Monster

who’s the monster? this is just a perfect work of art. a masterpiece. i’m blown away. a terrifying exploration of the lies we tell ourselves and others to preserve a version of ourselves we can live with. how the world tells us we are inherently monsters and punishes us when we act like it. the lengths we will go to cover up our deepest insecurities. the assumptions we make about others without knowing the full story and how damaging those judgements can be, not only to the victim but to ourselves. the tiniest, subtle details that reveal an entire aspect of one’s life, waiting to be investigated and uncovered. every narrative turn is more compelling than the last, each one took my breath away. a masterclass in queer subtext and subtle queer storytelling. what a gift to witness this story unravel and be perfectly woven back together again. visually, the film is stunning. the use of color, specifically pink, blue, and yellow, needs to be studied. SPOILERS START HERE FOR A LONG ASS RAMBLE i think in lgbtq films centering on a relationship there is often one half of the relationship who is visibly queer and more willing to be out, and the other half who presents more stereotypically straight, has an easier time blending in with hetersexual society, and is deeply struggling with internalized homophobia. i think the film is often told from the perspective of the more visibly queer character, maybe because it is assumed that the audience will have more empathy for that sort of “innocent” character and more easily relate to the struggle of loving someone who is resisting their true feelings. and i love those movies, and i think they are needed and indescribably important, but i love that this film is told from the perspective of the other side of that relationship. yes, minato lies, and sometimes aligns himself with the children who bully the boy he loves, and sometimes he participates in that bullying himself, and sometimes he resorts to violence. but minato is not, as the title would suggest, a monster. he’s a little boy who admits to being terrified of a happiness that he craves but does not believe is possible for someone like him. he is scared of his classmates judgment, his mother’s expectations, his own desire. he has been told by society that he is a monster. the first act of this film paints minato as a victim. the second paints him as the perpetrator. the third acknowledges he has been forced into both roles as a result of the heteronormative, homophobic society in which we live. not that the story told from yori’s perspective wouldn’t have been just as powerful, but living in minato’s head forces the audience to empathize with the morally questionable actions of a confused, struggling boy who can’t ask for help without fear of humiliation, violence, and abandonment.