Many directors tell stories of children. In this movie, Kore-eda tells a story of Minato and Yori from three different perspectives. He slowly reveals the true nature of the story by moving from the parent’s, the teacher’s, and finally to Minato’s perspective. This hopping of perspectives makes us realize how much patience and sensitivity is required to understand delicate stories of young children and the tragedy coming from the gaps between those perspectives.

The movie contains a message on how misleading a rushed judgment or stereotyping can be. It even shows from the movie’s title. The word “monster” sounds menacing but in fact, for the boys, it was simply from a game that they played. Of course, for the story arc as a whole, it can mean a lot of different things. In a way, most characters in the movie can be descried as monsters in a sense that their behavior or social status deviates from stereotypical social norms. But the movie ultimately tells a story about love between these outcasts, especially between the two boys.

As a queer person, this movie felt even more special to me due to the affection between the two boys. Some scenes reminded me of the movie Close (2022) by Lukas Dhont too. The principal’s message at the end of the movie seemed a bit heavy-handed but as in Broker (2022), I think sometimes it’s okay for the director to speak directly through the mouth of the characters. And as a queer person, I will take that message and savor it. The fact that the boys eventually (innocently) dreamed of being reborn could be read a bit tragic, but the ambiguous but hopeful ending may imply that the rebirth would mean their coming of age after surviving the hardship through love and caring for each other.