8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A mother demands answers from teacher when her son begins acting strangely.
Starring: Sakura Andô, Eita Nagayama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shidô Nakamura, Yûko TanakaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 49% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
As strange as it may initially sound, films as disparate as Rashomon and The Children's Hour actually share the common thread of a plot built around differing perceptions and/or accounts of various situations. Rashomon famously presented the "same" story from a number of differing perspectives, leaving it to the viewer to decide which (if any) presented "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". The Children's Hour (as well as its somewhat more circumspect first adaptation These Three) hinged on whether a potentially malicious student's account of a relationship between teachers is accurate. Somewhat interestingly, Monster might offer a bit of a "combo platter" of both of those aforementioned approaches, and an ultimate reveal in the story actually tethers it quite closely to the Lillian Hellman piece in particular, albeit this time with regard to students rather than their adult mentors at school.
Monster is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Digitally captured with a couple of different cameras and finished at 4K (both data points courtesy of the IMDb), this is a really beautiful looking presentation, though it may intentionally lack a certain "pop", with the palette somewhat gray and stormy, matching the interior lives of some of the characters. That said, when there are some brightly lit outdoor moments in gorgeous sunshine, hues are quite vivid and detail levels typically excellent. There are a number of very dimly lit, even downright dark, moments, including some perilous scenes at night and/or in a violent storm, and if there's one minor deficit in this presentation, it may be a slight lack of shadow detail in such moments.
Monster features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks in either the original Japanese or an English dub. The voicework on the English dub is perfectly fine, but I'd personally recommend sticking with the original language track unless reading subtitles is an absolute deal breaker. The track really opens up quite nicely in the many outdoor scenes, especially some of the forested moments with the little boys, which offer good, realistic immersion of ambient environmental sounds. The film is perhaps going to be of interest to score enthusiasts, since it offers the last work from Ryuichi Sakamato before his sad death from cancer. He actually evidently wasn't strong enough to compose a complete score, and so offered two solo piano pieces in addition to some tracks from a previously released album, but the music, while "minimalistic" at times, is beautiful and sounds full bodied. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Casual fans who see the title Monster and the fact that this Blu-ray is being brought out by Well Go USA might reasonably come to the conclusion it's about an actual monster, but even if this touching "little" film is perhaps a bit unusual for this particular label, it's still great to see Kore-eda's work continue to make it to high definition. Technical merits are solid, and Monster comes Recommended.
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