The Japanese Miike Film Classic. Drama - Horror that takes you by surprise
if you haven't
looked at the DVD cover that is, and this "sweet drama" about
a middle-age family father and
widower looking for a young female companion will scare you for sure.
Eihi Shiina is beyond nasty.
The DVD and Bluray covers shouldn't give away the plot though, every
DVD or Blu-ray sleeve
of Audition i've seen reveals the true nature of Eihi Shiina's "sweet"
Asami.
At the point in the film when the shift occurs, when Asami gets Aoyama's
phone call and smiles
the following events should come as a surprise for the viewers.
Audition is one of Takashi Miike's best films and the
one which made him an infamous favourite
director for the cult film crowds all over the world. From the height
of the modern Japanese Golden
film era approx. 1995-2003. Lending it to someone who doesn't know what
he or she are gonna
watch is always fun. The Miike punch.
The script was written by Daisuke Tengan and based on a story by Ryu
Murakami
Above: The old 2007 US Lion's Gate unrated DVD edition
A lonely middle-aged man, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi)
has lost his wife Ryoko and now
lives alone with his teenage son Shigehiko. His son suggests that he
should re-marry and his
old friend Yasuhisa (Jun Kunimura) who works in the film industry has
an idea of how to do it.
How to find a suitable woman for Shigeharu ? He arranges an audition
for a film role and 30 young
women are chosen to participate, and Asami Yamazaki
(Eihi Shiina) is one of them. Yasuhisa
didn't like Asami as she made him nervous but Aoyama on the other hand
was enchanted by her.
Yasuhisa has checked her CV and
one of her references, a record company director, has been
missing for a year. Her stated friends can't be reached and her stated
job at a restaurant don't
exist and he warns Shigeharu from being too hasty. But, in their first
meeting she seemed to be a
submissive and well-behaved shy girl and Shigeharu is sure, and he calls
her ....
Takashi Miike turns the table of the traditional japanese
power position between men and women
with the woman being "submissive, shy and well behaved" and
the man being the provider.
Sort of, yes i know Asami is a psychopath, but some feminist viewers
liked the film due to Asami
being the one in possession of the power, and taking revenge on the
one molesting her as a kid.
The film is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen with japanese
audio and with swedish subtitles.
Extras: An introduction by Takashi Miike, International trailer, Japanese
trailer, Interview with
Eihi Shiina (20 minutes, made in 2009), Interview with Ren Osugi (16
minutes, made in 2009),
Interview with Renji Ishibashi (21 minutes, made in 2009 - great interview
with an actor legend),
Interview with Ryo Ishibashi (16 minutes, made in 2009), Picture gallery,
other trailers
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The Old US Lion's Gate DVD edition were presented in
widescreen 1.85:1 and with the following extras:
An interview with Takashi Miike, an audio commentary to special scenes
by Takashi Miike, the
introduction by Takashi Miike, a picture gallery, a scariest movie moments
segment and an interview
with writer Ryu Murakawi
