Ôdishon (1999)

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Ryû Murakami (novel)
Daisuke Tengan (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 March 2000 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

She always gets a part

Plot:

A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.

Plot Keywords:

Widower | Audition | Friend | Japanese | Film Producer

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ryo Ishibashi	...	Shigeharu Aoyama
Eihi Shiina	...	Asami Yamazaki
Tetsu Sawaki	...	Shigehiko Aoyama
Jun Kunimura	...	Yasuhisa Yoshikawa
Renji Ishibashi	...	Old man in wheelchair
Miyuki Matsuda	...	Ryoko Aoyama
Toshie Negishi	...	Rie
Ren Ohsugi	...	Shimada
Shigeru Saiki	...	Toastmaster
Ken Mitsuishi	...	Director
Yuriko Hiro'oka	...	Michiyo Yanagida
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	TV station presenter
Misato Nakamura	...	Misuzu Takagi
Yuuto Arima	...	Shigehiko as a child
Ayaka Izumi	...	Asami as a child
Nattsu Tanabashi	...	Hotel front desk
Kimiko Tachibana	...	FM announcer
Tatsuo Endô	...	Doctor
Koshio Jindôji	...	Nurse
Kanji Tsuda	...	Bartender
Party	...	Gangster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takako Katoh		(as Takako Katô)
Saori Tachibana
Yayoi Ôtsu

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits
Ryû Murakami		(novel)
Daisuke Tengan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Satoshi Fukushima	....	producer
Jun'ichi Shindô	....	planner
Akemi Suyama	....	producer
Toyoyuki Yokohama	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kôji Endô

Cinematography by
Hideo Yamamoto

Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura

Production Design by
Tatsuo Ozeki

Costume Design by
Tomoe Kumagai

Makeup Department
Yûichi Matsui	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Takeshi Suzuki	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bunmei Katô	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Masashi Furuya	....	sound assistant
Kenji Shibazaki	....	sound effects editor

Production Companies

• AFDF
• Creators Company Connection
• Omega Project (as Omega Project Inc.)

Distributors

• American Cinematheque (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bir Film (2004) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2000) (UK) (theatrical)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sagittaire Films (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Vitagraph Films (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Xenix Filmdistribution (2001-2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Art Port (Japan) (DVD)
• Art Port (Japan) (VHS)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (Greece) (video)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Gateno Films (2003) (Peru) (all media)
• Impuls Home Entertainment (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (North America)
• Maple Pictures (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• One World Media (2002) (Germany) (video)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• SBP (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Shout! Factory (2009) (USA) (video) (Blu-ray)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2007) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2004) (UK) (DVD) (collector's edition)
• Tartan Video (200?) (UK) (VHS)
• Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd. (200?) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Vivendi Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Audition" - International (English title), UK, USA
"Oodishon" - Japan (alternative transliteration)
"Audition" - Argentina, Spain, Uruguay
"Audition" - Canada (French title), France
"Ölüm provasi" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"A Entrevista" - Brazil (festival title)
"Akroasi" - Greece (festival title)
"Anjo ou Demónio" - Portugal
"Audición" - Uruguay (DVD title)
"Audition" - Italy
"Audition" - Sweden (imdb display title)
"Audition" - Germany
"Audition" - Finland
"Audition (Audición)" - Spain
"Gra wstepna" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Meghallgatás" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"O Teste Decisivo" - Brazil (festival title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/torture and sexuality (cut)

Runtime:

115 min | USA:113 min (R-rated version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | Dolby SR

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Chile:14 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Portugal:M/16 (orginal rating) | Portugal:M/18 (DVD rating) | Belgium:KNT | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:R | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated

Company:

AFDF

Trivia:

When the film was screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2000 it had a record number of walkouts. At the Swiss premiere someone passed out and needed emergency room attention.

Goofs:

Continuity: During their weekend getaway, Asami clearly removes all of her clothing then lies in bed and covers with a sheet. She then raises the sheet to expose the wounds on her thigh. The white panties can clearly be seen despite the fact that she just removed them.

Quotes:

Asami Yamazaki:Kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Departed (2006)

Beautiful, terrible, wonderful film!

I won't over-analyze this film since it appears to have been dissected numerous times already. I'll just add a few comments from my perspective and move on.... 1) With respect to comments made that this film is boring until the last 30 minutes or so, I would say these people are absolutely wrong! Yes, it is much more slow and deliberate than most horror films, and certainly for Miike it is a departure, but boring it is not. If you find this film boring, then you are not looking for intelligent horror--you are looking for just another film in a long line of wasteful teenage crap. I cannot stress enough how important this slow buildup is. I can't remember when the last horror film I saw took time to build characters and help the audience empathize with them--and no, films like "Saw" that show flashbacks to help fill in characterization and obvious plot points don't count! And if you watch closely, there are myriad clues, both subtle and not-so-subtle as to the potentially dangerous situation that is being created for the male lead. This is called tension. And this film creates an unbearable amount of tension. It's been a long time since I've been on the edge of my seat waiting to see what's going to happen. Just because I am saying to myself, "C'mon, c'mon, move this thing along" doesn't mean I'm bored. The atmosphere in this film is positively dripping! 2) As far as comments made about this being "arthouse horror", my response is, "What?!" Why does a film have to be labeled as "arty" if it is a departure from what we are accustomed to? Why does a horror film have to be labeled art if it builds characterization and explores more mature themes than "having premarital sex will get you killed by an ax murderer"? Don't let the people that call this film "arty" scare you off from seeing it. I consider this just a very well-made horror film that doesn't pander to the teenage audience that has grown accustomed to "Scream" and that type of movie. 3) While the last 20-30 minutes are hard to watch, it's not nearly as gruesome as many dozens of other films. I would argue that because we are generally interested in the two lead characters (both Asami and Aoyami), it makes the violence being perpetrated worse. I would also say that the sound effects are much worse than the visuals. Turn on mute and watch the torture scenes and see if you don't agree with me. Nevertheless, very strong stuff here! 4) Many viewers have argued about the meaning (reality vs. dream) of the "flashback" sequences Aoyami has. Miike has gone on record as saying his intentions were that the torture was real--not a dream. I would also point out that regardless of whether you believe dream or reality, if you pay attention, the most disturbing part of the flashbacks is that they are slightly different than the same scenes were at the beginning of the film. This basically is a statement about perspective: what one person sees and hears or wants to believe is not necessarily what another person sees/hears/believes. In other words, all the warning signs were readily available, but Aoyama was so smitten with Asami, he could not see them. That's the true horror! 5) Finally, if you enjoyed the movie on any level and felt moved by it on (again) any level, I would encourage you to search out Augustin Villaronga's "In A Glass Cage"("Tras el Cristal"). Same general themes (cyclical nature of child abuse/revenge), but maybe even stronger imagery. Be warned, it's strong stuff.