Hirokazu Kore-eda twists the truth – IndieWire

Who is the real monster when the truth is revealed?

With Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Monster,” the director returns to films set in Japan for the first time since winning the Palme d’Or for 2018’s “Shoplifters.” Kore-eda then directed “The Truth” and “Broker,” which played in France and South Korea, respectively. “Monster” is also the first film that Kore-eda directed from a different script since 1995’s “Maboroshi.” The “Monster” screenplay written by Yuji Sakamoto went on to win the Best Screenplay award at Cannes 2023.

The official synopsis is: When her young son Minato (Soya Kurokawa) starts acting strangely, his mother (Sakura Ando) feels like something is wrong. When she finds out that a teacher (Eita Nagayama) is responsible, she storms into the school and demands to know what’s going on. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of the mother, the teacher and the child, the truth gradually comes to light.

“Monster” also stars Hiiragi Hinata and Tanaka Yuko.

Kore-eda told The Hollywood Reporter that the vision for “Monster,” set in Japan, was a “clear” choice.

“When I came back to Japan to make this film, everything felt so clear to me. “Throughout filming there was no doubt in my mind,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s because I’ve worked on foreign productions or because of the freedom to direct someone else’s script, but even compared to all my previous filming experiences in Japan, everything felt much clearer. I had a strong conviction. But again, I don’t really know why that was.”

IndieWire critic David Ehrlich compared the melodrama’s plot to a Christopher Nolan film, saying that the feature “invites the audience’s worst assumptions about its characters so that it can show us our blind spots when the story eventually comes back to haunt us.” to fill in the gaps.”

Ehrlich wrote in the review, “This truth is hinted at throughout, but its final confirmation is powerful enough to recategorize the entire film around it, as Kore-eda pushes even deeper into territory he’s never truly explored before.” has.”

Kawamura Genki and Yamada Kenji are producing the film with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Well Go USA is the North American distributor following the acquisition of Cannes. The deal was negotiated by Goodfellas and CAA Media Finance.

“Monster” opens November 22nd in New York City and opens December 1st in Los Angeles and additional markets throughout December. Check out the trailer and poster below.