SYNOPSIS
A widower sets up a fake casting call in order to "audition" actresses to be his new partner.
He comes to regret his words and deeds.
OPINION
Audition is one of the most brutally, unflinchingly violent films you'll ever see - but it's meaningfully violent. At the very least, it is a violence in response and reaction to the low-key (or otherwise) violence inflicted upon women, especially in the film industry, each and every day. Ryo Ishibashi's Shigeharu is not a conventionally bad person, and certainly not a violent or cruel man. Eihi Shiina's Asami is not an avenging angel, righting a wrong, but a damaged person for whom there can be no reconciliation with society at large. And yet, despite the disproportionate qualities of her approach to the question the film poses, it cannot be said that our lead did not invite his fate.
CAST + CREW
Director: Takashi Miike (Gozu, Ichi the Killer,
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Chapter 1)
Cast: Eihi Shiina
(Tokyo Gore Police, Outrage, The Profane Exhibit)
Ryo Ishibashi (Kids Return, Brother, The Grudge)
CONTENT (spoilered; highlight for warnings)
violence against women, violence against children, violence against animals, violence against eyeballs, sexual assault, vomiting, torture, amputation, needles
CAREER STATS [on a scale from 1 (least) to 10 (most)]
FUN: 3
You'll like the characters, but this film is not about fun.
SCARINESS: 5
Uncomfortable more than frightening. And yet...
INTENSITY: 10
You will be unable to breathe for much of the last third.
RECOMMENDABILITY: 6
Rewarding, but hard to watch. Treat the content warnings seriously.
SEE ALSO:
Gozu, Noroi: The Curse, Ichi the Killer, House (1977)
