Talk about hell. We review the brutal 1999 film, Audition.
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| "No. I refuse to do the Pledge of Allegiance. I prefer to wait it out." |
There are some men who like to think of women as objects to
be collected, as if they are beautiful and fragile crystal knick-knacks to be
displayed on their mantelpiece and shown off to others. On rare occasions the evening sun catches a
particular figure and radiates through the facets, enticing the man to pick it
up and turn it around in his hands. He
is not careful and drops it to the ground, shattering it into many jagged
pieces. In his efforts to salvage the
once perfect object, his fingers are cut to ribbons by the shards still
sparkling enticingly in the light. What
initially looks gorgeous can also bring unspeakable pain and suffering.
Which brings us to Audition,
Japanese director Takashi Miike’s sly, sordid romance of love and torment which
pulls the rug out from beneath viewer expectations and tolerance. Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) is a widowed
business man who has been out of the dating game for seven long years. His son and colleagues prompt him to look for
a new wife and he turns to his movie producer friend for help. Electing to hold a fake audition to let
Shigeharu interview the women and secretly choose a prospective love interest,
a demure and introverted woman named Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) catches
Shigeharu’s eye and wins him over easily.
The couple hit it off swimmingly, Asami being the perfect suitor for
Shigeharu in every way, until she decides to share her past and with him.
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| "If I have my way, this dress won't be white for very long." |
One of the reasons Audition
provides such a sharp jolt to the senses is part and parcel to Miike’s
strategically slow, deliberate pacing. Lingering
on quieter moments the characters experience, this jarring “cinematic negative
space” prevalent in many Japanese films may seem sluggish or unnecessary to Western
audiences. But in Audition, it brings viewers closer to the emotional core of Miike’s
characters as well as building tension or fear. The sustained pacing also amplifies the
impending coup de grâce, which hits like a sledgehammer when it finally
arrives. Miike’s fondness for canted angles or
interesting wide shots to convey a certain atmosphere or tone in addition to
his editing is fine tuned to masterful perfection here. Generally lensing his work on digital,
another great tactic to emphasize Audition’s
tonal shift is the preceding documentary feel to earlier scenes sharply
contrasted by a steadily heavier increase in stylized cinematography.
Miike’s use of color schemes to establish ambiance is clever
and understated. In the first third of Audition the color palette is normal and
desaturated with a lot of white space and harsh overhead lighting. As the film progresses, colors warm up,
coinciding with Shigeharu and Asami’s budding relationship before bright
yellow, cobalt blue and splashes of blood red dominates the finale. The transition is gradual and subtle but
perfectly synchronized with the story arc—the audience can feel the film
changing on a subconscious level. And
just when Shigeharu (and we) begin to sense something is wrong, Audition bites down hard and the
traumatic experience which follows is not unlike an out of nowhere road
accident striking your vehicle.
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| "I wonder what's in Santa's bag this year!!! Hopefully it's a body!" |
Those familiar with Miike’s body of work may find Audition a drastic departure from his
usual style and content, typically residing in the brutal underworld of the
Yakuza as opposed to mushy romances. Unconventional
and rebellious, Miike’s something of an outlier in his native country and with Audition, Miike manages to trump even
the worst of his Yakuza shockers combined. His razor sharp touch hasn’t been dulled one iota
here, swiftly and neatly slicing though audience expectations. Unsurprisingly, reportedly after screening Audition at film festivals, women approached
him afterwards and screamed in his face “You are sick! I hate you!” a visceral reaction most people
will absolutely have and feel after viewing this movie.
Among Audition’s most
intriguing thematic elements concern man’s perception of women in general. Females aren’t seen as equals but dolls to be
toyed with and disposed of as they see fit. Men in Audition
are dismissive towards women as a whole and tend towards taking their dates for
granted. A key, notably insulting scene
to behold involves Shigeharu superficially listing the pros and cons of his potential
love interests—tantamount to deciding the kind of car to buy as opposed to
picking someone to love and cherish. The ultimate lesson of Audition is to not judge a book by its cover. Sometimes you bite into an apple that looks
perfect on the outside and discover the inside is rotted and filled with worms.
As happens in real life, things aren’t
always what they seem on the surface and sometimes the ultimate price for that
folly is paid. Be careful what you wish for...it
may be too good to be true.
-Michelle Kisner
-Andrew Kotwicki