Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Monster
Not all is as it seems in Hirokazu Koreeda’s powerful drama told from shifting perspectives.
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Overview
The latest film by Hirokazu Koreeda sees the Cannes Palme d’Or-winner (Shoplifters) return to his native Japan with a wondrously and heartbreakingly humanistic tale. The reputation of schoolteacher Mr Hori is questioned when a local fire triggers the circulation of scandalous rumours. Meanwhile, single mother Saori despairs when her son Minato, a student in Mr Hori’s class, comes home from school injured and visibly disturbed, yet unable to share what has happened to him. Not all is as it seems, in this the compelling drama and mystery that evolves as a non-linear portrait of community, friendship and family.
Beautifully crafted and featuring sublime performances (particularly from young Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi), Monster is an emotionally rich experience, with intelligent layers that keep unravelling and surprising, right up to the very last frame.
Related
Evil Does Not Exist Evil Does Not Exist
Drama 2023 106 mins Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to Drive My Car is a hauntingly enigmatic eco-thriller. Winner of Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival.
Rare Beasts Rare Beasts
Comedy 2021 92 mins Director: Billie Piper
Billie Piper stars in her own directorial debut, a no-holds-barred, Fleabag-esque anti-romcom about a modern woman’s struggles in work and love.
Baltimore Baltimore
Historical drama 2023 98 mins Director: Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
Imogen Poots grounds Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor's meditative portrayal of terrorist, disinherited heiress and expectant mother Rose Dugdale.
Four Little Adults Four Little Adults
Drama 2023 123 mins Director: Selma Vilhunen
A Finnish couple facing a marital crisis venture into the world of polyamory, in this mature meditation on love.
The Teachers' Lounge The Teachers' Lounge
Drama 2023 99 mins Director: Ilker Çatak
A teacher’s life unravels when one of her students is accused of stealing in this arresting, Oscar-nominated thriller.
The Protagonists The Protagonists
Drama 1999 87 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino
The rarely seen debut by acclaimed director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) is a bizarre drama-documentary recreating a motiveless London murder.
The Falling The Falling
Drama 2015 102 mins Director: Carol Morley
Florence Pugh's first film teams her with Maisie Williams as teenage friends at a school cursed by mystery sickness.
Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Beast Beast
Drama 2018 106 mins Director: Michael Pearce
The hunt for a Jersey serial killer sparks a dangerous awakening in a young woman (Jessie Buckley, in her feature debut) in this astonishing psycho-sexual thriller, which sets all the senses aflame.
A White, White Day A White, White Day
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland’s finest actor Ingvar Sigurðsson gives a heart-breaking and Cannes award-winning performance as widowed cop who becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s death.
Enys Men Enys Men
Horror 2022 91 mins Director: Mark Jenkin
Mark Jenkin follows Bait with this chilling, endlessly mysterious folk horror tale, beautifully shot on grainy 16mm.
The Beasts The Beasts
Drama 2022 138 mins Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Denis Ménochet (Peter von Kant) stars as a small-town farmer whose idyllic lifestyle turns into a living nightmare, in this rivetingly structured, slow-burn thriller.
Air Doll Air Doll
Drama 2009 116 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
A life-size blow-up doll comes to life and falls in love with a video store clerk in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s haunting, melancholy meditation on urban alienation.
Maborosi Maborosi
Drama 1995 109 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s first fiction feature is an exquisite meditation on loss, loneliness, uncertainty, and coming to terms with the past.
Still Walking Still Walking
Drama 2008 115 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s subtle, moving account of the tensions within a family is his most Ozu-like film.
After Life After Life
Drama 1998 119 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda's lyrical fantasy challenges the viewer to reflect on the experiences that most make life worth living.
Nobody Knows Nobody Knows
Drama 2003 141 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s drama about four children left to fend for themselves is a heartbreaking study of childhood neglect.
Sky Peals Sky Peals
Science Fiction 2023 91 mins Director: Moin Hussain
A coming-of-age tale about a father-son relationship that might just be out of this world.
Big Banana Feet Big Banana Feet
Documentary 1976 78 mins Director: Murray Grigor and Patrick Higson
Captivating 'lost' record of Billy Connolly on the cusp of international stardom during his 1975 tour of Ireland.
Evil Does Not Exist Evil Does Not Exist
Drama 2023 106 mins Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to Drive My Car is a hauntingly enigmatic eco-thriller. Winner of Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival.
Rare Beasts Rare Beasts
Comedy 2021 92 mins Director: Billie Piper
Billie Piper stars in her own directorial debut, a no-holds-barred, Fleabag-esque anti-romcom about a modern woman’s struggles in work and love.
Baltimore Baltimore
Historical drama 2023 98 mins Director: Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
Imogen Poots grounds Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor's meditative portrayal of terrorist, disinherited heiress and expectant mother Rose Dugdale.
Four Little Adults Four Little Adults
Drama 2023 123 mins Director: Selma Vilhunen
A Finnish couple facing a marital crisis venture into the world of polyamory, in this mature meditation on love.