumption are the positions of the characters in the scene, and specific POV shots that are very reminiscent of JAV productions. In consequence, what seems to be every man’s dream (being overpowered by a beautiful woman) turns out to be Aoyama’s worst nightmare.

With regard to performances, Ryo Ishibashi gives a compelling and sincere portrayal of Aoyama. I mainly know the actor from dramas, but he really carried the picture with his performance. As for Eihi Shiina as Asami, she was truly menacing as the love interest. The legendary Jun Kunimura deserves a mention because he plays a supporting role of a good guy in the film, and his character actually does not get killed off for a change.

Recommendations
All things considered, Audition is not a movie for the faint-hearted, but if you enjoy the filmography of Takashi Miike, the J-Horror genre in general, or at the very least the bizarre mind of Ryu Murakami, then you should watch this film. Where I live, it was issued on DVD by GutekFilm distribution label. Overall score: 7/10

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