Monster: Acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film is his best since winning Cannes top prize

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Credit: Suenaga Makoto Monster: Acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film is his best since winning Cannes top prize Ben O’SheaSTM June 16, 2024 2:00AM Comments TopicsSTMMovies Hirokazu Kore-eda has achieved a level of international success that few Japanese directors have ever attained. While the Korean screen industry has conquered the world, the Land of the Rising Sun has barely made a dent in global cinema, especially when you remove anime and talk strictly live-action. For a decade, Kore-eda has been a notable exception, earning recognition at prestigious film festivals around the world. He has been particularly successful at Cannes, where his 2013 film, Like Father, Like Son, won the Jury Prize, and his 2018 signature work, Shoplifters, took home the top gong, the Palme d’Or. TheNightly Get in front of tomorrow’s news for FREE Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.READ NOW After an impressive stint making movies outside of Japan, in languages he couldn’t speak — 2019’s The Truth, in French, and 2021’s Broker, in Korean — Kore-eda returned to his native country to make Monster, his finest film since Shoplifters. It’s also the first film Kore-eda hasn’t written himself in three decades, but it explores a theme very close to his heart — the plight of outsiders in society. In this case, two pre-teen boys at the centre of a schoolyard drama. Soya Kurokawa plays Minato, the central character, whose increasingly bizarre behaviour leads his fiercely devoted mum, Saori (Sakura Ando), to suspect he is being abused by a heartless teacher.Camera IconMinato (Soya Kurokawa) and Sakura Ando as Saori Mugino in Monster. Credit: Suenaga Makoto When she confronts the headmaster about the actions of Mr Hori (Eita Nagayama), the teacher alleges Minato is actually the aggressor, and has been bullying Yori (Hinata Hiiragi), a queer kid in his class. Just when you think you are grounded in the plot, Kore-eda whips the rug out, retelling the story from the perspective of Mr Hori and then Yori. It’s a technique famously employed by another Japanese director — the legendary Akira Kurosawa — in his 1950 classic, Rashomon, which retold the story of a murder from the differing perspectives of a variety of unreliable witnesses. “I figured that critics may compare Monster to Rashomon when talking about this film,” Kore-eda admits over a Zoom call with STM. The 62-year-old filmmaker is flattered by the comparison, of course, but points out this style of narrative structure is the trademark of his film’s writer, Yuji Sakamoto. “This is a style that I don’t often do; this kind of structure where you almost mislead the audience as we go into the third part of the film,” Kore-eda says. “And so this is not a style that I’m necessarily used to, so I was very focused on how to bring the audience’s emotions along to each character in each segment. (It was) something that I was strongly conscious of, compared to the other films that I’ve made.” As well as a plot that keeps the audience guessing, Monster possesses something even more special — a score by Academy Award-winning Japanese composer, the late, great Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died before the film’s premiere in Cannes. “I was very glad to have been able to collaborate with him finally, and I think the experience has been a treasure for me to keep,” Kore-eda says. With the film’s unusual structure, the director hopes audiences come to it with as little information as possible, and allow themselves to be carried away by the story. And, just maybe, contemplate the concept of objective truth in their own lives. “Even if it did exist, objective truth, I think, ultimately, is something that people probably can’t know,” Kore-eda says with a wry smile. Monster is in theatres now. Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email Us Copy the Link Register and have your say. Register to comment Already have an account? Log in Explore nowSave on movie tickets when you join West Rewards. 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