Audition, produced in 1999 by Omega Entertainment in Japan, was released in the US on DVD in 2001 with an MPAA rating of Youth Restricted Viewing due to strong violence and sex. The unsuspecting American public was in for a rude awakening with the extent of brutality, human torture and pain depicted in the film.

The DVD has English subtitles, but this is not a hindrance for most viewers. Although reading the subtitles was not an issue for this reviewer, others may have a problem with it.

Audition is an intensely dramatic film that takes its time slowly building and building to a resounding and violent climax. Torture, sexual situations, loneliness, twisted relationships and grotesque images are recurrent themes throughout the film. Audition should not be viewed by those who have a weak heart, weak stomach or have just eaten, anything. Some of the images are so disturbing that viewers will turn away in disgust or cringe with the intensity of the pain being inflicted on the actors being tortured.

~ The Plot ~
As Audition opens, an adorable small boy carries a special gift through a hospital corridor. His journey seems much longer than it actually is as we observe his mother's heart monitor slowing stop beating. The youngster is too late and his overwhelming sadness is quite evident. So is the apparent grief of his father, who sits at his wife's hospital bed.

The little boy, now grown into a young man, is seen fishing on the magnificent blue waters with his father. The two appear to have a great relationship, able to openly discuss many subjects ranging from friendships to dating. The son proposes that his father remarry because it had been several years since the passing of his wife. Loneliness and sadness had drawn lines of aging on his father's face and he desperately needed a new wife to make him feel young again.

Enlisting the aid of his friend, a filmmaker and movie producer, a plot is hatched to bring together the most beautiful and talented young single women for Aoyama to meet.

And so, Audition truly begins.

A fake audition was to be held to choose a cast for a movie that would never be produced. Dozens of women submitted their resumes along with their photographs prior to the audition. As the anxious father peruses the resumes, he spills a drop of tea on one of them. It is the face of an angel staring back at him as he pulled the resume to the top of the pile. Aoyama likes what he sees and is eager for audition day to arrive.

Audition day seems to drag on and on; as long as the walk that the little boy took down the hospital corridor a few years earlier....

Aoyama is long on patience even though the women are short on talent. Most of the women are amazingly gorgeous and offer unique interests, yet, they all seem too professional. He is looking for some purity and innocence, natural beauty and gentler talents that his deceased wife possessed. None of the women seem to possess the special quality that he is looking for.

Finally, she arrives, Asami, the girl from the lucky resume with the tea drop on it. His heart is ignited with a deep longing for this beautiful and stylish waif. Aoyama is truly impressed. But, there is something not quite right about her and this is told to him by his filmmaker friend. Proceed with caution, he warns.

Little does Aoyama know, but this audition would change his life in unspeakable ways, forever.............

~ Thoughts ~
Audition is an excellent piece of filmmaking, one worthy of recommendation. On several levels, it is a masterpiece. The main characters are multi-dimensional, allowing the viewer to get to know them personally. The directing is flawless. Each character bounces beautifully off of the other like a well choreographed swan dance. For example, Asami's references don't seem to jive yet he is so entranced with her that he opts to ignore the obvious, that this girl is off her rocker.

As the film progresses, Audition draws the viewer right into each experience with the brilliant directorial talents of Takashi Miike. Aoyama 's facial expressions are those of a man who is in too deep but cannot stop himself. We can feel his angst, we can feel his pain, we are there!

The cinematography is equally brilliant, as well as the overall quality of the filming. Through a series of colorful flashbacks, a fuller picture of Asami is slowly drawn. Some may find the pace of the film too slow as the picture develops, however, it is a necessary method in order for the climax to be as powerful as it is. In fact, the entire film is well done, slowly leading up to the final twenty minutes where all of the violence and deviant action takes place.

Audition is filled with contrasting images and ideas. The entire film is neatly held together by a string of musical selections appropriately spaced throughout, again showing these contrasts. The simple piano pieces and the intense violin selections add to the overall contrasts of the film. The happy and sad moments, the pleasure and the pain, the lightness and the darkness, the angel and the devil, good versus evil all tie in together to paint a portrait of one sick young woman whose pain filled life pushes her over the edge into insanity. Well done!

~ Conclusion ~
Audition. A masterpiece.

Watch it if you dare. Keep the children safely tucked away from viewing, however. The violent images are too realistic for many adults to stomach and have no place in a youngster's mind.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age