Monster at Perth Festival

Hiragi Hinata (as Hoshikawa Yori) and Kurokawa Soya (as Mugino Minato)
Photo Credit: Madman Entertainment

On a balmy evening, my friend and I chatted away and enjoyed the ambience of the canopy of pines at UWA Somerville, as we awaited the start of the Japanese film Monster.

Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu (Broker and Shoplifters), the story revolves around 2 young boys Mugino Minato (Kurokawa Soya) and Hoshikawa Yori (Hiragi Hinata) 

Minato starts to act strangely and his Mum is relentless in demanding answers from the school, but with little progress made in finding out what is actually happening to her teenage son.

Bullying seems to be at play, and the story is cleverly told from the perspective of each of the main characters. And as we all know and can relate to - reality is in fact based on our perceptions of what we thought happened as seen through our own lens.

Auteur Kore-eda Hirokazu expertly unravels the story and what is happening with a deft touch for the movie goer.

At around 2 hours, Monster is well paced with the story unfolding to create a suspenseful yet insightful and heartfelt movie with some interesting twists along the way.

The camaraderie and onscreen chemistry between the 2 young boys was beautiful to watch as we saw them go about their daily lives – exploring life, mucking about and doing stuff.

Movie goers who enjoy an intriguing and well paced drama with a soft mystery whodunnit twist will enjoy this film.

It is a tender film which reflects on humanity across many fronts, leaving its own unique imprint upon you afterwards.

All up, it is an outstanding collaboration between Kore-eda Hirokazu, screenwriter Sakamoto Yûji, and legendary musician composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Awarded Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at Cannes.

Monster is showing at UWA Somerville until this Sunday 11 February as part of the Perth Festival film season.

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