“Monster” is an intriguing movie, told from the perspectives of 3 individuals, a single mother who is overprotective of her son and wants justice for him, a well-meaning teacher who finds himself in the middle of an almost impossible situation in which he is falsely accused of hitting a child, and a young boy who is coming to terms with himself and his feelings for a friend. Although not quite the psychological thriller one would expect, “Monster” does a great job in shifting our perspective, in as much as we are constantly being asked “who is the monster?”, while viewing the movie. We are not looking for a monster, but rather seeing victims of circumstances that we empathize with throughout the film and the question of who the monster is becomes the furthest from the audience’s concerns.

The movie follows the story of Minato (Soya Kurokawa), whose behavior starts concerning his mother Saori (Sakura Ando), a single mother who only wants what’s best for his son, who seems to be troubled. Upon questioning Minato on what is causing him to act out of character, Minato confesses that his teacher Mr. Hori (Eita Nagayama) physically and verbally abused him by hitting him and claiming that he has a pig’s brain and that he is a monster. Saori does not take this lightly and confronts the school. The school administrators are somewhat evasive in this situation, and even though Mr. Hori claims that Minato was bullying another student, the administrators do not pursue this claim as it would further ruin Minato’s life because if he is to transfer due to bullying allegations, he will be unable to take any other entrance tests at any school.

From Saori’s perspective, the school initially fails to take accountability for the Mr. Hori’s actions, leading her to confronting him directly, and Mr. Hori is eventually fired for this incident.
From Mr. Hori’s perspective, he has witnessed Minato bullying Yori (Hinata Hiiragi); was kind enough to address the situation between the boys amicably and telling them to shake hands as men. Even after witnessing Minato seemingly lock Yori in the bathroom, Mr. Hori is not proactive in trying to discipline the bullies. This complicity, which may be his way of allowing “boys to be boys” reinforces the toxicity of bullying and hazing that was clearly rampant in the school. Mr. Hori is a young man, who seemingly frequents bars and has a normal personal life; unfortunately bears the brunt of Minato’s actions, highlighting that the institutions that we protect do not always necessarily protect us in return.

From Minato’s point of view, he befriends Yori, an effeminate young boy who is the target of bullies at school. Although Minato likes Yori, he feels some kind of shame in being associated with Yori and tells Yori that they cannot talk to each other at school. When Yori plays with Minato’s hair, Minato cuts off his hair, as if to shed the part of him that Yori likes, and that he is fond of Yori liking it. Minato is struggling with his feelings for Yori, and when Yori tells him that his father calls him a monster with pig’s brain, Minato internalizes these feelings because they also apply to him, and he projects this onto Mr. Hori. Mr. Hori acts as the scapegoat for all the things that adults have done to the children that they cannot get punished for, but to Minato, Mr. Hori becomes the sacrificial lamb, to the extent that he is believed to have set fire to the brothel, something Mr. Hori did not in fact do. Minato and Yori get along very well outside of school, and it is clear that Minato is fond of Yori. When Yori tells Minato that his father will be sending him to stay with his grandmother, meaning that Yori would be transferring schools, Minato is clearly upset, which leads Yori to try to comfort Minato, but the tension between the two boys, over unspoken feelings, leads Minato to become erratic, defensive, and he pushes Yori and runs away. Although Yori notices Minato’s erratic behavior, he is extremely empathetic towards him, this may be because he has already gone through this denial under the influence of his abusive alcoholic father. When Minato visits Yori to apologize for his actions, Yori answers the door with his father and tells Minato that he has now been cured and now has a crush on a girl, however, Yori quickly recants this statement, which further infuriates his father.

Minato and his principal have a heart-to-heart moment, in which Minato confesses that he lied about Mr. Hori and the principal advises him to take up trumpeting, for when there are things, he cannot say out loud, he can just blow the trumpet. The principal also tells Minato that everyone deserves happiness, and no one should take away another person’s happiness. Minato realizes the importance of his happiness and rushes to Yori’s house where he finds Yori in a bathtub, alone. Minato takes Yori and escapes to their play area in the woods during a storm. After the storm, the two boys run through the grass declaring that they have been reborn, even though they are still the same, (are they still alive?) a shift has happened within themselves, and they have seemingly freed themselves from all the guilt that has been following them.

While the formatting of the story through different perspectives can be a little tedious and seemingly “one-track”; the storytelling in “Monster” is so profound and quite layered, that as the real truth unfolds. We are caught back tracking, empathizing and sympathizing with the characters; getting a broader understanding of each of them as another layer of story is exposed. The “Monster” isn’t actually a monster, the “monster” is a victim of circumstances, and the “monster” is a child, trying to navigate life without any ideal support. Even Yori’s father, being the parent who stayed, and an addict is also a victim in his story, despite not being a great parent to Yori. At first glance, it’s as if nothing is happening in “Monster”, however, on close inspection it is a story with so much depth about fighting inner demons, guilt and the growing pains of a boy coming of age and dealing with what it means and what it takes to navigate life as a queer kid. This movie is a must-watch and for my optimistic mind, the boys made it out of the storm and were friends for life.

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- Netflix