Sightlines · reception
How Monster was received
2023 · Hirokazu Kore-eda · Monster on Sightlines
The arc
Premiered at Cannes 2023 to strong reviews, winning Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm, and its stature has only grown since — it's settled in as one of the most beloved international films of its year, with many calling it Kore-eda's best in a decade.
What’s debated
Film fans endlessly debate the ambiguous ending — and whether the film (and its press rollout) fully owns its queer story or keeps it at arm's length, a tension the Queer Palm win only amplified.
Its footprint
The kids' chant that gives the film its title — 'Monster, who's the monster?' — became its calling card, and its perspective-shifting structure drew a thousand Rashomon comparisons that Kore-eda himself gently resisted.
Where it stands
A certified Letterboxd darling — one of the highest-rated 2023 releases on the platform and an instant entry in the 'films that will emotionally wreck you' canon.
Did you know? The score was Ryuichi Sakamoto's final film work — he died a few months before the Cannes premiere, and the film is dedicated to his memory.