Monster

I've gone back and forth on how I feel about this film. About whether or not I like its structure, and whether or not I think its structure works at all. I was stuck and really bothered by the role of the principal in the film. I was also stuck on whether or not the first two acts even mattered and whether the film would be more interesting if it was just the third act because the acts made the timelines feel confusing. But I've realized that I was judging it on the movie that I wanted it to be and not what it was trying to present. I've landed on the belief that the principal's character was never meant to be fleshed out like the protagonists of the three acts. We never get the same principal in any of the acts, and of course, that was by design. She was there to really highlight the biases of each act's lens and how "monsters" are perceived and tainted by bias. I also think the wonkiness of the timelines is to really highlight that bias, to highlight that there were scenes in the middle of these big moments of the first two acts that, to these kids, were so much more important than the drama of the school scandal. I absolutely loved the performances and individual arcs in this film. They were so heart wrenching and so tender, especially the two boys. I'm definitely gonna be thinking about this film for a while. If there is one gripe I have with the movie, it's the ending. And that's simply a personal reason. I'm honestly just tired of queer kids dying and I wish it stayed being a bit more open ended. I honestly know this is simply my reality of being queer and it is a very true reflection of what me and my friends have gone through, but I just think we need more hopeful resolutions to queer films in this day and age. EDIT: Kore-eda has stated in an interview that he didn't mean the ending to be open ended at all and to make it seem like they died and that the scene was shot with the intent of portraying them alive. That brings me so much joy