938. Audition

Audition
1999
Directed by Takashi Miike

I am back home after my surgery!  Everything went well although the pain has been...intense.  Let's just say a couple nights ago I was wishing Asami had amputated my foot too.  But as I am confined to bed once again, I will continue watching an absurd amount of movies and writing an overwhelming amount of posts.

Shigeharu Aoyama is a middle aged widower who is urged by the people who love him to start dating again.  His friend, who is a film producer, sets up a fake casting audition where young women audition for the part of Aoyama's wife.  Tinder really has made everything so much easier.  Anyway, Aoyama is infatuated with one of the women, Asami, but she may not be quite as perfect as she appears.

Parts of this film were extremely disgusting.  I will spare my readers the details, but let's just say I could have gone without a few of the scenes (and I am not talking about gore).  Other than that, I really enjoyed this movie; it was well acted and well paced.  It is also strangely relatable.  I mean, I have never dated a psychopath like Asami, but I understood the fear Aoyama had of putting himself out there again.  Exposing yourself to rejection and heartbreak does take a special kind of bravery.

So Japanese horror films continue to impress.  I probably didn't enjoy this as much as Ringu, but a great film nonetheless.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Had a record number of walkouts at the Rotterdam Film Festival.