Audition

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Seen through a dark doorway into a dim, lamp-lit room, a woman with long dark hair kneels over a man on the floor as blood sprays through the air.

Now, I do not think of myself as a squeamish man.

But I didn’t realize before watching this film that this was by Takashi Miike, the same guy that had the “full grown man being birthed by a woman” scene in Gozu and the… everything… in Ichi the Killer. I love both of those films for sure but I knew what they were going into them and sure, Audition is one of those films that has a reputation for a couple of hard shots to get through.

The woman vomits in a pan and then feeds it to a man she keeps in a sack in her home who is missing… *checks notes* an ear, 3 fingers, a tongue, and both feet.

Needless to say there was no just “dumping my notes” for this review as I was a bit too transfixed to bother to write anything. In hindsight though, I loved the pacing and structure of this film. Some of it was dare I say romantic, some of it was painfully relatable as you watch a likable guy fall deeper into bliss as his best friend can see what a bad situation this is, some of it was like a procedural when she goes missing for a while…

And most interestingly to me, this was at times misogynistic, at times feminist, and at times both? Everyone was a victim in a way, and yet… some did it to themselves. I’m clearly still thinking about it and will be. Setting aside some awkward shots and flashbacks that felt like they derailed the story at times more than they gave new insight to the viewer, it’s a strong B. I might even rewatch it knowing what I’m getting into this time.

Score: B