Monster · reception & legacy
2023 · Hirokazu Kore-eda
How Monster has been received, argued over, and remembered.
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.