As a huge Kore-eda fan, I'm embarrassed it took me over a year to watch his latest film, "Monster," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Fast forward to June 2024, and I finally saw one of 2023’s best films and possibly one of Kore-eda’s top three or five works. I need more time to fully process it before deciding its exact place in my Kore-eda ranking, but rest assured, a ranking is coming. This film marks Kore-eda’s long-awaited return to Japanese cinema and
