TAKASHI MIIKE'S AUDITION (1999)

The films of Takashi Miike are largely hit/miss. This amazing filmmaker literally cranks movies out like a machine. Due to his excessive output of work, much of it is not good. Many of his films are actually quite bad. However, even in his worst work one can see a genius at work. And, when Miike is good, his great. When he is great, he is absolutely brilliant.

Thus far, in my opinion, Takashi Miike has made two brilliant films. AUDITION is one of them. When released in 1999 it divided audiences. Many didn't know what to make of it. Some viewers, looking for gore/horror got bored, intellectuals were appalled by the final 15 minutes of the movie to the point of running out before it was over. And, many were quick to scream "Misogynist!" and others simply yelped out "Sick!" ...Still, others held the film in high regard as art which was holding a mirror to culture caught in the midst of change and fear.

These mixed reactions are what drew me to a small art house cinema years ago to see it. Essentially, AUDITION upon a first viewing can appear to be two very different films merged into one. Ultimately, Takashi Miike created a highly intelligent work that explores the complexities in the way a certain generation of Japanese men view women and their "expected" roles and the way in which a younger generation of women are equally confused about how they should fit into the realm of relationships.

Certainly, an individual could label AUDITION as a horror film -- a truly gruesome horror film in which Takashi Miike pushes the envelope so far off the table that the movie manages to take us beyond the concepts of Grand Guignol. But, this is far too easy a dismissal of a film that is confronting a number of ideas at once in both complex and simple ways. And, it has always been my opinion that any movie that leaves me feeling like what I've experienced was "OK" or "entertaining" was somehow ripping me off. I want movies that stir up feelings and that make me think.

The story is simple. A middle-aged widower has been alone for far too long and, at the urging, a friend, a plan is hatched to find him a mate and potential step mother for his teen-aged son. The "plan" is a lie. A fake audition is set up for a fake movie. Aoyama feels ill at ease with the plan and can't see it bringing him love. That is until Asami takes her place in front of he, his friend and their camera. He falls for her instantly. Of course there is a problem -- Asami, an interestingly beautiful waif-like woman, lies during her audition.

The pattern is set for these two emotionally damaged and crippled individuals to fall in love based on a series of lies. In the end, Asami's demand for total devotional love leaves no room for him to love anyone else. And, her sexuality and past are far too much for the awkward Aoyama to understand or accept. The relationship ends and Asami sets out for not so much revenge, but for domination of Aoyama and leads to one of cinema's most horrific and vile torture sequences ever put to film.

AUDITION works on two levels. One can view it as a straight forward story filled with metaphor or one can take a closer look and realize that what one sees is not so much a plot driven story but what happens in the mind and fantasies of Aoyama when faced with a woman's sexuality, troubled past, demands of him and his own psychological/cultural pressures to expect servitude from a woman -- not equalization or domination. He begins to fill his mind with all sorts of troubling and disturbing fantasies involving the object of his affection.

The highly disturbing finale to AUDITION is extreme to the point of the surreal and comical. The torture inflicted on Aoyama is not something one could survive. And the fate of Asami, while suspenseful and surprising, is not realistic.

There is a shift in AUDITION that starts approximately in the middle of the film that takes us out of the realistic melodrama which Takashi Miike has established and pushes us into sick fantasy and fear. What is real and what is in the mind of Aoyama becomes blurred. The film's style gradually shifts. This leaves the viewer in a state of mystery about the actions that lie ahead regarding Asami.

The cinematic roller coaster ride that is AUDITION is difficult to articulate without giving too many spoilers. One must see the film to understand. Certainly, this is not a movie for everyone. Any viewer should know going into it that they will be seeing a level of violence so far out of league with the mainstream that it may be a total turn off no matter how interesting the work is from a psychological or cinematic standpoint.

Still, the artistry of this movie cannot be ignored. The two lead performances are amazing. Ryo Ishibashi gives one of the most moving performances of the 1990's as Aoyama. His performance is so realistic that his pain, confusion and awkwardness can be felt by any viewer. And, Eihi Shiina's work as Asami is one of the most unforgettable in art house/international cinema ever given. Due in part to her unusual looks and woman/child voice and also to a convincingly dazed and romantic turn transform her into both a doll of beauty and demented horror. I doubt that any who view this film will be able to forget the sound of her voice as she sing-whispers, "Deeper, Deeper, Deeper" --- the cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto, lighting and editing by Yasushi Shimamura are simply perfect. Takashi Miike has created a cinematic masterpiece that will linger in the minds of viewers forever and that rightly deserves a place the thickly unbalanced world of cinema.