Audition
Directed by Takashi Miike
Japan 1999
PLOT
Aoyama is a film producer who lives alone with his son after losing his wife to a deadly illness and becoming a widower. One day, encouraged by his son’s wishes, Aoyama turns to his childhood friend and colleague Yasuhisa. Together, they decide to organize a casting call for a fictitious film, with the sole purpose of finding Aoyama the ideal woman to rekindle his love life. Many women respond to the audition, but Aoyama is immediately captivated by one: the charming and mysterious Asami.
THOUGHTS
**Audition** is likely one of the most significant films of the past 25 years. It changes its skin multiple times over the course of its two-hour runtime. It manages to be grotesque, surreal, thrilling, horrifying, with Miike’s mastery lying in his ability to seamlessly shift between genres, emphasizing key moments just right. The screenplay, based on the novel, flows smoothly, and the cast is impeccable.
Asami, in particular, will overwhelm you with her beauty and magnetic charm. Like a siren with loving gazes and delicate sweetness, she captivates the viewer, only to shock them in the second half of the film. This is when Miike reveals who Asami really is, what she does, why she does it, and most importantly, how she does it.
What starts out as a story that seems to ride the waves of love turns, halfway through, into a perverse nightmare that becomes increasingly difficult to endure. As Miike delves into Asami’s psyche, introducing dreamlike moments and flashbacks, reality and fantasy blur, leaving the viewer unsure of what is real and what is not.
Until the final explosion of violence and madness.
Audition is not a simple film, despite the plot seemingly suggesting otherwise. It’s a spiral of illusions, shattered dreams, pain, and madness, where there are no clear heroes or villains—everyone is a victim.
Miike’s brilliance lies in showing us this social tapestry of both illusions and disillusionment through a seemingly ordinary story, like so many others.
PANDEMONIC MOMENT
When Aoyama calls Asami, and we see her unnaturally bent over, slowly lifting her head to reveal a malevolent, satisfied grin…while the black bag beside her begins to move violently.
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