Monster

When her son’s behavior changes beyond recognition, single mother Saki’s life is turned upside down. She tries to find the reasons for the boy’s aggression at school. The mother is convinced that the source of her son’s problems is his teacher Hori. However, things are much more complicated. When these characters cross paths, an unexpected bond is formed, revealing secrets and the fragile nature of truth. Will we learn who the real monster is?

Monster (Japanese: 怪物, romanized: Kaibutsu) is a 2023 Japanese psychological dramatic mystery thriller film directed and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda from a screenplay written by Yuji Sakamoto. It stars Sakura Andō as a mother who confronts a teacher after noticing disturbing changes in her son's behavior. The film marks the first time Kore-eda has directed a film he did not write himself since Maborosi (1995). The film was the last scoring project by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died two months before its release; the film is dedicated to his memory.

Monster had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023, where it competed for the Palme d'Or and was honored with the Queer Palm as well as the Best Screenplay award. The film was released in Japan on 2 June 2023. It received widespread critical acclaim with singled out praise towards its screenplay, direction, acting, editing and musical score and vastly appeared in numerous lists of top ten year's best.