Ronit J

Monster Synopsis:

ARE THEY THE ONES WE DREAM OF, OR THE ONES WE FAIL TO SEE AMONG US?

When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher, and child, the truth gradually emerges.

Monster Review:

A Monster Among Us?

We open to a montage of Japan as firetrucks race towards a burning building. From there, we cut to Saori and Minato’s home, where they observe the fire from a distance. Minato asks his mother a puzzling question – “If a human’s brain is replaced by a pig’s brain, is he still a human?”

The very next day, Saori learns that Minato’s teacher, Mr. Hori, was spotted at a hostess bar that caused the fire. Soon, Minato starts behaving strangely. After much prodding, Saori discovers some clues that lead her to believe Mr. Hori is being abusive towards Minato. He even claims that Mr. Hori ridiculed him, calling him a pig-brained monster.

What follows is a gut-wrenching drama of a mother seeking justice for her child. The school board continues to act “by the book”, refusing to admit anything other than lawyer-approved phrases like “there has been contact”, and “we acknowledge the trouble caused”. Mr. Hori too displays strange mannerisms, making us question his capabilities. The dispassionate response, coupled with an inversely proportional drive to protect Mr. Hori paints the school in bad light. We can’t help but root for this scorned mother. After all, wouldn’t you be this desperate and driven if your child were abused?

Kore-eda asks the question “Who is the monster among us?” Is it the accused Mr. Hori? Or the school that is obviously saving face? Or are the children lying, protecting the real abuser who is one of them? Maybe, Minato is the real monster and Saori is blinded because of her love for him. Even though Saori finds evidence against each candidate, the mystery continues as she begins to suspect her own son after she finds a lighter in Minato’s bag. Maybe he was the one responsible for the fire from the beginning?

The Monster We Dream Of

The second section of the film takes us back to the beginning as we see this whole episode play out from Mr. Hori’s perspective. The very first thing that Kore-eda establishes is that Mr. Hori wasn’t at the hostess bar, but some mischievous kids catch him with a girl and tease him of coming from there. A harmless mockery that—having watched the first section—we know will devolve into a serious accusation that threatens to smear Mr. Hori’s image. But that storm is far from passing, and we see Mr. Hori being the clumsy, awkward man he really is. Hori is nothing like we perceived in section one. Plus, we learn that Mr. Hori just recently joined the school, further explaining his behaviour after the accusation.

Mr. Hori’s section tells a completely different story, one that further complicates the drama built up. Mr. Hori is in no way a bad teacher. In fact, his section makes it impossible to even imagine him as an abuser. He’s kind, constantly working to make his students’ lives easier. He even goes out of his way to confirm if Minato is bullying Yoshikawa.

We learn that it’s actually Yoshikawa who is constantly bullied for being “pig-brained”. Even Yoshikawa believes it to be true, and that his father is helping to cure him. Seeing this seemingly harmless child be at the receiving end of the class’ bullying makes you feel sad. To see Mr. Hori go out of his way to help this child, knowing that all this will backfire and lead to his suspension makes seeing this truth all the more hurtful. After all, Mr. Hori isn’t the monster that we all thought him to be. But, this story casts doubt on Minato himself, suggesting he might be the real culprit.

Is there even a Monster?

The last of the film, takes us back to the beginning, where we see the story unfold through the eyes of the key players—the children.

We open with the principal—gossip suggesting she accidentally killed her grandchild—as she sees Yoshikawa stroll past her with the lighter from section 1. Once again, Kore-eda immediately addresses something set up in the previous sections and immediately dismisses it. He suggests that the culprit might be someone else, only to eventually show us that there was no culprit in the first place.

Yoshikawa and Minato’s relationship take precedence in this section, and we truly see the children for who they are—not who the adults perceive them as. Minato is as misunderstood as Yoshikawa. The difference is that Minato is trying to fit in where Yoshikawa doesn’t mind being the outcast. Their slowly developing friendship further dismisses all our established beliefs from the first two sections. Neither Mr. Hori, nor Minato, not even the principal are monsters. They just seem as such because of the limited perspective we’ve received.

The whole truth comes into picture when we see every perspective. The complexity of children’s relationships comes to the forefront as Minato and Yoshikawa grow close to the point of suggesting—but never overtly confirming—a romantic attraction between the two. Whether its homosexual, or just two friends overcoming social ostracisation, the point is that the boys have to hide their friendship/relationship. This communication gap between the boys and their respective families/social groups results in a series of misunderstandings that have dire consequences. From a teacher getting fired and contemplating suicide, to a mother worrying about her son’s safety, to the ending that is open to interpretation, Monster shows us the far reaching consequences of what half-truths can lead to.

The Nature of Truth

Is the principal a child-hating monster? No, she’s a grieving grandmother, who can come off as a bad person when—you guessed it—seen from a selective set of limited POVs.

In the age of the internet, Twitter witch hunts are an everyday occurence. In many cases rightly so. But Monster doesn’t approach its subject lightly. Instead, it slowly uncovers the truth with care and attention. Every new layer of truth dismisses past opinions and establishes new ones that are also eventually dismissed.

Humans have a tendancy to see patterns where they don’t exist, and Monster is a masterclass of creating that illusion.

Is Mr. Hori abusing Minato? No, that is only true from a selective set of POVs.

Is Minato or Yoshikawa bullying the other? Again, no. That too becomes true when selectively looking at isolated incidents.

Let’s go back to the beginning. The raging fire that serves as the backdrop for the title card is very metaphorical to the tale that unfolds. The fire is a Red Herring, serving as evidence which distracts from the real story. Almost everyone—Mr. Hori, Minato, Yoshikawa—is directly or indirectly accused to possibly starting that fire, yet we neither learn, nor can believe that anyone could be responsible. The closest suspect is Yoshikawa whose response to the accusation is cryptic and suggestive. However, we’ve only seen Yoshikawa as a kind child incapable of violence, with his kindness and empathy further cemented by each new perspective. The truth then becomes what you believe it to be, because that is the nature of truth.

In Conclusion:

Characteristic to Kore-eda films, nothing is as it is in the beginning, and nothing remains the same after your first watch.

However, truth and perspective take the front seat with this feature. A modern Rashomon, Monster weaves a horror story from one perspective, a tragedy from a second, and a children’s drama in the third. The three stories in this sequence form a mystery masterpiece that is as gut-wrenching as it is heart-melting.

Monster is a moving tale of humanity that–in the hands of master Kore-eda—is an elevating experience that demands empathy from its viewers. An absolute must watch!

Also check out:

• Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020) Film Review 
• Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One! by Ronit J
• Abandoned by the Gods by Ronit J

I decided to write this review because I’ve been reviewing SFF titles for a while now. With my background in filmmaking, I thought why not explore this side as well? I did a brief stint as a film reviewer but wasn’t able to dedicate time to it properly. Maybe with this series of posts, I’ll be more consistent. Let me know what you think about this review in the comments below.

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