Audition (4 Stars)

All words are lies. Pain doesn't lie.

Aoyama, 42, is the producer in a film company. He's bringing up his son alone after the death of his wife. He wants to find a new wife, but due to his heavy work load he doesn't have the time. One of his colleagues makes a suggestion. He should advertise a new film and invite young women to audition for the main role. The film will never be made, it's just a way for him to get to know women. Out of a hundred applications he invites 30 women for the auditions, but he's already picked out one woman, Asami, because of an interesting essay accompanying her application. As hoped for, she also shows interest in him, and a romance develops. They go to a hotel, but she disappears in the middle of the night, and Aoyama is unable to find her. She no longer answers her phone, and all the details she's given him about home and business contact addresses turn out to be lies. But Asami knows where to find him. She visits him when he least expects it, and she tortures him with sadistic pleasure.

A girl I used to know once shared with me her wisdom on sadomasochism: "If a man says he enjoys pain, it means I'm not hitting him hard enough". In "Audition" Asami pushes sadism to the extreme. Aoyama is not a masochist, as far as we can tell, but even if he were she takes it too far. Director Takashi Miike shows us the connection between pleasure and pain in no uncertain terms. One of Asami's past victims is shown sitting in his wheelchair masturbating while he thinks of her.

This is an extreme film, and very difficult to watch, even though the torture scene is relatively short. It's the stuff that nightmares are made of. Some people will love it, while others will find it disgusting. I enjoyed it. But I wouldn't want to be in Aoyama's place.