"Monster" (2023) opinions?

Just saw it for the first time. Really loved that movie. Made me cry (which really doesn't happen often)

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Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster is described as a “Japanese coming-of-age psychological drama mystery thriller,” and it maybe contains elements of all of these genres. But perhaps it could also be understood as a coming-out film, that examines the suffocating dangers of patriarchal and homophobic violence.

The film uses a Rashomon structure and is told from three perspectives: the protective mother, Saori Mugino; the accused teacher, Michitoshi Hori; and the young protagonist, Minato Mugino. Saori suspects Mr. Hori of physically abusing her son. Mr. Hori suspects Minato of bullying his classmate, Yori Hoshikawa. Both are not true. Maybe Kore-eda shows us that violence is not simply an individual fault that can be pinned on a single villain; it is a complex, systemic structure.

This structure exposes two distinct regimes of violence. The first is the bureaucratic coldness of the school institution. Saori desperately tries to confront the administration about the alleged violence against her son, only to be met with rehearsed corporate responses, endless bows, and empty apologies. The bureaucracy prioritizes protecting the institution over intersubjective truth-finding, forcing Mr. Hori to resign to save face. For both adults, this disciplinary regime becomes an impenetrable wall of speechlessness.

The second regime is that of patriarchal, homophobic violence. In the final third, we learn that Minato and Yori are in love, a love forbidden by their surroundings. We never learn the names of the boys who daily torment Yori at school. They remain an anonymous collective, reproducing the rigid gender norms they have absorbed from their fathers and older brothers. The slightest deviation from hegemonic masculinity, such as a softer voice, a gentler demeanor, or feminine traits, can be punished at any time.

Minato occupies the tragic position of the closeted homosexual, less targeted by the patriarchal matrix because he passes as non-deviant. He loves spending time with Yori in private, yet forbids Yori from speaking to him at school. Watching this survival tactic play out among children is heartbreaking.

To escape this, the two boys retreat to an abandoned train carriage hidden in the forest. Decorating it together, they establish a sanctuary, what Michel Foucault would call a queer heterotopia, a counter-site outside the normative order. Yet the long arm of patriarchal violence eventually reaches even this haven.

Yori represents the purest soul imaginable. He acts almost like a "manic pixie dream boy," never complaining when Minato denies him in public. In a moment when they are alone he gently stroking Minato's hair instead. Its so sweet. When Minato realizes his romantic feelings for Yori and reacts with internal homophobia, Yori holds him protectively. Minato, unable to bear the internalized shame, shoves him away. Yori endures it all with quiet love and patience. His strenght and dignity could make anyone cry.

Given this tenderness, accusations that the film merely victimizes queer characters seem misdirected. Monster is neither a thriller nor a conventional drama; it is a quiet exploration of a queer question: How can two young boys simply be together?

In his discussions on "friendship as a way of life," Foucault noted that the central queer question is often not sex, but loving friendship. How can a boy love another boy? How can they share a space, touch each other, and express affection? Yori invents an anagrammatic code, hiding their names in a homework assignment, a subtle message that eventually allows Mr. Hori and Saori to understand the truth. It is a gentle mediation for a deeply gentle film.