When primary school student Minato (Soya Kurokawa) displays disturbing behaviour at home, his mother Saori (Sakura Ando) demands answers from the school staff. When she learns that Minato has allegedly been bullied by his teacher Hori (Eita Nagayama), the resulting fallout leads to his firing, but not before he reveals that Minato was bullying another student, Yori (Hinata Hiiragi). However, the relationship between Minato and Yori is shown to be of a different kind.
Kore-eda’s first film in Japanese since his award-winning Shoplifters in 2018 has him stepping back from scriptwriting duties, instead relying on writer Yuji Sakamoto to provide the film’s insightful, Rashomon-esque narrative. Sakamoto’s script provides a multi-layered perspective on what appears to be a simple incident of school bullying, with each switch in perspective revealing more about not only Minato and Yori, but the other people in their lives. This provides a greater level of insight into the overall social environment of the film’s setting that adds to the realism of the situation whilst also bringing to mind the in-depth characterisations seen in Shoplifters.
The three narrative strands also engage through their multiple subversions of expectations, with Saori’s initial investigation into Minato’s behaviour leading to not only an exploration of the pressures placed on teachers like Hori, but also the homophobic prejudices prevailing within Japanese society when the true nature of Minato and Yori’s relationship is revealed.
However, it is Kore-eda’s direction which also adds to the overall insightful approach. In particular, his impressive work with actors can be seen in the quality of the ensemble performances. Veteran collaborator Ando naturally embodies the desperation of Saori as her attempts to find out what is happening to her son become more frantic and aggressive.
It is the other performances, namely those of Nagayama and Kurokawa, that impress the most. Nagayama really shines in his depiction of the impact of the allegations on Hori’s mental health as he devolves from ambitious young teacher to attempting suicide at the school. Kurokawa proves to be the best of the cast in his depiction of Minato’s mental turmoil over the nature of his relationship with Yori and dishonouring his father’s legacy, further justifying Kore-eda’s tendency to cast unknown child actors.
Monster is a welcome return to his native Japan for Kore-eda, with its multi-perspective structure serving to provide not only an engaging, twist-laden narrative but also a detailed insight into Japanese society through exploring the lives of its characters.
In cinemas nationwide now