Monster is the type of movie-magic that only happens when the very best talents in each field come together. We have Hirozaku Kore-eda's masterful directing, Yuji Sakamoto's humane and intelligent writing, Ryuichi Sakamoto's magical score, and brilliant performances from some of the best actors in the world. And I'm not referring only to legends like Sakura Ando, Eita Nagayama and Yuko Tanaka, whose work here is as incredible as expected. In fact, newcomers Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi are the ones who truly carry the movie, giving two of the best child performances I've ever seen. No other filmmaker in the world can choose and direct child actors like Kore-eda, and he proves it once again here. Beyond that, Sakamoto's script displays the beautiful complexity that characterizes his writing. He builds this haunting, heart-tugging mystery piece by piece, in a way that only he could. Tbh, I accidentally discovered the big twist when the film premiered at Cannes. But, while I believe the twist would have floored me in the best of ways if I had watched it without knowing anything, I still found myself enthralled while seeing the story unfurl. That being said, I still recommend not reading anything about the movie before watching it. To sum up, I thank the universe for gathering all these incredible people so they could make something as special as Monster.
Monster (2023) is another KILL YOUR GAYS! Another fucking movie BY A STRAIGHT MAN about how the world is so cruel and mean to gay boys that they fucking DIE!
As an actual gay man, unlike the people praising this shit or those who made it, I can not express enough how angry the hype surrounding this movie is making me. I mean, do these people realise how awful it is to constantly see yourself represented on screen only to die? After Close (2022), a near-identical movie wherein one of the potentially gay boys fucking KILLS HIMSELF, I am so fucking tired.
It's bad enough when they create gay adults that are killed in numerous manners but when it's gay boys? Like what the actual fuck is wrong with straight people that they get such a hard on for queer people dying tragically? The writer is a straight man too btw. The director had an alternative ending wherein it's confirmed they lived but nahhhh, that's just unrealistic. Gay people don't have happy endings.
I enjoyed this a lot. It's far from Yuji Sakamoto's best work, but even his lesser scripts still have above-average quality. I must admit I didn't really care for the murder-mystery part of the story, although the final twist did surprise me more than I expected. That being said, I definitely liked the romcom parts way more. The writing is as witty as one could expect from Sakamoto, and Ryo Yoshizawa and Aoi Miyazaki know how to play off each other. The banter between their characters is delightful. The rest of the cast is also great, and it's clear the actors had fun making this movie. On top of that, I also loved the social commentary that permeates the plot without overwhelming it. Overall, I had fun with In Love and Deep Water.