The premiere of the film, shot by 39-year-old Japanese director Takashi Miik e based on the work of the same name by Ryu Murakami, took place at the end of the last century – in 1999. And for more than 20 years, the film “Odishon”, which has replenished the collection of horror films, has caused conflicting opinions among fans of this category of cinema. Today, the prolific Japanese has about eight dozen diverse films on his account. He shoots action films and musicals, thrillers and melodramas. And the mixing of styles and genres within one picture, as happened in “Odishon”, is considered a creative feature of Miik e. The tape won several awards at international film festivals ,hit the top twenty films according to the famous Quentin Tarantino. The performances of the lead actors Eiha Shiina (Asami Yamazaki) and Ishibashi Ryo (Shigeharu Aoyama) received high praise.
The widower decided to try his luck
The main character of the picture is a middle-aged man named Aoyama, who lives alone with his seventeen-year-old son Shigehiko. The prologue to the beginning of the story is the scene in the hospital room, depicting the death of the hero’s wife. The boy hurries to his mother with flowers, but finds her already dead, and next to her is her inconsolable father. Seven years pass, and the matured boy puzzles the aged parent with the question: “Why don’t you get married again?”
And the romantic idea of a beautiful companion takes possession of Aoyama. He imagines her image – modest, educated, trained to play the piano, a good housewife, and, of course, a beauty. But how to find such a girl? Where can an adult man who does not enter youth entertainment places meet her? A friend and colleague, film producer Yoshikawa, comes to the rescue, offering to arrange fictitious screen tests for the main role in a film that no one will shoot. But Shigeharu will have the opportunity to take a closer look at the applicants and choose a potential bride among them. The producer’s plan worked: one of the participants attracted the attention of the widower before the interview, when he got acquainted with the resume and looked at the photos. The appearance before the jury table of a 24-year-old girl named Asami Yamazaki, the hero was waiting with excitement and impatience.
The girl of his dreams
The chosen one was a former ballerina who stopped dancing after a hip injury and decided to try her hand at a film project. At least that’s how she presented herself, captivating Aoyama with her pathetic appearance, gentle voice, and cultured manner. The girl appeared in a white suit – a real angel … However, Yoshikawa, unlike his friend, was suspicious of Asami: information about her former employers is not confirmed, the music producer with whom she collaborated is missing. The casting organizer shared his doubts with Aoyama, but there was no stopping him. The widower at all times rushed into the arms of the beauty.
Gradually, the melodramatic plot line takes on a different quality. The audience is shown the girl’s dwelling, and these shots make you freeze from frightening forebodings. Asami sits in the middle of an almost empty room at the telephone, waiting for a call about the results of the audition. Not far from her is a large bag. As soon as the phone rings, the bag begins to roll around the room.
After several dates, the couple goes to a country hotel for the weekend. A love declaration ends in bed. And this is where the melodrama ends, smoothly turning into a thriller. In the middle of the night, when her lover has fallen asleep, Asami disappears from the hotel.
Maniac, she-devil, fiend?
Aoyama sets off on the trail of a runaway chosen one, using information from her resume. The search leads him to terrible discoveries. The abandoned studio where the girl once studied ballet is now inhabited by a legless disabled person who plays the piano. He admits that he mocked the student, branded her with iron rods, raped her … Another place where the failed groom comes in search of the missing bride is a cafe called “Stone Fish”, which Asami called the last place of work. In fact, the place has been closed for a year now, after the owner was murdered. Then the police found a dismembered body, and the number of fragments turned out to be more than expected – an extra three fingers, an ear and a tongue were found. Now it turns out that the person living in Asami’s apartment inside the bag is the same friend of the late bar owner. The captive’s tongue is cut off, he is missing an ear and three fingers on his hand. He is reduced to the position of cattle – he is fed with slop.
It becomes obvious: the next victim is, of course, Aoyama, he will have to endure terrible torment from the beauty who has captured his heart. Asami begins by breaking into the gentleman’s house, dousing him with a paralyzing drink, and killing the dog. Dressed in a nurse’s costume, the girl conducts a kind of oriental acupuncture session, sticking long needles into the man’s body, while repeating in a gentle voice: “Deeper, deeper, deeper …”. This is not just a mockery, but revenge for the fact that the partner, who was supposed to love only her alone, wasted his feelings on others – his late wife, son, dog. And now he will have to pay for it in full, like the previous characters. Only terrible torment, inhuman pain will help a widower understand the true essence of the relationship between a man and a woman.
Scary story as a subject of psychoanalysis
Quite a few reviewers over the past two decades have tried to understand and articulate the essence of the plot played out by Miike. Various versions have been put forward, but the most convincing among them is this: we have a classic story of female revenge, fueled by childhood memories of violence from representatives of the strong half of humanity. The main character, who lost her dream of a ballet career in her teenage years, exhausted by sexual harassment, suffering from loneliness, understands that once again she has become a pawn in a man’s game. She was invited to fake screen tests to turn a professional audition into a banal bride. And they see in her not an actress of a future film, but just an obedient, courteous and attractive housewife. The past, adjusted for the features of a twisted psyche, and form the line of behavior of the charming Asami. Cruelty breeds cruelty. A tender friend turns into a sadist, reveling in the suffering of hated male creatures.
The final scene with a fatal outcome.
“The right leg, please,” the heroine says with a gentle smile, attaching the wire and preparing to deprive the failed spouse of the second foot. But at that moment, the victim’s son, Shigehiko, returns home. He finds his father sprawled on the floor. The girl hid, but is preparing to come out of hiding and deal with the guy. Between this scene and the final shots, Aoyama’s visions are shown: he is on a bed in a hotel, next to him lies the woman of his dreams, and all the previous horror seems to be a bad dream. But no, it was not a dream, but a reality. Shigehiko gets into a fight with the girl and throws her down the stairs, Asami falls and breaks her neck. The outcome is predetermined. The bleeding father asks his son to call the police, continuing to talk to the dying Asami about how beautiful life is.
