 A film in three minutes. Monster. Have you ever felt like an outsider? Like there was something wrong deep inside of you? Something that tries you might keeps separating you from your peers. Maybe even your own family. A difference in what made you who you are that only brought you shame. With that shame stemming from a fear. A fear of being othered, of being hated. Not seen for who you are as a person, but defined by prejudice in one word. Correa Dahirakazu's 2023 award-winning drama that sensitively explores one of Japan's most hidden subject matters with an excellent cast, a solid screenplay that contains a clever approach to its narrative, all masterfully directed by one of Asia's most respected cinematic sons. Set in the city of Suwa in Japan, the story follows 5th grade pupil Minato, but is told from three distinct perspectives. His single mother, his high school teacher and Minato himself. After exhibiting strange behaviour at home, his mother suspects something wrong has been happening at her son's school, accusing the faculty of mistreating him and pointing the blame squarely at his teacher, Hori. However, when we witness the same events of the story, but now from Hori and later Minato's perspective, we come to understand what really has been going on behind the complex entanglement of all three characters' lives, profoundly changing our understanding as we discover the motivations behind their behaviour. This approach to the narrative is what makes Monster so gripping to watch, opening with what could easily be described as the first act to a horror film that turns into a sinister psychological thriller mystery that then mutates again into something else entirely by the story's final act. The perception we have of certain characters based on their appearance or behaviour is flipped on its head as we understand the type of social imprisonment they feel trapped by and the fear they have of how others will view them when they try to escape it. The performances from Kurokawa Sawyer as Minato and Hiragi Hirata as his classmate Yori are magnificent for their friendly chemistry, but also for their captivating mercurial nature, leaving us to guess and second guess their impulsions and motivations, never quite knowing where we stand as the story plays out, and Minato undertakes his deeply personal journey, a journey that is a subtle but positive step in the right direction for Japanese cinema, and one that hopefully provides courage enough for those suffering in similar circumstances to believe their own personal demons can be overcome. For the only true monster that exists is the hate we feel for ourselves when we allow the fear of others to blind us from embracing who we are.