AuditionGetting back into the dating game can be tough--especially for a middle-aged widower like Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi)--but it should never get as bad as it does in Takashi Miike's Audition. Aoyama's wife, Ryoko (Miyuki Matsuda), has been dead for some seven years, and he has become increasingly alone, even though he has been successful in raising his son, Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki) almost single-handedly and founding his own company. Over drinks with his colleague Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura), Aoyama reveals his wish to remarry. The two talk about what his ideal woman would be, and Yoshikawa makes the suggestion of having an audition for Aoyama's ideal mate. As a result of this spurious audition, Aoyama meets Asami (Eihi Shiina), and is ensnared.
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Audition is a deeply untrustworthy movie, although this is actually a strength of the movie for many reasons. The film poses for some time as a weepy melodrama, an overly sentimental story about a widower who takes part in an unorthodox practice to track down the woman of his dreams. Drawn to Asami from a picture and her resume, he is smitten before he even meets her. By all appearances, the shy Aoyama seems a lonely heart, who has been without affection for a long time. But Audition exploits our expectations to create the impression of something being what it isn't until the point of no return. We begin to discover that Aoyama has had an affair with his secretary, and has gone on to ignore her out of either shame or guilt, maybe more. When we get an inner look into Aoyama's nightmares, we begin to discover that he may have an unresolved lust in him, given to a subconscious fantasy for other women in his life. Conversely, this attitude might also be a reflection of Asami's. To an extent, impressions of Asami are designed to manipulate us into romance, into trusting the gentle, demure young lady. We learn that she is jealous, although the extent of that jealousy is something we are unprepared for. As Audition progresses, we descend deeper into the inferno, and the very nature of the film mutates from a sappy romance into a visceral bloodbath in an almost complete violation of trust between the director and the audience. The film remains ambiguous at moments, teasing us to want to believe that what we are witnessing is merely a nightmare in the literal sense, that the violence and torture has been imagined. But Miike subtly insinuates through clever camera shots just how we want to believe in the illusion, even when the reality is staring us in the face. Infrequent shots of Aoyama's residence establishs locales and frame shots where we will bear witness to displays of grotesque mutilation in shocking contrast to the placid homestead we've seen before.
Audition can also be seen as a commentary on the way which men objectify women, setting standards for them that are not equal to those they set for themselves. When the horrible conclusion comes around, Asami states that the audition was really just an exercise for him to find a girl to have sex with. Since she believes that she has been treated like a piece of meat, so too does she don the leather apron and go to work in a more vicious, literal realization of that same sentiment toward Aoyama. The idea that audition was to ostensibly find a lead actress for a movie which Aoyama is producing, when it is in fact a collusion between the two men to find one of them a date sounds unethical, but Yoshikawa--and Aoyama by his complicity--approach it as though it were an acceptable practice for them to do. In a literal sense, Aoyama's potential mate is on display, as are the other twenty-nine women who are expecting their big break in movies. While Asami claims she has no expectations about getting the part, she still shows up to the audition, claiming she is unaware of Aoyama's inevitable advances. Could she be suspecting that her wiles will lure another male into her trap, and that Aoyama just happened to be the poor dope who falls for her? Asami appears genuine--and might even feel some sorrow following her hard upbringing; but even at the very end, she seems to unload a series of rehearsed lines, like an animatronic doll posing as a human, saying those recorded lines over and over. And "seems" is the best word to describe Asami, who has portrayed herself in a way which enraptures Aoyama, a brightly colored predator which draws its prey in. Like Asami, the film is influencing us, withholding information and accentuating that which is meant to seduce us into the comfort of a gentle story. Perhaps that is why the conclusion is such a betrayal, as it is for Aoyama. Like him, we are confused and shocked that we understood so little...in part because although some was withheld, other subtle clues are present which indicate that something is amiss but are overlooked in favor of a desire for the story to unfold as predicted, intimating that we have control. Like Yoshikawa's reaction to seeing Asami, he claims that he felt unsettled by her, didn't like her for reasons he can only describe as "something chemical." Moments when Aoyama and Asami are at a restaurant, talking about her family, there is at least one moment where the conversation appears edited, if you're watching the background action. This suggests that Aoyama and Asami are both talking about something, but that Aoyama--since his perspective is what we're primarily attendant to--either wasn't really listening, or he blocked out some crucial information which should have been a red flag for him to be cautious of the lovely amanita in the white dress. Once Aoyama is finally able to center his perspective around that which he has remained ignorant of--even beyond the grave warnings from his late wife--he sees things with a sudden kind of clarity, his fears realized as the pieces fall into place...but it is too late to turn back now. Ultimately, the great lesson of Audition is how our perceptions of one another can prejudice our interactions with one another, setting expectations in our mind without any evidence to base it upon--and sometimes, those perceptions can lead to horrific results.
Recommended for: Fans of romance, yes, but also fans of the cruelest kind of romance, a possessive love which goes to the worst of extremes, one that slithers from gentleness to appalling violence. Maybe running a background check on your dates isn't such a bad idea.
Audition can also be seen as a commentary on the way which men objectify women, setting standards for them that are not equal to those they set for themselves. When the horrible conclusion comes around, Asami states that the audition was really just an exercise for him to find a girl to have sex with. Since she believes that she has been treated like a piece of meat, so too does she don the leather apron and go to work in a more vicious, literal realization of that same sentiment toward Aoyama. The idea that audition was to ostensibly find a lead actress for a movie which Aoyama is producing, when it is in fact a collusion between the two men to find one of them a date sounds unethical, but Yoshikawa--and Aoyama by his complicity--approach it as though it were an acceptable practice for them to do. In a literal sense, Aoyama's potential mate is on display, as are the other twenty-nine women who are expecting their big break in movies. While Asami claims she has no expectations about getting the part, she still shows up to the audition, claiming she is unaware of Aoyama's inevitable advances. Could she be suspecting that her wiles will lure another male into her trap, and that Aoyama just happened to be the poor dope who falls for her? Asami appears genuine--and might even feel some sorrow following her hard upbringing; but even at the very end, she seems to unload a series of rehearsed lines, like an animatronic doll posing as a human, saying those recorded lines over and over. And "seems" is the best word to describe Asami, who has portrayed herself in a way which enraptures Aoyama, a brightly colored predator which draws its prey in. Like Asami, the film is influencing us, withholding information and accentuating that which is meant to seduce us into the comfort of a gentle story. Perhaps that is why the conclusion is such a betrayal, as it is for Aoyama. Like him, we are confused and shocked that we understood so little...in part because although some was withheld, other subtle clues are present which indicate that something is amiss but are overlooked in favor of a desire for the story to unfold as predicted, intimating that we have control. Like Yoshikawa's reaction to seeing Asami, he claims that he felt unsettled by her, didn't like her for reasons he can only describe as "something chemical." Moments when Aoyama and Asami are at a restaurant, talking about her family, there is at least one moment where the conversation appears edited, if you're watching the background action. This suggests that Aoyama and Asami are both talking about something, but that Aoyama--since his perspective is what we're primarily attendant to--either wasn't really listening, or he blocked out some crucial information which should have been a red flag for him to be cautious of the lovely amanita in the white dress. Once Aoyama is finally able to center his perspective around that which he has remained ignorant of--even beyond the grave warnings from his late wife--he sees things with a sudden kind of clarity, his fears realized as the pieces fall into place...but it is too late to turn back now. Ultimately, the great lesson of Audition is how our perceptions of one another can prejudice our interactions with one another, setting expectations in our mind without any evidence to base it upon--and sometimes, those perceptions can lead to horrific results.
Recommended for: Fans of romance, yes, but also fans of the cruelest kind of romance, a possessive love which goes to the worst of extremes, one that slithers from gentleness to appalling violence. Maybe running a background check on your dates isn't such a bad idea.