Audition

Only a handful of images in Japanese cinema have become as iconic as Eihi Shiina holding a syringe. If you have seen Audition, you’ll know why. If not, this year’s Filmasia is a perfect opportunity to untangle the mystery of syringes, garrote wires and deep love in a remastered version of this motion picture.

Years after burying his wife, Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi) is encouraged to find love again. With the help of his friend, he organizes a fake audition for a television series as a pretext for finding a partner. He is immediately drawn to a mysterious applicant named Asami (Eihi Shiina), whose past turns out to be more complicated than she lets on. In Audition, Miike picks apart the feeling of uncertainty and vulnerability permeating new relationships in ways you will never ever forget.

Audition is among the most influential Japanese films from the turn of the millennium. Takashi Miike leverages his ability to shape viewers’ expectations, and when the time is right, he takes a vicious turn. He systematically shifts between moods and genres and one can never know what to expect from the next scene. At one moment, the film feels like a romance, or even comedy, while in the next it skillfully descends into gruesome horror scenes. Ultimately, though, it is an authentic story of deep love and vulnerability that looks like the unlikely love child of Douglas Sirk and David Cronenberg.