Horror Movie Odyssey: Day 4 - Audition
by delaythesun
My write up of Friday VII yesterday left me with some mixed feelings. Sure the movie was great, but reading the description, I feel like I gave the impression that the film is basically just 90 minutes of fun-loving lady murder. The entire thing seemed a tad misogynistic so today I wanted to mix things up a bit and let the fairer sex have their day in the sun. No film makes the case for female...
My write up of Friday VII yesterday left me with some mixed feelings. Sure the movie was great, but reading the description, I feel like I gave the impression that the film is basically just 90 minutes of fun-loving lady murder. The entire thing seemed a tad misogynistic so today I wanted to mix things up a bit and let the fairer sex have their day in the sun. No film makes the case for female empowerment quite like Audition.
False Advertising
Takashi Miike is kind of a crazy person. Notable for both his prolific catalog (Audition was one of seven films he directed in 1999), and the fact that his movies have a tendency to be grueling exercises in cinematic excess (Ichi the Killer has a guy getting deep fried on hooks). The DVD case certainly lets you know what you are in for, check out this thing:
Awesome right? Hot chick, bloody wire, fun times! What could possibly go wrong?
Ovaries. Yeah, you read that right.
This movie is two hours long and the first 100 minutes is all build up. Shigeharu’s wife dies, and after being lonely for a long stretch, he takes his son’s advice and tries to “get back out there.” The problem, of course, is that he is naive, middle aged, and more than a little lazy. He actually says outright that he “doesn’t know much about ovaries.” Okay. His friend helps him out by staging a fake round of auditions so he can check out a bunch of ladies and determine which one he wants to pursue: Cute outgoing girl? Nah. Straight laced business lady? Nah. Slightly skanky chick? Not so much. Clearly unstable lady that scares the shit out of absolutely everybody she encounters? Sure, why the hell not?
This Chick is Crazy
His friends know that this chick is crazy, the audience knows that this chick is crazy. What is wrong with him? Doesn’t he like his own feet?!
When Sally Dissected Harry
The whole sort-of cute, sort-of creepifying story is just building to the last 15 minutes where absolutely everything goes haywire. There is this whirlwind of nightmarish imagery and highlights include: child abuse, vomit eating, eyeball acupuncture and the number one stunner - foot amputation. There is no doubt a potent feminist metaphor to be found but... goddamn!