Audition
If you want the full sledgehammer-to-the-stomach effect ofAudition, stop reading this review now. Just watch it and take the consequences. At first glance, Takashi Miike's jack in the box of a movie works like a romantic comedy: amiable widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) decides it's time to find a new wife, and a friend suggests holding a fake audition to find the right girl. It soon becomes clear that there is something wrong with Aoyama's choice. This is no ordinaryFatal Attraction-style thriller, however;Auditionslowly and carefully builds into a wrenching exploration of both deep male fears and the stereotype of the cute, submissive Japanese woman.Auditionis by no means an easy movie to watch--even hardcore horror fans may have trouble--but it will stay with you for a long, long time.--Ali Davis