Monster(2023)

INT. COOKIE MONSTER – NIGHT Monster is the latest entry in the Kore-eda filmography (a filmography I still need to dive deeper into). Still, just like his previous films, It's a deeply personal look into a character, their motives but most importantly, how that motive affects those around them. Monster is a multi-layered beast; it retells one story from multiple perspectives giving us the whole cookie instead of…

Reviewed on May 18, 2023

The perspective from which we view a situation infallibly provides us with a clear, irrefutable picture of its truthfulness, right? But what happens if we encounter someone who witnesses the same incident and comes away from it with a totally different interpretation? Both views can’t be “right,” can they? Or is it possible that none of us can see the totality of a scenario and claim to know everything about it?…

Reviewed on December 5, 2023

I'm not usually a fan of children leading films, but hats have to come off here for a really delightful performance from the young Hinata Hiiragi as the shy and shunned "Hoshikawa". We will get to him in a minute, but first the film is delivered in three parts as a fire slowly devours a city centre tower block. The first episode introduces us to "Minato" (Soya Kurukawa). He's a bright and friendly boy who lives…

Reviewed on March 16, 2024

This film is the highest compliment to Kurasawa's Rashoman I've ever seen. Others have tried the (perhaps bonsai rule-of-three inspired) triple-POV, but I've always just witnessed a "yeah, so what." But this film - Kore-Eda's vision? Kurasawa himself would stand up and bow. It takes the master's style to a completely new level. Yuji Sakamoto and Kore-Eda have created the perfect film here. It's tight, it's paced…

Reviewed on June 9, 2024