Monster - We are so back!

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 is his first film since his debut, "Maborosi," that he didn’t write himself.

Quentin Tarantino once described directors who write and direct their films as a unique breed. I’ve always admired filmmakers who are fully behind the creative process of their movies. When I heard Kore-eda wasn’t writing his next film, I was surprised but also glad. His recent films, "The Truth" and "Broker," though good, felt underwhelming compared to his other works. It seemed he needed new creative input to spark another wave of creativity.

"Monster," more complex and less minimalistic than most of Kore-eda’s stories, benefits from the screenplay by his friend Yūji Sakamoto. Sakamoto, a well-known figure in Japanese television, is someone Kore-eda had always wanted to collaborate with. Interestingly, Sakamoto signed a five-year deal with Netflix shortly after "Monster’s" Cannes debut, similar to Kore-eda’s deal with the streaming giant in 2022. This collaboration has paid off both creatively and critically; Sakamoto won the Cannes award for Best Screenplay, and "Monster" is a significant improvement from Kore-eda’s last two films.

"Monster" opens with Kore-eda’s signature serene wide shot, but this time at night with the sound of sirens and a burning building. This building, later revealed as a hostess bar, plays a crucial role in the story. We meet Saori Mugino, played by Kore-eda regular Sakura Andō, a single mother to Minato. Saori hears rumors that Minato’s teacher, Mr. Hori, frequents the bar. Throughout the film, we constantly receive stories and opinions from different characters, which shifts our perspective on them—a brilliant element of Kore-eda’s latest work.

Saori worries about Minato’s strange behavior, suspecting he is being bullied. After confronting the school and its teachers, she learns that Minato, in fact, is accused of bullying a classmate, Yori Hoshikawa. The film showcases three perspectives of the same incident between Mr. Hori, Minato, and Yori, highlighting Sakamoto’s excellent screenwriting.

One of my favorite aspects of Kore-eda’s films is how he makes the audience feel like an additional presence in the room with his characters. In "Still Walking," we’re invited into the Yokoyama family’s home to commemorate a lost son. In "After Life," we join those interviewing the dead before they pass on. "Monster" recreates this element at a higher level, showing different perspectives of an incident.

While "The Truth" and "Broker" weren’t failures, they lacked the gravitas of Kore-eda’s earlier works and felt more like polished vanity projects. "Monster" is a welcome return to form, reaffirming Kore-eda’s talent for creating classic family dramas set in Japan.