Cambridge Film Festival 2023: Film #4
Definitely my favourite Hirokazu Kore-eda film so far. Despite the curious "this is not a horror film!" announcement by the organisers of the festival, the first perspective of this Rashomon unsettles eerily like a horror film; arguably more effectively, in fact, given that the narrative is based almost entirely on decidedly non-paranormal events. In the end though, the revelations unfold like a knife twisting in your gut.
Characters yo-yo from angel to scum of the earth to victim in intricate, often-breathtaking narrative beats––the kind that fill the gaps so perfectly they come with the same rush of dopamine that hits when you slot in the missing piece of a puzzle. It’s a roller coaster of vehemence on all sides, a web of story and person that twists the viewer into an emotional knot.
— Luke Hicks (The Film Stage)
You can feel the push and pull between a master technician who built his career on the patient, delicate plucking at our heartstrings and his newfound desire to please a wide audience with the broadest of affective strokes. In a cubistic way, Monster’s structure gradually reveals the truths behind oblique character actions as it folds back in on itself to retell the same events from another character’s perspective.
— Kyle Turner (Slant Magazine)
Synopsis: When a young boy begins behaving strangely, shocking truths emerge as the story unfolds through the eyes of his single mother, a teacher who is believed to be responsible, and the child himself.