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Monster
怪物
2023 125 min Japan PG-13 12+
★8.1
Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Trailers
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Teaser
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Description
After an outburst at school involving her son, a concerned single mother demands answers, triggering a sequence of deepening suspicion and turmoil.
US Gross:
$434,585
Starring
Sakura Andô
Actor
Eita Nagayama
Actor
Soya Kurokawa
Actor
Awards
Asian Film Academy 2024
— Best Director
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Best Screenplay
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Queer Palm
Asian Film Academy 2024
— Best Director
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Best Screenplay
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Queer Palm
Key opinion
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 'Monster' is a sophisticated, multi-perspective drama that explores the dangerous consequences of subjective perception and adult assumptions. While the narrative puzzle structure and the performances of the young leads are widely praised for their emotional weight, critics remain divided on the film's pacing and the effectiveness of its structural choices.
| Acting | The performances by the young leads, Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi, are deeply authentic and provide the emotional anchor for the film. | |
| Score | Ryuichi Sakamoto’s masterful, melancholic musical score elevates the film's atmosphere and adds profound emotional depth. | |
| Screenplay | The Rashomon-inspired structure succeeds in exposing how adult prejudice and miscommunication can distort the reality of children's experiences. | |
| Production | The film is visually evocative, utilizing precise blocking and symbolic locations like the railway carriage to heighten tension and reflect character states. | |
| Screenplay | Opinions on the screenplay are divided: some find the shifting perspectives brilliant and revelatory, while others feel the film occasionally resorts to 'telling rather than showing' or relies on manipulative narrative omissions. | |
| Pacing | The pacing of the narrative is polarizing, with some viewers finding the structural shifts rewarding and others feeling the film lags or stalls in its final acts. |