Much-lauded Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Broker) specialises in small scale, closely observed, quietly devastating dramas, and his latest offering is no exception.
How to watch Monster in Australia
Monster is screening in Australian cinemas now.
Monster (Kaibutsu)
What is Monster about?
After her young son, Minato, starts acting out of character, Japanese single mother Saori Mugino suspects his fifth grade teacher, Mr Hori, is abusing him. She complains to the school and Hori is fired, but the truth is far more complicated than that. Is Minato actually bullying fellow student Yori Hoshikawa, or is something else going on? There’s a dash of Rashomon to the proceedings as Kore-eda gradually unveils what is actually going on from multiple viewpoints, but to give away much more of the story would be to do the film a disservice. Clear-eyed, humane, and empathetic, Monster is guaranteed to move all but the hardest hearts.
The cast of Monster
Sakura Andō is Saori Mugino; Sōya Kurokawa is Minato Mugino, Saori’s son; Eita Nagayama is teacher Michitoshi Hori; Mitsuki Takahata is his girlfriend, Hirona Suzumura; Hinata Hiiragi is Yori Hoshikawa, Minato’s fellow pupil; Shidō Nakamura is Kiyotaka Hoshikawa, Yori’s father; Yūko Tanaka is Makiko Fushimi, the school principal; and Akihiro Tsunoda is Humiaki Shoda, the vice-principal.
Monster trailer
What are the critics saying about Monster?
Oh, they are loving it, with Rotten Tomatoes saying of the film “Gently devastating in its compassion, Monster is a masterpiece of shifting perspectives that surprises to the end.” It also picked up an absolute slew of awards, including the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay for writer Yuki Sakamoto, at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and the film itself being nominated for the Palme d’Or. It’s also worth noting that Monster contains the final musical contributions to a film by legendary and late Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, which is worth the ticket price alone.
