Audition (and Asian horror in general)

[father lucifer]

I just bought the DVD of "Audition" today! I'm SO psyched! I was shocked to see it for sale at the Hastings in my town (Huntsville, Texas), considering I live way out in the boonies and movies like "Audition" are quite a rarity. (Not to mention my Hastings is by far the crappiest Hastings I've ever seen. But lately they've surprised me --- they also had the DVD of "Blue Velvet." I almost had a stroke.)

Anyway, I've never been a fan of Asian films until I discovered Asian horror. I ordered "Ring" through the web and when I first watched it I was a bit let down, considering all the hype it's garnered. Although I did find it somewhat creepy, I just didn't find it "scary." But upon repeat viewings I've found that it's gotten better and better. Now I place "Ring" in my top 10 horror flicks, and it scares the shit outta me. Funny how some movies can do that --- creep up on ya when you're in the right mood or just fall over and die when you're not.

Then I ordered "Battle Royale" through the same website. OH ... MY ... GOD. Suffice it to say that I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Beautiful and so ruthless.

I want "Vortex" and "Kakashi" now, as well as "Ring 2," "Ring 0: Birthday," and the Korean remake "Ring Virus." I'm hesitant to watch the American remake of "Ring," but I will, anyway, because I want to see how it compares to the Japanese version and also because I like Naomi Watts (who was EXCELLENT in "Mulholland Drive"). But, like most other people in this forum, I do agree that Hollywood remakes are getting pretty fucking tiresome.

But I'm digressing here. The main point of this topic is to ask and see if anyone else has seen "Audition." I know this has been done before hundreds of time on here, but I'm still a virgin (at least to this forum). If anyone has seen it, did they like it?

I CAN'T WAIT to pop this in my DVD player and letcha know what I thought of it!!


Silencio.

[countchocula]

I just got the Audition DVD as well. The film probably would have had a more intoxicating effect on me had I not known what was coming, but I still loved it. Miike's directing style is inventive and disturbing. He allows you to get attached to the characters via a strong exposition, and then abrasively thumps your psyche with some seriously fucked up images. I simply need to discover more Asian genre fare. In particular, I'm interested in Versus. It's intriguing to know that it gives Dead Alive a run for its money in the carnage department.

[Psychocandy]

SPOILER ALERT.
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Everyone talks about the last ten minutes of Audition. The scene that got me bad in the movie was when you find out what is in the bag in Asami's apartment. Brrrr. That was like a sucker punch to the gut.

Father Lucifer...it is stunning. I've already written about it on the forum before. It's worthy of 4.5/5 easy.

[This message has been edited by Psychocandy (edited 06-11-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Psychocandy (edited 06-11-2002).]

[skweemkween]

Psychocandy-I stopped myself half way thru your post because of the stuff it seemed like you were giving away. Dude, do this schmoe a favor and post spoilers before you do that. I almost had it ruined for me.

Just tryin'to keep America clean,
(see Smokey the Bear television ads, cira 1970s for kween's vague,obscure reference)
Kween

[JCR]

One of the things I read when Battle Royale came out in the UK- in empire magazine- was that it had done well enough in Japan to warrent a sequel- the director said he was going ahead with it and also claimed BR 1 was not violent enough, so the follow up would be more so!

Does anyone have any more info on this?

[Psychocandy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by skweemkween:
Psychocandy-I stopped myself half way thru your post because of the stuff it seemed like you were giving away. Dude, do this schmoe a favor and post spoilers before you do that. I almost had it ruined for me.

Just tryin'to keep America clean,
(see Smokey the Bear television ads, cira 1970s for kween's vague,obscure reference)
Kween</font>

Real sorry about that. I didn't really reveal anything of import but i'll be more careful in future.

[father lucifer]

Okay, I watched it last night. Before I say anything about it, I have a word of advice to anyone who buys or rents this DVD. PLEASE do not watch the "Audition" trailers before you watch the film. Although the trailers are terrific, they give away way too much of the film (even the cover gives away some, unfortunately). So watch the film first, THEN watch the (great) trailers.

Okay, on with my review of "Audition."

WARNING:
The following review contains SPOILERS. Stop reading RIGHT NOW if you have not seen the film and/or don't want to know anything about it.

For the longest time I struggled with how to get the English subtitles to work. Every time I hit the icon for English subtitles and started the movie, there'd be no English subtitles. I was getting a bit angry, because my anticipation level of watching this film was at an all-time high and I couldn't even get it to work! I don't speak Japanese (although I do speak some Chinese, and everyone knows that sure ain't gonna help), so I was getting somewhat miffed. I thought, "Oh, great! I got ripped off!" Then suddenly, as if by some miracle, the English subtitles appeared on the screen and I watched the film, thinking, "All this trouble better be worth it, dammit."

It was. It was more than worth it.

From the opening scene to (especially) the closing scene, I was completely glued to the screen. I could not get up once, not even to go to the bathroom (which is right next door to my bedroom). I was absolutely riveted.

This is the most emotionally gut-wrenching horror film I've ever seen. I've never been subjected to a horror film that handled its characters, especially its villain, in such a tender, human way. I felt for all these characters --- especially Asami --- and I wanted all of them to find happiness, not just the protagonist. I think the film works so incredibly well because it touches base on a universal theme --- the search for love, someone to give love to and someone to be loved by in return. This theme was handled in a mature, adult, and very realistic manner, and was not sappy, sentimental, or self-pitying in the least bit. Also, the movie can be seen as a reflection of man's internal fear of woman, and/or man's need for intimate female companionship. (Well, straight men, anyway.) Some people also see this film as a feminist picture (woman's way of getting abck at men for centuries of suppression), and although I don't personally view it in that light, I can definitely see where those people are coming from.

The movie is tragic on all levels. It begins quite delicately, quite silent, and slowly unravels into something more and more complex for the duration of the film. By the end of the film, all coherence is abandoned and everything turns into an all-out imagistic acid trip, featuring some of the most nightmarish things I've ever seen in a movie. The actress who played Asami was phenomenol; she really did seem sweet, naive, and somewhat confused at first, a person dealing with the bitterness of her abusive past and doing her best to move forward in a positive way and "come out of her shell." Although i knew what the film was about before I watched it (including the infamous ending), I was still stunned to see this actress literally step into this role and transform herself into the insecure psychopath she turned out to be.

It's a very slow film, but I wasn't bored for a second. It's extremely poetic (I think), and deals with the "don't judge a book by its cover" addage harrowingly. The thing that made this movie so tragic and SO SAD to me was that the main character (I forgot his name) was only trying to be happy again. All he wanted was someone to love. And to top it off, that's really all Asami wanted, as well.
The cinematography is spellbinding, and all the performances are first-rate. I especially liked the relationship between father and son. Very real and not cliched.

I think this film hit me on a personal level right now because I'm single (and not necessarily looking, but waiting to see what happens, if anything does). It really makes you wary of who you meet, and makes you wonder if you really want to go on that date tonight. It's so epic to me that two people who want the same thing out of life --- happiness --- could end up in the situation that these two end up in, almost Shakespearean, if you will. Two scenes made me jump out of my skin (something I haven't done in a long time while watching a movie), one scene being *SPOLIERS* when the bag in Asami's living room rolled over for the first time as the phone was ringing, and when the mutilated victim inside the bad crawled out, missing a tongue, three fingers, and his feet. That is probably THE MOST TERRIFYING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN in a film, and trust me, I thought I'd seen it all, everything from cult flicks to zombie exploitation to "real" deaths. Another scene almost had me on the verge of tears, such as *SPOLIERS* when Asami is laying in bed in the motel room, naked, and begs the protagonist (I can't remember his name!) to love her and ONLY her, and makes him promise. My god, how tenderly done for ANY kind of film, especially a horror film!

And then, of course, there's the much-discussed ending. I knew something horrific was going to happen, due to word of mouth, but I didn't know exactly what. Oh my god. This film contains the MOST BRUTAL last 20 minutes of a film EVER. (I thought that about "Requiem For a Dream", another film I went nuts over, until I saw this, and this bumped "Requiem" to second place.) It's not often that I put my hands over my face in a horror movie, but I did this time, without even realizing it. Hell, by the time it was over I was literally halway hanging out of my chair, shaking!! If you think you've seen brutality, think again. (Of course, I haven't seen "Irreversible" yet.)

Some have said this film isn't horror. How can you think it isn't? This is one of the SCARIEST, most DISTURBING films I've yet watched, and I'm more than glad I bought it. Highly, highly recommended. After I finished it, I went outside and sat on the porch to smoke a cigarette and reflect on what I'd just witnessed. The film isn't easy to shake off --- it'll stay with you for a long, long time, as all great cinema should. I didn't want to jump the gun at first, but after a long while of thinking about it, I've firmly come to the conclusion that this is the best horror film I've ever seen. Period. In my list of best movies of 2001, it bumped "Monster's Ball" down to number two on my list. I don't grade movies with an "A+" usually, but "Audition" is more than deserving of this grade. Absolutely, completely flawless, and a masterpiece.

PS -- The director is scary!!! I watched the interview with him, and something about him really, really creeped me out! How appropriate!


Silencio.

[Hardcore Horror]

Yo father!
If you're looking for some good asian horror, check out ebay. There's a store called far east dvd. I've gotten The Ring triology, the ring virus and battle royale, he's also has ichi the killer and versus

[Fisting Ackbar]

Originally posted by JCR
One of the things I read when Battle Royale came out in the UK- in empire magazine- was that it had done well enough in Japan to warrent a sequel- the director said he was going ahead with it and also claimed BR 1 was not violent enough, so the follow up would be more so!

Does anyone have any more info on this?

A sequel is currently being made called BATTLE ROYALE: SECOND.

AUDITION was interesting but not great. Cool ending and the bag was sweet, but the story does drag at times and becomes confusing near the ending. I prefer Takashi Miike's ICHI THE KILLER even though that's a much sicker and less serious film.