Audition (1999)

"This wire can cut through meat and bone easily."

This is the movie that sold me on the brilliance of Takashi Miike. Perfection. The premise of Audition, like most of the greats, is simple. A man, trying to get over his grief of losing his wife, holds a fake audition for a show, to meet a girl that way. If that isn't creepy, I don't know what is.

The first hour of the movie plays out more like a love story, with only a few signs of the weirdness to come. I would have given anything to not hear a thing about this movie, not even see the DVD case before watching it. Because even though my stomach felt like it got kicked in, that probably would have brought me to my knees. The turn the film takes is simply unreal. That's all one can say, really. Un-freakin-real. Posting pictures contradicts what I just wrote about not wanting to be spoiled.


Really, Asami is beautiful, quiet, and all around lovely...you never knew she had it in her! Well, obviously you suspect there's something strange about her, but still. Multiple scenes come to mind when trying to name a favorite. When the main guy calls her and she is sitting there with her head down waiting...wow, that gave me the creeps. The fact that she just sits by the phone weirded me out. Then the bag roars and rolls a bit...and of course, her amazing smile that curls up on her face, wow. The whole vomit scene almost made me puke myself and still does whenever I watch it. And the whole conclusion with the piano wire and pins is mindblowing to me. I held my breath the entire time, it was so crazy and intense.

Audition is a masterpiece, there's no other way to call it. Do I recommend it? Hmm...I've had a tremendous failure rate with this movie, when it comes to lending it out to friends or when they ask me about it and rent/buy it themselves. So, I'll have to say that it is a decision you'll have to take the plunge on yourself...and don't hassle me when it doesn't live up to expectations. I give the same "warning" every time...it is a slow-moving romance film a majority of the time...but it pays off by the end. In my opinion, it is the best I've seen from Asia to date.

Film Grade-
Cinematography: 8
Plot: 8
Score: 8
Suspense: 10
Tilt: 10
Overall: 9.1