Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
28th BIFF Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Monster' questions role of adults in children's lives
From left, director Hirokazu Kore-eda, actors Kurokawa Soya and Hiiragi Hinata pose during a press conference at the KNN Tower Building, Friday, for the screening of the film "Monster" at the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which is being held through Oct. 13 in Busan. Courtesy of BIFF
By Lee Gyu-lee
There's a saying that goes,“It takes a village to raise a child.” That saying shows just how important the roles of adults are in shaping the lives of children.
Award-winning Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest drama, “Monster,” aims to challenge audiences to rethink the roles adults play in children's lives.
“Empathizing (with the film) is important, but I feel that there’s something more important beyond that. Not just empathizing with the main characters, two boys, but I wanted this film to also make people question what adults can do (for the children), and what one should think about,” the director said during the press conference for the film at KNN Tower Building, Saturday.
The film was invited to the “Gala Presentation” at this year’s Busan International Film Festival, being held in the southern port city from Oct. 4-13.
The film, which is scripted by Sakamoto Yuji, follows the story of two classmates in the fifth grade ― Minato (Kurokawa Soya) and Hoshikawa (Hiiragi Hinata) ―from three different perspectives.
When Minato tells his mother that he was abused by his homeroom teacher, she becomes enraged and demands the school to take action. The film then shifts to the teacher's viewpoint, signaling there’s more to Minato’s problems and, in fact, that there was a misunderstanding.
The last chapter develops from the perspectives of the two boys and the school’s principal, who was depicted as an introvert. The three chapters tie together the preceding accounts to present a fuller picture in the end.
A scene from the film "Monster" / Courtesy of BIFF
Kore-eda says that he found such a structure to be an interesting way of storytelling, adding that he took time to carefully select the scenes for each chapter.
“It has a structure that leads audiences to take part and experience (the story) from the characters’ perspectives. It was a different approach than what I’ve usually done previously, so it was really interesting to film this script … (Yuji) included scenes that will cause a misunderstanding. It has a structure where the story develops with a misunderstanding. And (as the story progresses) we come to realize that we were also standing with the side that pushes the boys into a corner,” the director said.
“As I worked with Yuji to adapt the script, we contemplated how we could leave out information to the audience and what parts to share. The original script was about three hours long and we created the film discussing what to include and take out in each chapter.”
The film "Monster" was invited to screen at BIFF's "Gala Presentation" section. Courtesy of BIFF
The two boys are the crucial part of the story, holding the key to the mystery of whether Minato was really abused, how Hoshikawa is involved in the incident, and, ultimately, the identiy of the real "monster."
The director shared that he cast actors Kurokawa and Hiiragi without hesitation, as he felt the two were perfect for their roles.
“I met (the two boys) through an audition and selected them through the traditional process … and they stood out significantly compared to the other participants. I already pictured in my head how we should create these characters through the audition process,” Kore-eda said, adding that the two child actors went through a similar process to build their characters as adults.
“Normally, I would edit the script to match the characters with the personalities of the child actors, reflecting their usual use of language and speech patterns. But, this time, we created (the characters) as adult actors would do in the pre-production phase. I handed the script to them and made each scene meticulously through table readings and rehearsals.”