Monster

Oh boy, this film leaves me a scar. The emotions were highly intense yet it was beautifully executed. The hidden meanings were captivating and I love all of the characters. It is bittersweet.

“If only some people can have it, then it’s not happiness”. One of the best screenplays of 2023. A story told from three different perspectives of the same timeline of events. Masterful storytelling and brilliant writing.

"If only some people can have it, that's not happiness. That's just nonsense. Happiness is something anyone can have"

Monster is such a brilliant film it’s beautiful in what almost every single film gets wrong, it’s beautiful not by the view of a horizon, or how well a life was lived, or even by everyone that surrounds you, but by the mere existence of life itself.

I’d highly recommend monster, but be warned, this is literally impossible to watch without paying, it took me a fucking week of daily searching to find an actual decent copy, and even the one I watched had some glitches, so for your own convenience, buy the damn blu ray.

1st Act 9/10 (Starts with a beautiful opening scene that completely sets the stage for what’s to come, not to mention all the parallels it sets up.)

2nd Act 9.7/10 (Shows the power of perception and deception perfectly, the whole story gets flipped on its head flawlessly.)

3rd Act 9.5/10 (Pulls the strings of the characters like puppets, and has the story come together beautifully, the amount of parallels and symbolism that you directly recognise from the is, is astounding.)

Plot 9.6/10 (I’d describe the plot as being, Beauty of life altered by perception of the eye, and deception of the ear.)

Soundtrack/Score 9.4/10 (Sounds like Mozart is whispering in my ear, “enjoy bitch you know you are.”

Acting 9.2/10 (Gotta love how realistic it felt, especially from Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi.)

Pacing 9.3/10 (It’s very well paced, can be slow at times, but it all leads into the end of the matter being that it’s a story that needs to be told, not urgently, but effectively.)

Cinematography 9.8/10 (Weird one to rate as around 80% of the cinematography is just basic shots with what they were given, and then the other 20 is the cinematography going, “nah fuck you, incoming most beautiful shot you’ve ever seen that will never be followed up on.”)

Character Development 11/10 (The whole fuckin movie is character development.)

Writing 10/10 (just the way it all links seamlessly together brings a tear to my directing eye.)

Ending 9.6/10 (KINDA MEDIUM SPOILERS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK). In a world of devastating endings, I’m glad we got that happy one we needed.)

Direction 9.3/10 (The style is more or less just, fast paced, beautiful shots cause why not, RAIN, and long angles, I don’t think there more than 3 close up shots the whole movie, and all it does is build the atmosphere.)

Overall
115.4/120
9.5/10

"If only some people can have it, that's not happiness. That's just nonsense. Happiness is something anyone can have"

Monster is such a brilliant film it’s beautiful in what almost every single film gets wrong, it’s beautiful not by the view of a horizon, or how well a life was lived, or even by everyone that surrounds you, but by the mere existence of life itself.

I’d highly recommend monster, but be warned, this is literally impossible to watch without paying, it took me a fucking week of daily searching to find an actual decent copy, and even the one I watched had some glitches, so for your own convenience, buy the damn blu ray.

1st Act 9/10 (Starts with a beautiful opening scene that completely sets the stage for what’s to come, not to mention all the parallels it sets up.)

2nd Act 9.7/10 (Shows the power of perception and deception perfectly, the whole story gets flipped on its head flawlessly.)

3rd Act 9.5/10 (Pulls the strings of the characters like puppets, and has the story come together beautifully, the amount of parallels and symbolism that you directly recognise from the is, is astounding.)

Plot 9.6/10 (I’d describe the plot as being, Beauty of life altered by perception of the eye, and deception of the ear.)

Soundtrack/Score 9.4/10 (Sounds like Mozart is whispering in my ear, “enjoy bitch you know you are.”

Acting 9.2/10 (Gotta love how realistic it felt, especially from Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi.)

Pacing 9.3/10 (It’s very well paced, can be slow at times, but it all leads into the end of the matter being that it’s a story that needs to be told, not urgently, but effectively.)

Cinematography 9.8/10 (Weird one to rate as around 80% of the cinematography is just basic shots with what they were given, and then the other 20 is the cinematography going, “nah fuck you, incoming most beautiful shot you’ve ever seen that will never be followed up on.”)

Character Development 11/10 (The whole fuckin movie is character development.)

Writing 10/10 (just the way it all links seamlessly together brings a tear to my directing eye.)

Ending 9.6/10 (KINDA MEDIUM SPOILERS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK). In a world of devastating endings, I’m glad we got that happy one we needed.)

Direction 9.3/10 (The style is more or less just, fast paced, beautiful shots cause why not, RAIN, and long angles, I don’t think there more than 3 close up shots the whole movie, and all it does is build the atmosphere.)

Overall
115.4/120
9.5/10

maybe i did not understand everything bc of the chronology, only in the end it finally was somehow clear in the message

Lots of hidden messages inside, the end was a bit confusing but that's why it's so memorable, because you don't know.