A single story told through three shifting perspectives reveals the elusive nature of a monster.
In short: In Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2023 drama Monster, a mother’s search for the truth behind her son’s erratic behavior unspools into a complex puzzle. By revisiting the same events from the viewpoints of a teacher, a student, and a parent, the film challenges our assumptions about who—or what—the true monster is.
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Monster marks a rare departure for the filmmaker, as it is the first project since 1995’s Maborosi for which he did not write the screenplay. Instead, he collaborated with acclaimed television writer Yuji Sakamoto. The film follows Saori Mugino, a single mother who becomes convinced that her son, Minato, is being abused by his teacher, Mr. Hori. As the narrative unfolds, the perspective shifts to Hori, revealing the immense pressure he faces from school administrators to protect the institution’s reputation, and finally to Minato, whose secret bond with his classmate Yori drives the story’s emotional core.
The film’s structure is designed to dismantle the audience's initial judgments. What begins as a straightforward mystery about bullying and institutional negligence evolves into a nuanced exploration of childhood, social expectations, and the difficulty of truly understanding another person. The late Ryuichi Sakamoto provided the musical score, his final project before his death in March 2023. His music, which Kore-eda listened to during production, underscores the film's esoteric themes and the ambiguity surrounding the titular monster.
Monster premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, where it won the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay. Despite widespread critical acclaim, the film sparked debate among queer scholars in Japan. Critics argued that the marketing initially obscured the film's queer themes and that the ambiguous ending risked perpetuating tropes of victimizing queer characters. Kore-eda later engaged in a public dialogue regarding these concerns, clarifying that he intended the conclusion to be a celebration of the boys choosing life, though he acknowledged that his interpretation of the ending as a hopeful rebirth was perhaps naive given that many viewers interpreted it as a depiction of the afterlife.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Monster (2023 Japanese film)
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