It's been a while since I've seen a movie with such a smart and yet unpretentious and delicately constructed script, all the while managing not to "flex" it's wiseness on the viewer like most western script-focused works do.
The movie takes three perspectives of charatcers with wildly differing outlooks on a situation, as well as problems in their lives, to guide you through a series of events that starts as looking like a typical case of teacher psychological and physical abuse, but, through the juxtaposing of these three different perspectives, manages to paint a picture with details and nuance hardly ever found on movies, and reveal that the issue was about something else entirely. With characters with complex emotions and issues, as well as not always clear or comprehensive actions, like real life human beings, it is a captivating watch.
With no spoilers, as I feel the movie works best going in without knowing a single thing about it, I can only describe or hint that there are no monsters at all in the movie, the 'Monster' in the title here would have been better translated as 'Beast', or something non-human, sub-human specially, and it is a commentary on how we are all made to feel sub-human sometimes for the way we feel and how we act, a commentary on the shortcomings of humans as individuals, as well as the fact that this 'un-humaness' sometimes projected into us by our peers is in fact what makes us Human. Everyone in this movie (save a few non-protagonist characters) is capable of great love as well as great harm. As a troubled kid, deeply misinterpreted during my shcool years, who suffered abuse and neglect, but also caused great harm on others, I couldn't help but cry copiously during some scenes in this movie, and I can count on my fingers the amount of times I've cried during a movie. Acting is on point as well, with a special mention to the kid's duo who manage to protray an immensily complex and believable relationship. On a techical level the film is subdued, although it shines here and there (one scene specially): the photogrphy is nothing mind blowing, the same can be said for the soundtrack, but I feel these elements, that can often break the suspense of disbelief, ot take too much attention to itself when being over the top, was left purposefully barebones for the audience to focus on the characters and the stories being told. Excellent film, so far Koreeda's best (that I've watched) and I hope it wins as many Best Foreign Picture awards as possible.
