Monster (2023) Review!
Monster by Hirokazu Kore-eda is a coming of age film about two boys, and the life surrounding them, in a way explaining the title means. Monster is a word that is closely related to something terrible, a creature, a horror being, something that is not human, even not normal. And in this film context, it's like putting a pig's brain into a human head. Such is the description to Hoshikawa, Mugino Minato's friend. He was a kid who got blamed, bullied, and lead a lot of gossip around due to his sexuality, and demeanor. Just like one other character who's a teacher named, Hori, that got blamed due to Minato's mother accusing him of hurting her child. And the story revolves around those, starting from the perspective of the mother of Minato, the teacher, then Minato himself. It's an interesting movie with a good pacing, and each stories revealed key details that reveals a lot of things.
Though in a way it did muddle the movie, bringing quite a lot of topics into it. But, I would say it is a much better movie than Broker. In this movie, every plot feels like they belong with each other, and not a single weird moment. In Broker, there's this weird story arc with one of the characters, involving a crime family and a murder, or something. It's just so out of place. In Monster however, everything is well connected. Story about not always trusting what your kid says, single parenting, sexuality, father being abusive and a drunk terrible person, gossips being terrible and could lead to a very destructive path, and many more. Minato even ask to his dying father's shrine, "why he was born?"
The story makes you care about the characters, each have their own perspectives, and their own reasons. Hori the teacher for example, all he did was doing the good thing and the best thing an elementary teacher did. Yet due to the gossip of him in relationship with a prostitute, and a couple of children sayings, did him dirty. Even the whole principal room meetings is directed to make the viewers thinks that the school is the bad guys, the system is the one at fault. Not knowing that later on it was revealed that, it's not really the school's fault. It's the idea of two kids being afraid, and tons of miscommunications.
The cinematography, the music from the late Ryuichi Sakamoto is amazing and heartbreaking, accompany scenes to a perfection. The ending is great as well, turning an abandoned old rusty train, and a disaster into something that was hopeful. Like a cocoon releasing something beautiful and hopeful. A new beginning, a new reincarnation.
This movie is an absolute recommendation. Though it has lots of themes and things to talk about, and the beginning of the movie shows a story that is stiff and riddled with many mysteries. It eventually reveals itself and turns the movie around into a great one. It's better than Broker, and it is a great movie.
Though in a way it did muddle the movie, bringing quite a lot of topics into it. But, I would say it is a much better movie than Broker. In this movie, every plot feels like they belong with each other, and not a single weird moment. In Broker, there's this weird story arc with one of the characters, involving a crime family and a murder, or something. It's just so out of place. In Monster however, everything is well connected. Story about not always trusting what your kid says, single parenting, sexuality, father being abusive and a drunk terrible person, gossips being terrible and could lead to a very destructive path, and many more. Minato even ask to his dying father's shrine, "why he was born?"
The story makes you care about the characters, each have their own perspectives, and their own reasons. Hori the teacher for example, all he did was doing the good thing and the best thing an elementary teacher did. Yet due to the gossip of him in relationship with a prostitute, and a couple of children sayings, did him dirty. Even the whole principal room meetings is directed to make the viewers thinks that the school is the bad guys, the system is the one at fault. Not knowing that later on it was revealed that, it's not really the school's fault. It's the idea of two kids being afraid, and tons of miscommunications.
The cinematography, the music from the late Ryuichi Sakamoto is amazing and heartbreaking, accompany scenes to a perfection. The ending is great as well, turning an abandoned old rusty train, and a disaster into something that was hopeful. Like a cocoon releasing something beautiful and hopeful. A new beginning, a new reincarnation.
This movie is an absolute recommendation. Though it has lots of themes and things to talk about, and the beginning of the movie shows a story that is stiff and riddled with many mysteries. It eventually reveals itself and turns the movie around into a great one. It's better than Broker, and it is a great movie.
9.5/10
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