Hirokazu Kore-eda turns his camera on a small Japanese town for a mystery-thriller that unsettles more than it explains.
What is Monster about?
Monster is a 2023 Japanese mystery-thriller directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, a filmmaker best known for patient, closely observed family dramas rather than genre pieces built on shock. That background shows in how the film is structured: rather than delivering a single clean chain of events, it builds tension through perspective and withheld information, asking viewers to sit with uncertainty about what is really happening and to whom. The story is anchored by a mother, played by Sakura Ando, and a teacher, played by Eita Nagayama, whose roles pull the film between the world of adults and the world of two young boys at its center, played by Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi. Yuko Tanaka, Mitsuki Takahata, Akihiro Kakuta and Shido Nakamura round out the ensemble. At 86 minutes, the film keeps its focus narrow, trading scale for the kind of slow-building unease that has become a hallmark of Kore-eda's recent work.
About the cast
Sakura Ando and Eita Nagayama anchor the adult side of the story, with young performers Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi central to the film's mystery, supported by Yuko Tanaka, Mitsuki Takahata, Akihiro Kakuta and Shido Nakamura.
Context & significance
Monster carries the mystery, thriller and horror tags together, an unusual combination for a director whose earlier films leaned toward quiet domestic drama. That pairing signals a film more interested in psychological dread and shifting perspective than in conventional scares, continuing Kore-eda's long-running interest in how truth looks different depending on who is telling it. Made in Japan, the film sits within a national cinema tradition known for restrained, character-first storytelling even inside genre frameworks.
Watching Monster on Ktime
Monster streams on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, making Kore-eda's work accessible to Farsi-speaking audiences. The film's page is open to browse for anyone, and watching only requires logging into a K-Time account, part of a streaming experience built with the Farsi-speaking, Iranian diaspora audience in mind.