Audition (4 Stars)

"Audition" is a film that I like, but it's not a film that I can watch often. Today is the fourth time I've watched it, so it fits my definition of a good film: "A good film is a film I want to watch at least three times". I was excited when I found out it was being shown in the cinema this week. I had to go!

Aoyama has been raising his son as a single parent since the death of his wife seven years ago. He thinks it's time to move on. He wants to find a new wife, but he doesn't know how to go about it. The film was made in 1999, before there were dating apps. Together with a friend, he devises a trick. They interview women for the leading role in a film. They don't intend to make the film. They're just using it as a strategy to find a suitable woman for Aoyama.

He finds a woman. Or does she find him? They go on a romantic weekend and have sex, but when Aoyama wakes up she's gone. He searches for her in vain. He finds people who know her, but none of them know where she lives. But she knows where Aoyama lives, and when the time is right she breaks into his house.

The film is a slow burner. For the first hour very little happens. This builds up the suspense towards the horrific conclusion. I wanted to look away, but I gripped my seat and gazed at the screen. It's a film that nobody can forget.