Audition (1999)

Sexy, but a little too rough for even MY tastes.

Genre: Drama Horror Mystery Thriller (South Korea, Japan)

Starring: Ryo Ishibashi (Suicide Club; "Masters of Horror": Dream Cruise), Eihi Shiina

Directed By: Takashi Miike (Ichi The Killer; "Masters of Horror": Imprint)

Overview: A man decides that he wants a wife. His friend concocts a ploy to have a movie audition that's really a screener for his friend's future betrothed. The woman our hero ends up choosing is... a little different than expected

Acting: The acting is so overshadowed by the terrible translation that I'll give the benefit of the doubt and presume that they were saying culturally relevant and brilliant lines. Plugging my ears and watching them, I was still unimpressed. That girl only got good at the end. The son, the father and his friend, all rather bland.
Rating: 5

Cinematography: There were some good locations, some interesting camera angles to watch the terrible story. I guess you could say that visually this was the reason for watching. Good cameraman, well done.
Rating: 7

Script: You want to see some of the worst Japanese translations out there? Either this is genuinely boring and awkward, or the writer was trying to express some artistic slant I didn't grasp. I really wish I spoke Japanese, because I'm sure the original dialogue is so not full of crappy minutiae. You think it's foreshadowing, but it's USELESS.
Rating: 4

Plot: The story takes about an HOUR to start. I get it, he's lonely! Then he dates this girl, then some weird dream sequence that brings more questions than answers, then BAM it's a Horror Thriller. Is the pièce de résistance worth seeing? Definitely. Very graphic. Is it worth seeing as part of this movie? No way.
Rating: 4

Mood: The themes seemed to focus around the mystery of woman, with a special focus on the mystery of the woman our hero is courting. The dream sequence thing was really well done mood wise, but I don't think ending a movie by having the viewer say 'whuh?' is really considered 'getting into' a film.
Rating: 6

"That's a good fingerless doggy..." See? Too rough! Ruff! Ugh I jest remembered he's eating her puke... *Shudder*

Overall Rating: 52% (NEXT!)

Aftertaste: The Romantic Thriller. Is it me, or is it ALWAYS about some psycho woman? Basic Instinct, Sliver... I guess the difference with Japan is that we don't really care about the girl in this one. I was warned that this wasn't any good, but the promise that this film was so graphic as to have an incredibly high rate of theater walkouts drew me in. Fie to my sick nature of slowing down for an accident!