IMDb 7.8 2023 HD

Monster

Monster

2023
Drama Mystery Thriller
125 min PG-13 Japan
7.924 / 10
7.8 IMDB

After an outburst at school involving her son, a concerned single mother demands answers, triggering a sequence of deepening suspicion and turmoil.

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director Hirokazu Kore-eda / Shôichi Morimoto / Chiho Asada / Tomoko Oshida
Starring
Sakura Ando / Soya Kurokawa / Hinata Hiiragi / Eita Nagayama / Yuko Tanaka / Mitsuki Takahata / Akihiro Kakuta / Shido Nakamura

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

Intriguing Unsettling Thought-provoking Ambiguous Emotional Complex Suspenseful Nuanced Restrained Powerful Challenging

Reviews

P
Priya Sharma
Mar 18, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

'Monster' is a film that promises much and delivers a complex, at times opaque, experience. Sakura Ando gives a strong performance as a mother caught in a web of suspicion, her concern for her son driving the narrative.…

B
Benjamin Carter
Mar 18, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

This is a film that trusts its audience implicitly. 'Monster' eschews conventional storytelling for a more layered and ambiguous approach, focusing on the emotional fallout of a seemingly minor incident. Sakura Ando is the undeniable heart of the…

I
Isabelle Dubois
Mar 18, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

'Monster' presents a compelling, albeit at times frustrating, descent into parental anxiety. Sakura Ando anchors the film with a performance that is both fierce and vulnerable, capturing the desperation of a mother seeking clarity. The narrative is structured…

M
Marcus Thorne
Mar 18, 2026
4.5 / 5
4.5

There's a masterful sense of dread woven into the fabric of 'Monster', a film that expertly manipulates audience expectations. The initial premise – a mother's concern for her son after a school incident – blossoms into something far…

E
Eleanor Vance
Mar 18, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

Director Unknown has crafted a genuinely unsettling and deeply affecting drama with 'Monster'. The film’s strength lies in its deliberate pacing and its refusal to offer easy answers, mirroring the confusion and anxiety of its protagonist, played with…

FAQs

Sakura Ando, as the single mother, is central to the film's emotional core. Her role demands a portrayal of intense concern, growing suspicion, and perhaps desperation as she seeks answers about her son. Given Ando's established talent for conveying complex maternal emotions and internal struggles, her performance is expected to be a significant anchor, grounding the film's narrative and providing a relatable, albeit anxious, focal point for the audience's empathy.