Monster (2023) directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda who's very famous both in Japan and internationally for his heart-warming and humane stories. I watched this in theaters and it was one of the best experiences of my life. To think I'd be able to watch Sakura Ando and Nagayama Eita on the big screen is a dream come true for me as I'm a big fan of both of the actors. The screenwriter is again, a famous screenwriter in Japan called Sakamato Yuji . The music composer for this movie was Ryuichi Sakamato and he was an Oscar winner. This is his last work. So you can see how this is a collab of the year and can guess how excited Japanese people were for this, including me as I too am a big fan of these people. The movie actually lives up to the hype.

It's hard to talk about the movie without giving spoilers because it's best to experience the movie without knowing anything about it. But as it's my job to tell you, so I'll try to talk about it in vague terms. The movie is essentially about a single mother who noticed that her son, Minato , who's in middle school has started acting strange suddenly, when asked, it seems to be because of harassment from his homeroom teacher, Mr. Hori . The movie is about her trying to get to the truth to protect her child. But in actuality it's more than that. The story is told from different perspectives and how the truth gets lost because humans always try to protect themselves as their survival instinct so they try to believe in the truth that suits them the most unconsciously. There's no good or bad character in the movie, they are all very flawed, complex and humane . In the end of the day, the movie was about being human, not a monster ( In which all of the characters believe themselves to be the Monster) .

It was just so beautiful, I felt deeply touched by it. It's just a masterpiece. No more words. The only flaw is I felt the ending was a bit abrupt. I wanted a bit more closure but it’s forgivable. You should watch it if you've loved other Koreeda movies! If you're new to his or Japanese movies in general, I suggest this movie is for people who enjoyed character driven stories and portrayal of human emotions. The fan inside me wants to say that everyone should watch this movie at least once as it's essentially about being a human but if you can't digest some disturbing themes like bullying and parental neglect, I'd suggest to not watch, but otherwise I feel it's worth a try for everyone.

My rating: 9.5/10