AUDITION (1999): Miike's Misunderstood Masterpiece

[@robertpetre9378]

Takashi Miike’s Auditions is a slow burner but when it gets into the the horror it pulls no punches and that’s what makes it brilliant.

[@adamcraig1468]

It pulls no punches but it pulls strings

[@lifeisactuallyveryboring.7771]

@@adamcraig1468 ha saw what you did there.

[@bennysusanto5524]

The scariest part is when in the dream his former wife sees her in shock and says, no, no... look at her eyes, it's like she is seeing something horrible and a nightmare. Imagine that you have a supernatural power to see someone's heart and you see this girl who will be the wife of your loved one.

[@e3m88]

Dude the moment he became creepy it's the moment the horror started, like let's make a fake audition to find someone to have sex with that have some kind of performance talent, it was never a romantic movie.

[@Evute02]

Definitely not romantic, to be honest the main character deserved what he got..or at least should’ve seen it coming. He perceived women as objects, or submissive dolls as the video mentioned, and he ended up with the one who wouldn’t fall for it lol. But by no means am I defending the level of evil and bizarre that Asami is.

[@allier1867]

ikr it was fucked up . i would say it was even a little feminist

[@03e-210a]

@@Evute02 ? Who said that he perceived women as objects? What fucking buzzfeed article did you read now? I don’t think he ever considered her or women objects. If he did he wouldn’t have placed importance on her or on his wife. If that was true this movie wouldn’t have existed in the first place lol .He was simply enamored by something so beautiful to the point he began obsessing over her. Granted, he didn’t tell her the full truth but she didn’t either. I will say my man did not see that coming and he really should’ve. A broad who is creepy as shit and noone knows her? Yeah no thanks

[@ralphhugogarcia6133]

@@03e-210a There was a line he uttered when he was picking from the candidates “This is like my first time buying a car.” That one is pretty self-explanatory. On the other hand, when they were conducting the interview, some questions were personally invasive and out of line, such as “What do you like about men?” Or “What do you hate about men?” The thing is, those moments were presented as comedic. So, you have to be really attentive to catch those subtleties. Of course, he wasn’t presented as a conventional misogynistic man. But that’s what makes the film complex. Instead of just portraying the man as some sort of misogynistic pig. He is given layers. He’s in a gray area. Whether you think he’s completely innocent or not is up to you. And frankly, that reflects on who you are as a person.

[@03e-210a]

@@ralphhugogarcia6133 hahahahahaha I like that. Nice last line. I guess if you’re woke you would’ve immediately thrown your red flags from the first words of the bloke. Noone would call him innocent lul, but damn is he unlucky to fall for the wrong person; your last line is quite hypocritical captain. I still definitely do not believe the man is misogynistic by any means (I guess I am one then according to your big brain analysis). Old-fashioned is an apt term for this man, but I doubt many would agree.

[@olivercook873]

It’s the ‘man’ in the sack scene...that’s the most disturbing scene for me in this film.

[@hardbody2072]

I watched The Audition with my dad back in the day.. we were talking about movies the other night and he brought that scene up... he said "I stopped watching those damn horror movies with you after that one with the man in the bag!" He's 74 and still remembers that.

[@juliannedionisio43]

For me, it's the twitching severed tongue.

[@KatalistProductionsKozzySasha]

Its crazy how good the slow build up is, I love that sack scene to and the flashbacks to when she was younger where very disturbing to.

[@unknownstranger2621]

Isnt there a woman in the sack ??

[@ero-samairianto625]

@@unknownstranger2621 watch the movie man, 👌

[@hetbigboy]

Right away I gotta say, that's a quallity spoiler warning right there.

[@CinemaNippon]

Tyvm. Our boy Chester likes to yell when he's hungry because he's so food-driven. I figured it would make a good warning.

[@hetbigboy]

@@CinemaNippon Is the picture him as well?

[@CinemaNippon]

Yes, that's Chester. Haha. He's the mascot of Animal Fact Files as well. When we needed a spoiler alarm, I figured I could steal his photogenic face from over on that channel.

[@hetbigboy]

@@CinemaNippon he is undeniably photogenic!

[@danmann861]

I would argue the film is not a feminist statement at all. In fact, so would Miike. Or Miike at least says he didn't set out to make a feminist film. I like the suggestion that the second half of the film and Asami's backstory and torture of Aoyama is actually a projection of Aoyama's guilt. His guilt about finding a new love and betraying his first love and wife. His guilt about the audition itself. His guilt for seducing his new girlfriend under false pretensions. The dream interpretation is interesting to me and everything in the films later half could simply be seen as Aoyama's self induced nightmare. Stylistically the film leaves reality and becomes almost very dream and nightmare like at a certain point when we enter the second half. Its color palette is very off kilter as we explore Asami's past almost indicating that it is a fever dream of sorts. The torture itself is very nightmarish. The fact that he wakes up mid way through, has that conversation with Asami in bed then falls back to sleep and finishes the dream on a note of even ground between them could suggest that his fears have been put to rest...or maybe it is all real and maybe it's a tragic occurrence of the abused biting back. That very well could be the case too, but I've always liked the dream interpretation. This film seems to me more so a projection of Aoyama's guilt and the nightmare is that of entering a new relationship on uneven grounds. The fear of the unknown.

[@uglukthemedicineman5933]

Spot On! I hate when people start bringing gender roles politics into movie analysis about movies that has nothing to do with feminism or muh patriarchy. Often it seems they ignore the characters as idividuals and view them instead as gender role archtypes and stereotypes, dehumanizing them into a role and not a character.

[@milkysue5496]

Just watched it for the first time and I had the same interpretation. Also that he feels guilty because of the way he was talking about the ideal woman but then he falls in love with someone who has lots of baggage, and that women are humans, not perfect or imperfect objects. The only issue I have, is that you see her at home with the bag before the dream sequence. I can only assume that has popped into his head as an "but what if she is a torturing psychopath and not this normal girl"

[@tonybechillin1026]

@@uglukthemedicineman5933 Well, Audition is one film which I think could bring the theme of gender roles into it's story. The way it's crafted and the way things are revealed definitely prove this. I don't think that there is one objective truth in Audition beside's the events that actually take place within the film. All of the theories related to the analytical side of things are and should remain subjective, not only within Audition but I feel this is a very good way of looking at cinema in general. I mean if you think about it though the whole film is about men setting up a staged Audition to marry off a unsuspecting woman, so that obviously say's something about gender roles and the male gaze. This simple yet deceptive set up alone say's all there is to say about the underlying message of Audition. Not really a lot of room to debate here on this film in particular.

[@tonybechillin1026]

@@johnbertram1537 Not at all, I think what I'm saying in my comment flew over your head completely. There are events in the film Audition which are fact, and events that are presented as being untrue, but these scenes help to project the themes within the story. This is where audience subjectivity resides. I'm not saying I'm wrong, and you are right. I'm just stating what I got out of the film.

[@petermyweiner6688]

I think you're right. I think people seeing this as a feminist revenge movie shows more about themselves than they know. Also how they assume she's a sadistic killer because of childhood abuse is falling into the same assumptions and biases the main character himself does. Her dream form is his own fears of being dominated and trapped into a relationship after learning she isn't a perfect angel but a person with a past of abuse.

[@SuccessforLifester]

I like the female narrator, she sounded very professional like the one from Watch mojo

[@pink_alligator]

Sounding like Watchmojo isn't a compliment and certainly more than these people deserve. The Watch channels are mindless corporation quantity over quality. This has actual effort and thought put in to it and does go a lot deeper than surface level mojo ever does

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@pink_alligator The quality of the sound of Watchmojo narrator was rather pleasing for me. The content was more of an entertaining nature. I am not so choosy, I feel that they are alright.

[@max5351]

Hey, I came to your channel from SpookyRices most recent one and I have to say, I'm utterly shocked with just how little exposure you guys have been given. I've been bringing your videos and you guys are pushing out really great content. Hope this channel blows up!

[@drgonzosfear]

To me it seemed like two lovers who are eager to fall in love and hard, eventually the love fades and heartache ensues. After trying to make it work and both afraid of the change of life without the other, it has to end however painful or torturous. The last scene where they were staring at each other, both broken but vulnerable was a beautiful ending,

[@emoluver619]

Is actually stumbled to this video to see if I interpreted the sexual abuse as being what it is. Just finished watching the movie about an hour ago and I really do think it was partially a critique on men in positions of power manipulating women, particularly young women. Not sure if he deserved all the torture, but really, it shows how the abuse and trauma she suffered left her in a state of all or nothing and equating pain with love. As someone with abandonment issues and ptsd I can empathize, though I think we all know in the real world you talk that out with someone instead of this. Though I do know some people do internalize their pain like Asami did, though not to that extreme.

[@2lazybum]

Ive watched it twice and still have no idea whats happening.

[@kevinguimond7711]

Audition is amazing all the way through both for the romance aspect and the horror aspect. Just my interpretation, could be totally wrong, but I view it as the moment he has sex with her, he begins to dream about everything that could be wrong with her. Bad family history, killing ballet teacher, capturing disfigured man, and lastly being tortured by her. This comes about as a result of his fears that were embedded in him about this girl not being the right one. Everything that happens could be thought of as something that he's afraid of happening with her, like her thinking that he loves his son, and not her. As a result I think the theme it's getting at is that finding a significant other is especially hard after a previous relationship, especially in his situation. We all handle it differently, but he had his own doubts about Asami that manifested within his dream. He was moving rather fast in the relationship, and got to the point of wanting to propose, it makes sense that at this point he'd begin to worry about what could be wrong.

[@grantkistel3411]

I was so confused with how grounded the film was in the first half being familiar with his work, and then he gave me one of the most jaw dropping second half’s story and cinematic wise I’ve ever witnessed

[@matangox]

Poor cat spinning like that. 😿

[@CinemaNippon]

I think he's getting used to sounding the spoiler alarm at this point. ;P

[@AnimalFactFiles]

You should see him in real life...

[@SuccessforLifester]

I was quite disturbed by the images of a young girl with legs apart. Though it was for less than one second. Not a single films I had watched dared to depict this.

[@rynodon]

don't watch gaspar noe or salo then

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@rynodon I watched Salo maybe more than a decade ago. Watched once and cannot bear to watch again

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@rynodon Ichi the Killer is also a disturbing watch

[@03e-210a]

@@SuccessforLifester Ichi the Killer is a lovely movie. I wholeheartedly recommend the manga

[@dcabral00]

Audition. Wow, a true Horror classic. However, in order for it to be effective the viewer has to go into it without knowing the premise, or even the genre.

[@kaylemkerr6989]

Well I've literally just finished reading the novel. I've read two other books by the same author (Ryu Murakami). Despite this is the film still worth a watch in your opinion?

[@dcabral00]

@@kaylemkerr6989 I think so. The film is well-acted, and extremely visceral. The books are great because it leaves a lot to the imagination.

[@kaylemkerr6989]

@@dcabral00 Thanks for the response!

[@garyr6097]

And also not seeing the cover

[@tuckermeyers8478]

Fantastic episode. Loved the examination of the varying interpretations of Asami (feminist figure vs. embodiment of male expectation). Looking forward to the Kinugasa episode coming up!

[@CinemaNippon]

Thanks so much! We always appreciate the support.

[@Voorhees75]

Audition is one of my favorite movies,ever. It has a great atmosphere and it builds up to a insane ending. I love it and am about to watch it again.

[@introvertgirl8615]

Reflection/ Reaction: Old but gold this movie. After I watched this movie I remembered a lot of episode or korean drama from OCN NETWORK. Keypoints to this movie : 1. Looks can be deceiving. Not all nice looks are good inside and out. 2. Abuse- According to the study if you are experiencing abused in your childhood it may turn your life miserable or you want to be like them such as doing bad things. 3. Love- Love is blind you cant see the important details when you fall in love. Imagine you fall in love in wrong person that you always thought that's she's the right one. 4. Don't use position to find your personal goal or happiness in your life . Nowadays lot of news or article some of the producer, manager , and some company in entertainment world this use this position to get what they want specially to the actor/ actress.

[@yvesforbesfloresiii461]

Please do Kwaidan, Ringu and Ju-on: The Grudge * Kwaidan is a 1965 Japanese anthology horror movie directed by Masaki Kobayashi and it is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales, mainly Kwaidan: Stories And Studies Of Strange Things, for which it is named. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories.

[@CinemaNippon]

We definitely plan on covering all of these someday, though I can't guarantee when. Thanks for the suggestions!

[@Dravianpn02]

Or Kuroneko, Pulse and Marebito

[@Dravianpn02]

Cinema Nippon Kuroneko is a masterpiece.

[@Dravianpn02]

It’s funny seeing Kwaidan gaining traction. 4 years ago hardly anyone knew it existed. Kobayashi is amazing. The Human Condition is his magnum opus and Harakiri is his masterpiece. The thick walled room is also an underrated gem.

[@HDtothe8]

I see this movie completely differently. However I've not seen one single person seeing it that way. I see the movie as a struggle of a widower/ a single father to move on from his situation. I feel like he makes all these excuses in his head so that he doesn't have to move ahead in his life.

[@williamdtucker2099]

Audition always seemed to me to be a comment on changing cultural norms and being out of touch with the present. The man seeking a new wife cannot see past his own expectations even after his friend strongly warns him that he really has no idea who he's connecting with because he's blinded by nostalgic notions from the past. He cannot see the present moment, he cannot see past his own ingrained sense of privilege ("I deserve a proper wife!"), nor can he even look at the woman he has deceived as the individual human she is-and that's his downfall, as I see it. I have nothing but admiration for Miike's varied filmography. I envy his productivity, his willingness to do everything. I once thought of Miike as a filmmaker seeking an eternal state of transformative creativity-this was after watching and loving the headtrip Izo-but maybe this is projecting my own fantasies as a frustrated filmmaker onto a convenient hero figure. I think Audition is definitely a high point as far as all the elements harmonizing well: script, cinematography, acting, editing, choices of production design and locations-I prefer this meticulous mode to some of his more "gonzo" efforts, and I particularly admire his throwback swordplay movies like 13 Assassins and the remake of Hara-Kiri. It's a little disorienting sometimes, since my first exposure to Miike was with Audition, Dead or Alive, and Ichi the Killer to see that he is also capable of channeling the likes of Hideo Gosha and Akira Kurosawa, but, yeah-it's the same director. A filmmaker willing to give himself over to different cinematic constructions of fictional spaces. I wonder-as far as the question of misogyny goes-has Japan had a #MeToo moment? Has the Japanese film industry had a reckoning with entrenched male power and entitlement? Is there a Harvey Weinstein figure within the Japanese film industry? I don't know. I sincerely hope Miike isn't exposed as a scumbag, but nothing surprises me in this world. Japan is, historically, a conservative, patriarchal society, and so that-in my view-has to factor into discussions misogyny within the creative industries, but I'm hardly an expert in these matters, so I have no idea, really. I can name many Japanese actresses, but I cannot name a single female film director within the world of Japanese cinema off the top of my head. I could list male Japanese filmmakers for many more lines. What does that say about Japan's film industry? What does that say about me? I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Keep 'em coming. And I would love a review of Izo one of these days . . .

[@CinemaNippon]

Interesting take on Audition. I can agree about how the film definitely has that undercurrent of an older generation's expectations being stuck in the past and conflicting with the new generation as much as it is about mental health. I hadn't thought about it that way. Miike is likely one of the most diverse filmmakers working today, in my opinion. He's like a chameleon in that he can take on any genre and become a master of it overnight. It's probably kind of cliche to put it this way, but he feels like a modern Kubrick in that regard - though Miike doesn't spend years on a project, he just kind of dives headlong into it and releases three films a year instead. As far as I know, there's been no #MeToo movement in Japan, though to be fair I haven't looked very deeply into that. Both of us know more about Japanese culture, art, history, etc., from a more historical standpoint since we still haven't visited yet. If you're interested in some on-the-street perspectives about this, check here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHfEp6JvjLqXr5Y And you're right about the female director point. Last year, the two videos we did on Love Letter (1953) and Suzaku (1997) dealt with that - the first surviving film by a Japanese female director, and the career-overdrive moment for one of the best-known modern Japanese female directors. I think the issue at that point becomes a combination of dearth of films by female directors, lack of importation within English-speaking territories, and lack of advertising / awareness. Thanks always for your support! We'll have to look into Izo at some point.

[@1016dantheman]

Been quietly following this channel for a while now but since you're talking about my favorite horror film I figured I'd jump in and say that I love what you guys are doing! I greatly enjoy your in-depth analyses of some of my favorite Japanese films like Audition, Hana-Bi, Noriko's Dinner Table and especially Eureka. More people need to see these masterworks and I'm glad someone is taking the time to support them. Your work is appreciated! You should check out The Whispering Star sometime. I think that film would make for a very engaging analysis!

[@CinemaNippon]

Thank you so much for all of your support! We appreciate all of our viewers, and comments like this make it all worth it. And we're glad that we could cover some of your favorites. We definitely would like to cover The Whispering Star in the future, as Sono's works are always a treat in terms of analysis. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@JordanVanRyn]

I did see Audition and I remembered it being slow but still creepy to watch. Now I feel like I want to rewatch it again a couple more times.

[@auntiecreeps1414]

I've seen this movie way more times than is healthy and my cat is named Asami. It's a masterpiece ♥

[@CinemaNippon]

That's a great cat name!

[@auntiecreeps1414]

@@CinemaNippon Right? 😄 She lives up to it, the wicked little thing! 😼💕 This is so weird but I was watching your video about Ichi the Killer around the same time you replied to this. Very cool channel! 👍😉⚘

[@atlaswinter8134]

just watched that movie and headed to this video. i stg even the cat at the beginning spooked me

[@alexkeller70]

Don’t read if u don’t want spoilers. I came here to see if there was any explanation as to if those dream like sequences were actual visions Aoyama was having or just something Miike wanted to show us? I don’t buy that Aoyama dreamed of all those events and somehow knew all the truth about her. Also what is up with those scenes at the end when Aoyama is drugged where Asami is saying alternate things to what she said before? I don’t see the point in them and all they did was confuse me. Anyone have any thoughts?

[@hannahfham3335]

Same here. I need an explanation, too

[@garyr6097]

Big fan of this movie...but have always hated the cover... It tells the viewer so much before it’s even been watched

[@alexkeller70]

@@garyr6097 I might have felt that way had I not gone into the film expecting one of the most messed up movies ever made. That's the impression most people who talk about this movie communicate but it's just not true. It's only the last scene. I watched the whole movie expecting it to get very violent which means I put myself in a different headspace. One that's not appropriate for watching drama/mysteries. The cover probably affirmed that belief going into it and it probably would've bothered me

[@sanjanabhattacharya5513]

I believe when he was drugged and was hallucinating he kept on hearing things that asami might be telling him while he's semi conscious maybe? The hallucinating scenes where he seems to have sex with every woman shown in the movie and his housekeeper saying "a man can't live without female support after all" could also mean he seduced (if not raped) a lot of women? Now that i think about it it also makes sense why the son's girlfriend suddenly left the guy, cuz she was raped? The son said she had some girl problems and was also not really terrified when he saw his father being tortured. Does that mean he already knew what his father did? It gets really creepy if you think about it this way

[@mistressravenlilyscreepybo5493]

Came here from Spooky Rice and I'm not disappointed. I've watched this film several times both of them are damaged. Her by abuse and him by the skeevy way he went to find a submissive woman. They both lied by omission. They both played power tripping mind games. One thing though who was the man in the sack? A previous lover we no nothing of? Great channel. Subbed.

[@BloodMoonCosplays]

The man in the sack was the man she said was her like agent, the man who went missing 18 months before, of which they found three fingers, and ear, and a tongue. You can see the guys lost ear and it’s obvious he has no tongue, or three fingers, but the scene was so shocking I can imagine you didn’t want to remember it lol

[@Reddebrek46]

I remember seeing an interview with Miike and several other directors at a bowling alley while they were drinking, I think for Johnathan Ross's Japonorama series. He talked a bit about Audition and seemed to be annoyed at how both Europe and the USA viewed the film. I don't think he intended to make a consciously feminist film, but then its very faithful to the book, I find the feminist reading pretty compelling, man decides to trick and coerce a woman into a relationship with him and he does so after screening them for his perfect ideal with no real world imperfections, only for it to blow up in his face once he learns about who she really is.

[@CinemaNippon]

That makes sense, to be honest. The impact that this film had on his career is such a double edged sword. I agree, though; I don't think Miike intentionally adds any political message or theme to any of his works. But I think that speaks to the strength of his work at the same time. He's able to make films that can be enjoyed as simple stories, or deeper critiques of society.

[@argentofred2786]

Cinema Nippon I noticed at the start of the video you have made videos about the dead or alive trilogy and black triad society. I can't seem to find them just wondered if they had been taken down

[@SmileyySmiley]

I can see how Audition could have Influenced Eli Roth into doing Hostel.

[@EphReinhard]

It would have been scarrier if his friend would not have hinted at the suspicious nature of the woman, and if the movie poster didnt hint at her doings and instead showed an audition hint only, and if the head of his son would have appeared on a flashbag, and in the end of the movie he wakes up again, only to realize he is inside the sack, followed by uncontrollable screaming. I mean, it was suggested as a possibility but never comfirmed, as how else would he even know of the man in the sack? Yet, that was shown to be the old boyfriend... Oh it would have been awesome if she had found a videotape and played it during the tourture, paid no attention to it ´till a mock enterview poped up in which the guy is being interviewed by his frined and to which he says "I want to find a wife blah blah blah" as she is sewing his foot with the wire, to which she does not stop or has second thoughts, a scene that would serve to emphasize that what she had become had now less to do with revenge and more to do with the evil person she had turned out to be... Anyway, it is kind of disturbing that this turned into payback porn for some people, as oposed to what I believe the director truly portrayed, the tragedy of abuse, and how an unlucky passerby can end up getting the bitter end without deserving it. Unless I watched a different film, the guy never did anything wrong sure he probably had a one night stand with his secretary, knew his made wanted to have sex with him, found his sons girl friend to be attractive, and knew that maybe going for a younger girl was perhaps a shallow move... yet he went for the connection, that of pain, the pain he had for losing his wife, he thought they might have something in comon that would be very deep..., but anyway he said he wanted a wife, already a noble wish for most, then he never pressured the girl for anything, he actually began to fall in love, sure he used his company´s resources as his personal dating site, but that´s hardly evil. I see they acuse him of being entitled of wanting the perfect wife, but no, he even jokes that he is asking too much after saying that all he wants is a person with self-steem and a hobby pretty much, really he wants very little, the girl he choses is one that he thinks he might have this connection with, one of melancholy and understanding, one a coffee accident posed to him to which he replied lets see what this is about... and in the bedroom scene, when he is trying to get her to go to the museum or a restaurant, he is trying to be hip, he is insecure, he is trying to prove he wants to explore something more than just sex, again trying to build the relationship further, he is even unconfortable. Again, the director portraying a naive man, a victim. In the dream sequence/investigations we also see him learning of the abuse she went through, and being horrorized by both the abuse she went through by the piano teacher (who by the way is never portrayed to feel any remorse whatsoever, and seems to even enjoy to remember the abuse she put her through, a truly evil character), and how that turned into some sort of evil darkness withing her, also when she is dead in the floor he can hear her say something like "I just wanted to be understood" and you cannot discern any animosity towards her from him even after all that, just relief that his son is okay and that it is all over. (I think there was some poor acting in the scene for what I recall, but nevermind that, all technical aspects of the film were satisfactory as to deem irrelevant their shortcomings as they did not hinder the plot at all) All things considered, in this movie I see a victim, and a victim that became an evil victimizer, completely self-absorbed in her dark world, but even that is too simplistic, this horror goes beyond who the victims are, I get the feeling I´d have to read the novel however, I feel like I managed to not misunderstand this film like most westerners, but I feel as if I lack the tools to reach that extra layer, to understand what else Murakami said that Miike gave us his own version of... Anyway, this movie made me text wall this as I just finished it, and had to come straight to youtube to see what others had to say on the matter. I have to say I now feel like reading the novel it is based on, re-watching the movie, and re-writing the script for a fan movie. It has been a while since I "rage" wrote a script though hahaha

[@garyr6097]

Great words regarding this movie... The cover has always frustrated me ...but I'm beginning to think the director didn't want what we saw before us to be a twist....

[@nealheder]

We were twenty in the audience. At least 5 walked out, counting the person who I went with to whom I warned this was Japanese horror so it could be very hard to watch. She laughed at me when we bought the tickets. She left running when the Acupuncture went sideways.

[@petergriffin7908]

I never seen a more surreal film based in a more organic setting since Cronenberg.

[@AvalancheReviews]

I actually never got into a lot of Miike's stuff, but then I watched Crows Zero, and now I'm a life long fan. The Crows movies are some of the best Japanese cinema I have ever seen.

[@matangox]

He did much better stuff.

[@CinemaNippon]

Oh, these look pretty interesting. We'll have to look into these. You can never have too much Miike, am I right? Also, just curious - have you ever seen the Parasite Eve movie? I've been checking out some of your videos, and noticed that you covered the whole trilogy of games.

[@Itsda03]

Never watched it but can someone explain what the “sack” scene is

[@goldtomlin3438]

One of the best films I have ever seen! Pure cinema magic.

[@sephyfan]

Thanks for uploading Japanese centric and focused videos on its cinema culture. I am eager to hear your thoughts on one of my favorite movies of all time

[@nicozane591]

Great movie Asami is beautiful, violent, and crazy. Best horror movie of the last 20 years.

[@iceap1277]

I’ve seen a glimpse of this but don’t remember where to watch it. Any ideas?

[@unique_mushroom]

[@CinemaNippon]

For sure! Thanks for watching!

[@StrangerX9]

Awesome video! Such an under subbed channel!

[@SelenaSecretShow]

I think that a this movie director tackled Junito Ito's work that he would be famous. In fact, famous isn't even the word for it he'd be more than that..

[@QUAD00DLE]

When is that heel turning moment that Tarantino talks about? I've seen the film and can't figure out where it is.

[@ajaygopi8673]

The moment where She paralyse him

[@KatalistProductionsKozzySasha]

One of the best horror flicks ever, top 3 for me. The slowburn is so well done in Audition. I have seen over 60 movies of his and my favorites would be Audition, Rainy Dog, Happiness of The Katakuris and Gozu. As for people saying he fell off? The only new ones I didn't like at all where Terra Formars or Over Your Dead Body. While my favorites are some of his older ones, he has some great newer movies over the last 10 years, 13 Assassins was great, Hara Kiri was great, Lesson of The Evil was cool, Blade Of Immortal was well done, First Love was cool. Most of his movies are worth a watch imo.

[@vane9366]

I love Ryu Murakami, he writes interesing characters -including women-, unlinke many others.

[@kaylemkerr6989]

I've read 'In the Miso Soup', 'Piercing' and now just finished 'Audition'. I've heard 'Coin Locker Babies' is Ryu Murakami's best book but I haven't read it yet. What's your favourite Ryu Murakami story?

[@ewanhodson9627]

I will watch this eventually, Takeshi Miike seems like an interesting director (Blade of the Immortal was...odd but fun). Anyway I watched Sonatine a couple of days ago and in my opinion it's better than Hana Bi. Maybe I prefer the combination of mellow arthouse comedy and violent Yakuza thriller that I prefer over the rather more depressing nature of Hana Bi. Still Scene at the Sea is my favourite film of Kintano's so far. A nice little surfer film with a wonderful romance told in a subtle way. Like David Lynch's Straight Story it shows that if you strip away elements of a director you can get a wonderful film.

[@CinemaNippon]

We actually haven't seen Blade of the Immortal yet. We'll have to check that one out soon. Fair enough. I don't know about Kylie, but I preferred Hana Bi personally. I think because of how meditative it was concerning life and death. But I totally see where you're coming from.

[@bibip12345]

The horror that hard to define 😣😣😖

[@alexsunsin]

“Deeper, deeper”

[@danielf.1611]

After see the movie 🍿 you really don’t want to do any dating. But the movie 🎥 was truly amazing and all my going to say is, Thank God for his son 👍👍👍👍

[@xxprogamer121xx5]

Miikes most disturbing films are Audition, Ichi The Killer, Visitor Q and Gozu all extreme.

[@JimothyTheGreen]

The fact that in her audition, and indeed in most scenes in the movie she is wearing entirely white clothing and something about her sleek, black perfect hair gives her an unnatural feel. I immediately started thinking she was like a Yuki-onna (Yokai). White is associated with death in Japanese culture so from the get go she seemed off to me. The weird thing with her throat at the end and her talking despite being dead could also reflect her not being human (if we accept that that's actually happening as opposed to the protagonist just tripping balls).

[@seagull8415]

It is a masterpiece. A movie abut unconditional trust... which cannot be trusted.

[@godiebeard]

Watching this movie for the first time, I was very blind to the societal sexism that was taking place in the movie. I had always known that Japan had a bit of a patriarchal society and is backwards in certain aspects of social justice. Instead of seeing this movie as a critique of the Japanese patriarchal society, I just assumed that the movie was just portraying a normal horror/psychological revenge story and the sexist details of the plot were just the context of the story ( not necessarily written to comment on japanese society). Thats what I get for using cultural relativism to think about this movie haha.

[@giuliogrossi7163]

And then he made Ichi the Killer

[@kaeb11]

One of the best movies I have seen ever. Did he invent the twist? Of course not but this was more disturbing than Visitor Q or even Itchi! ❤️Miike

[@sorartificial]

The movie billboards suck, they are such spoilers, they should have kept it hidden.

[@bobgunter9608]

I picked up the book that this movie was based on

[@cici-lx7ex]

this movie so good😛😛

[@damianstarks3338]

This movie was definitely messed up and yes a masterpiece.

[@shinjisimp]

Would have loved to hear your opinion on the surrelism and the dream sequences, they still confuse me so much

[@Barbies_Angel]

The entire film is a dream. Eihi Shiina’s character represents the ideal woman. The main character comes to realize his image of the modern woman will kill him

[@tamarad4146]

It had You've Got Mail vibes until it didn't.

[@gonzaloquindos9979]

I thought it was a good movie.it shows how different cultures can be . and how dangerous it is to set an expectation about someone , because it might lead to projecting an image or a lie ,blinding your common sense and neglecting the others true nature. until it's too late to do something about it.

[@irish66]

I didn't find it that scary, I guess for me, I had the same reaction as when I watched The Exorcist. Good movie, but with a touch of meh. I thought the episode he did for masters of horror was better. But I don't recall seeing the sequence where she is tortured. It was interesting to hear the directors views. Of the others I have seen, for me the best are Shinjuku Triad Society. The Bird People of China, and 13 Assassins.

[@laserdrip]

I love your spoiler alert.

[@garyr6097]

As much as I’ve always loved this movie...the cover is s spoiler alert in it’s self

[@MrSGH21]

Did anyone else think this movie was funny?

[@samuelling4686]

Ok

[@unlock07]

I've watched Martyrs, Misdommar, Irreversible, Salo, Parasite and many more f*cked up movies....And I really don't see what was so special with this one...

[@l00pdigga42]

ssssSSPPPPOOOIIIILLLERRRRSSSS

[@homoduplex]

Funny how feminists have no qualms about making a psycho killer/kidnapper/mutilator/torturer their "icon" and readily fall in love with a movie for the mere fact that it features a woman torturing a man. Such a lovely ideology.

[@foresttaniguchi3168]

I watched it with no subtitles and I liked it. Asami was obviously like a female Jeffery Damher

[@strafer8764]

I finally watched this. It’s overrated. Quite dull.

[@GangstaMojo]

I which people would stop using the word Horror to describe movies like this gory films are not horror.

[@MJGianesello]

ehm if they are horror yes, who are you to say gore doesn't belong in a horror film? And how in the hell does someting so ridicolously arbitrary make any sense?

[@killerchimp9]

A gimmick shock film. That's it.

[@MJGianesello]

great argument,very thorough and not at all presumptuous

[@magicboogie6012]

Please stick to the film all the other stuff is unnecessary or already title it different next time

[@ailurophile4341]

What do you mean misunderstood? This thing sucks.

[@n3wbslay3r]

Quit saying thus

[@phm9675]

I didnt like Audition.it was nothing special.