Takashi Miike is coming to town! Yes, fans, Japan’s prolific (82 movies and counting), 50-year-old baron of bloodletting will be at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater for some of the films in a 13-flick retro of his work to herald the release next month at the IFC Center of Miike’s samurai saga “13 Assassins.” (Of course, the tragic quake in Tokyo could change everything.)
The Lincoln Center celebration (Wednesday-March 20), co-sponsored by Subway Cinema, includes “a sneak preview” of “13 Assassins,” plus “Ichi the Killer” (2001), “Agitator” (2001), “City of Lost Souls” (2009) and, of course, Miike’s masterpiece, “Audition” (1999).
It features popular Japanese actor Ryo Ishibashi (Asian movie buffs will recognize his face) as Aoyama, a lonely widower with a teenage son. To find a new wife, the video producer concocts a bold plan to meet women: He and a co-worker hold auditions for the lead actress in a nonexistent movie.
Aoyama is immediately attracted to Asami, a tall, frail 24-year-old former ballerina in virginal white. She’s portrayed by Eihi Shiina, a former Benetton model whose other films include “Tokyo Gore Police” (2008).
Aoyama and Asami establish a tentative relationship, even making love during a weekend vacation. But trouble lies ahead for Aoyama, who comes to wish he had never met Asami.
Be warned: The final 15 minutes of “Audition” are quite brutal and will turn off some viewers. But “Audition” must be seen to the very end, even if it means covering your eyes at appropriate moments.
Details: filmlinc.com
* The Museum of Modern Art marks the eighth anniversary of its annual Canadian Front festival (Wednesday-March 21) with eight films from north of the border. They include a hockey musical from Ontario, a documentary about Iranian refugees on Canada’s West Coast and three French-language flicks from Quebec.
One of the Quebec entries is “Jaloux” (2010), a new take on the tried-and-true formula about terror in the woods. A Montreal couple (Maxime Denommée and Sophie Cadieux) retreat to a lakeside cabin to try to save their troubled relationship. Are they surprised when a weird guy they never saw before (Benoit Gouin) invites himself to bunk with them.
“Jaloux” is the feature debut of director-writer-editor Patrick Demers. He told twitchfilm.net (an informative site, by the way) that the movie was mostly improvised over a 16-day shoot. More on the program, curated by Canadian-born Laurence Kardish, is at moma.org.
* Here’s a chance to help the homeless and see a movie at the same time. A benefit for the Coalition for the Homeless will be held March 21 at Maysles Cinema, 343 Lenox Ave., at 127th Street.
Former Mayor David Dinkins, a coalition board member, will introduce a 7 p.m. screening of “Dark Days” (2000), a documentary about the homeless who live in the Amtrak tunnels beneath Manhattan. The movie will be followed by a Q&A session with its director, Marc Singer, and Mary Brosnahan, executive director of the coalition. A $10 donation is suggested. Details:
mayslesinstitute.org.