Monster

Monster (怪物 / Kaibutsu, 2023) — watch online on iFILM. Japanese mystery-drama directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, written by Yuji Sakamoto with a score composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto in one of his final projects. Produced by TOHO and Fuji Television, the film won Best Screenplay at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Single mother Saori Mugino (Sakura Ando) notices her son Minato coming home from school with a damaged ear and growing quieter by the day. She pushes the school for answers and gets polished non-answers from the administration. Kore-eda then rewinds and tells the same story twice more — first through a teacher's eyes, then through the children's. Each pass reshapes who the monster is. The answer isn't who you think it is in the opening minutes.

The film also received the Cannes Queer Palm jury prize and was Japan's submission for the International Feature Film Oscar. Stream Monster (2023) online on iFILM.