Cannes 2023: Monster Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda has become one of the most reliable filmmakers working today. While he rarely, if ever, ventures outside of his wheelhouse, he always delivers authentic and achingly beautiful portraits of family dynamics, often exploring the concept of a “found family”.

His latest film, Monster, is a Rashomon-style look at bullying, and how one misunderstanding can lead to several differing perspectives on an issue. Sakura Andō stars as Saori Mugino, a single mother who notices a behavioral shift in her son Minato (Kurokawa). When she discovers that her son’s teacher Mr. Hori (Nagayama) has been verbally abusing him, she takes action and schedules a meeting with the school’s principal. However, things become more complicated when the school board seems to be doing everything in their power to dismiss the issue. The story unfolds further through the eyes of Mr. Hori and later Minato. The film sees Koreeda plays with the concept of unreliable narrators, slowly revealing the truth as it progresses. 

Audiences may assume they know exactly how the story is going to unfold from the rather familiar opening moments. Fortunately, Sakamoto Yuji’s brilliant screenplay leads audiences in unexpected directions, making for a story that is far more complex and layered than how it may appear on the surface. Monster delivers a tender and empathetic examination of how missing context can skew one’s perception of a person, and begs audiences to remember this before judging those around us. 

Monster is jam-packed with impressive performances, specifically from Shoplifters star Ando, who works wonderfully with Koreeda. Meanwhile, Monster contains the final work of legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto who passed away earlier this year. His somber and minimalistic score elevates the material significantly and will certainly be among the best scores of the year, and a stellar final note for Sakamoto to go out on.

Koreeda does sometimes have a tendency to overindulge in sentimentality from time to time, to the point where his films can become sappy. Much like his last film, Broker, it occasionally seeps through the cracks here which prevents it from being among his very best works. In the end, it is still a deeply moving drama that once again reminds the world why Koreeda is one of the greatest filmmakers working today.

*still courtesy of Monster Film Committee*

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