Audition
— Book a reunion with your last meal: Takashi Miike turns a love story into a horror gorefest within minutes.”
- Director: Takashi Miike
- Japan, 1999
I have to admit, just being aware of this film’s reputation is a good reason to skip it, because with even a milligram of prior knowledge this particular injection of the Takashi Miike shock treatment might not have the desired side effects.
You see, Audition is a movie of two very distinct halves. In the first, we enjoy a light-hearted dose of the romantics in which the protagonist widower Aoyama holds auditions for a fake movie in order to attract a new spouse. In the second, his spousal selection sticks needles in his eyes and chops his feet off.
Now I’ve been out with some nutters in my time, but dating Asami Yamazaki redefines scary. That’s because even though much of the carnage is suggested off-camera, Audition is by no means a prescription for the squeamish. Diagnosis? An equal parts stylish and ghoulish meditation on choosing your partner wisely.
See also:
A Bittersweet Life
Yet another tour de force in a growing trend of Korean cool.
- Originally published: 16 Nov 2006 in Film
Dancer In The Dark
Director: Lars Von Trier Denmark et al, 2000 Only a bunch of die-hards could create this kind of electrifying cinema and Von Trier’s shoots are famously uncomfortable affairs. Perhaps that’s the key
- Originally published: 1 Dec 2006 in Film
Y Tu Mamá También
Your mother wouldn’t like it: the awkward charm of a Mexican coming-of-age drama.
- Originally published: 4 Feb 2008 in Film
La Dolce Vita
This masterpiece of stylish satire, full of memorable images remains nevertheless aloof.
- Originally published: 12 Feb 2007 in Film
Who you gonna call?
Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm originally from Yorkshire, England but nowadays I live in Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is Black Albert.
Shameless self-promotion
Over a year in the making, Dopeology.org is my latest personal project: a topology of doping in thirty years of European pro road cycling.
I collected information from thousands of sources, then I modelled and published it via a lightweight user interface.
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