MONSTER - Review by Ewan Graf

Hirokazu Kore-eda might be my favorite filmmaker alive and after last year’s very enjoyable BROKER, which also played in Competition here in Cannes, he returns with MONSTER. A story told from different points of view, a mother, a teacher, and a child.

Monster brings some of his greatest strengths to the forefront. His directing and staging in addition to the performances that he brings out of everyone single actor is mesmerizing as always, even if the three-part perspective shift doesn’t work as holistically as I would want it to work. 

Perspective-shift stories are always tricky because they rely on bringing in enough new things to uncover and answer the questions you have left from the previous part. But ultimately it feels like Kore-eda ‘over-answers’ some parts of the story.

What fascinated me the most about the film is that it reeled me into to perspective of every character without manipulating me too obviously. So, I was always rooting for the main perspective I was given at the time and if you’ve seen any Kore-eda film before, then it’s no surprise that the answer to who is right and wrong is gonna be more complex and layered than you expect.

As always the typical awkward humor and overall theme of death and reincarnation run throughout this film as well.
Still, I find it frustrating that there was an odd need for closures and answers, even when there we no need for them.

Regardless, Monster is beautiful and had candid little light-hearted, and heartwarming moments that brought a few tears to my eyes.

It’s not gonna be at the top of my list from Kore-eda - which is a very high bar - but it’s very much worth seeing.

MONSTER - Review by Lachlan Thiele

INT. COOKIE MONSTER – NIGHT

Monster is the latest entry in the Kore-eda filmography (a filmography I still need to dive deeper into). Still, just like his previous films, It's a deeply personal look into a character, their motives but most importantly, how that motive affects those around them.

Monster is a multi-layered beast; it retells one story from multiple perspectives giving us the whole cookie instead of just the crumbs. Usually, I'm a crumb kinda guy; I like to figure things out myself, putting them all together to get my cookie. Still, Kore-eda gives me the cookie; at points, he just hands the cookie over when instead I would have preferred the traditional 'show, don't tell' filmmaker mentality. Yet, without that one little critique Monster would have shot right up to a 4-star thanks to its standout performances from Sakura Ando as the mother and excellent direction (especially when it comes to blocking actors within a scene, yeah, I know a weird thing to point out but something I wrote down while watching) 

Anyway, please head out and see this one. It's worth the spoon-feeding.

FADE OUT.

Lachlan's Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/thiele/