I like the look of love, the look of fondness. The softening of eyes, the dimpling of cheeks, the curling of lips. I like how adoration is easy to spot, how it makes it hard to hide the feelings your heart is too shy to make your mouth verbalise.
// monster (2023) spoiler
head in hands oh my godd.. when yori talked about flowers with minato the first one he named out was primrose.. after their class fight minato waits for a long time at their hideout for yori while texting him, assuring its okay to touch him again. yori+
when yori tells minato about him leaving, there's a visible board map in the background – an imaginary train line route, likely created by both of them. the station names on the map are made from blending diff elements of their family names, forming places like "MugiKawa Town" 😭
"we recieved LGBTQ+ education before filming & got a deeper understanding of the LGBTQ+ experience." – soya kurokawa
"we met real LGBTQ+ individuals & heard their stories gaining insight into their emotions & perspectives in certain situations." – hinata hiiragi
OHMYGODD i just noticed this.. minato was looking at yori so dreamily a smile blooming on his face.. he was literally so fixated on him dat he even failed to notice the paper until it fluttered away breaking him out of his reverie yet YET he shifted his focus back on yori again😭
∿ monster (2023) spoilers!!
my understanding of the film's ending may appear as misinterpretation to some, but here we go.
the first time yori takes minato to their secret hideout, while playing they ran until they reached the closed gate. yori says, "the end of the line."
soya: "we made omelet rice, took baths together & fought. yori-kun is so cute. he keeps sending me stamps on LINE, plays pranks on me & treats me like a little brother (laughs). after spending so much time together, we have become best friends who can say anything to each other."
"the scene by the manhole where we say 'im sorry for today'. the director let us act it out on our own & we had a quarrel on how to perform it before filming so our relationship wasn't good. filming helped us reconcile & i felt really happy. infact we often bicker alot (laughs)."
〜 monster (2023) ending spoilers!! a thread 〜
many viewers hold different perspectives on the ending & this diversity extends to the creators of the film. hirokazu koreeda asserts the characters are alive, while yuji sakamoto's script leans towards a more pessimistic view.
MONSTER (2023) spoiler alert.
In the original script, the shot used on this poster was supposed to be the final image in the film. When Yori's mother and Hori sensei call for Yori and Minato, the two boys turn around and look at the camera.
when they urge yori to say kuroda's mole looks like a black bean, he says "i wont say what i dont think" & immediately looks at minato..... who also has a mole on his right cheek in the same spot as kuroda.. its as if yori wanted to tell minato that he didn't find his mole ugly..
"were we reborn?"
"we weren't, we're the same."
"ok, great."
yuji sakamoto wishes to "write the stories of people who cannot like themselves & cannot be liked by others" & bestows the blessing of "it's good as it is" upon teenagers, encouraging them to accept who they are.
– dir. koreeda from today's Monster GV in korea
we're often asked 'why trains & not buses?' buses usually move individually, while trains are typically composed of multiple connected units. in case of minato & yori's abandoned train car, being the only one detached signifies++
Q. how did you feel when you heard that you had passed the audition for “monster”?
"there were 4 auditions & the final was an online one with yori-kun. i really wanted to play the role of minato so at new year's i prayed to god, 'i hope i pass the koreeda team audition.' since
writer should've named it traumatizing watermelon.. eungyeol always anxious, on the edge, suffering back to back in both timelines. his life isn't really something i would call twinkling ijbol 😭
#TwinklingWatermelon
#TwinklingWatermelonEp15
hinata: we got along really well in our personal life, but during filming we fought half the time.
soya: when we're apart, i miss him. but even if we meet each other in a while i think we'll fight again. (laughs)
today's episode real star was kang hyun yul! it's the way he was the most suspected member who would betray the band but all along he tried his best to protect yichan & the others & fight for his dreams like that's my best boy 🥺
#TwinklingWatermelon
#TwinklingWatermelonEp11
"why do you say 'am i hoshikawa yori?' when playing the who's the monster game on the train?"
"i was worried about yori and felt a bit angry so i said it deliberately." – soya kurokawa
– from scriptbook
at school before lunch yori discreetly whispers to minato, "save me some bread & peanut butter" and returns to his seat. in the train minato carefully spreads out the butter on bread & offers the first one to yori who says its delicious. +
thinking abt how even tho hori had alr left his job he still saved the essay papers from water damage than read & corrected them.. he really cared sm abt his students.. full of imperfections just like us he was full of kindness & willingness to admit and learn from his mistakes..
💙: please come.
⭐️: i dont think i should/i cant go.
💙: why? are u still mad at me?
⭐️: no i'm not mad. i'm just afraid if i go i'll want to touch u again
💙: its okay to touch me
⭐️: [silence]
💙: i slept at 2am last night. its a waste to sleep.
⭐️: ok wait for me. i'll come.
"something director said that really stuck with me was that when portraying emotions, he told me to feel aches & pains in my body.
for e.g, when you're scared try to feel your toes not moving or your hands & feet feeling cold, which was very helpful."
- from scriptbook
when they reach crossroads, yori's house is on the road to left while minato's is on the right. minato felt it would be a shame to say goodbye/was reluctant to part ways, yori too felt the same & said "don't you want to see a place that no one knows about?"++
‘nobody knows’ by hirokazu koreeda was released 20 years ago today. yuya yagira made history by being the youngest awarded best actor at the cannes film festival.
his entire recent feed is full of exo-sc posts & now he changed his pfp for the first time in 5yrs. he's so excited for this please i beg yall not go disappoint him once again & stream the MV & vote when the time comes. PLEASE.
plsss they are sooo precious. hinata hiiragi (the actor who played yori) in reply said "there's nothing odd about loving another boy, i think it would be good if it was viewed as a natural thing." 🥹
what the FUCK do you mean soya kurokawa the actor of minato said that while playing minato he managed to love yori.. thats so fahking cute i am gonna jump off a cliff!!!!!!!!!!
oh this is inchresting..
usually when calling someone over, 'oide:come here' is used but when texting yori, minato said おいで と : oideyo. op says its a softer tone, like yori alr belongs to him. minato is confident about his feelings & speaks in a very boyfriend like manner.
the ending scene when saori & hori call for minato and yori & they look back is added in blu-ray 😭 op says bonus footage is edited like it's from soya's pov. bts scenes are recorded in minute details & the unreleased scenes are amazing.. (more deleted scenes to look forward to!)
just noticed that the flowers minato held in his hands are the same as the ones in the fields when minato pushed & left yori in the train.
also a more accurate translation of いなくなったらいやだよ is 'i would hate it if you were gone' instead of 'i don't want you to go away'..
// monster (2023) spoiler
head in hands oh my godd.. when yori talked about flowers with minato the first one he named out was primrose.. after their class fight minato waits for a long time at their hideout for yori while texting him, assuring its okay to touch him again. yori+
Q. is there a particular filming location in suwa region that left a lasting impression on you?
"it's definitely the secret base of minato & yori. the location of the abandoned train in fujimi town remains in my mind. the greenery & nature there were so beautiful i was amazed
Q: minato's clothing looks like that of an elementary school student, but yori's clothing is fashionable which seems he might not have chosen himself. is there a difference between their clothes?
dir. koreeda: yori's clothes were bought by his absent mother. +
this unfiltered & intense depiction of anguish & grief by hyunwook & ryeoun. their performances are such a raw and authentic portrayal throughout twinkling watermelon showcasing their exceptional talent which deserves every acting trophy in the upcoming awards!
when your card declines at therapy so they bring up how minato picked flowers for yori, said i'm sorry i don't know if i'm a man or not to his mum than jumped out from the moving car to see yori
the only three final survivors of the green home. it was a bittersweet ending but i'm happy eunyu has her 2 most precious people with her again.
s3 was much better than s2. thank you minsi, dohyun & song kang for serving and saving this show.
#SweetHome3
lee hojung's character is naju's daughter yang seeun. it's kinda genius how they faked her death to evade NIS & it was successful. she looked so mad at naju's funeral cant wait for her comeback as she avenges her mother's murder.
#MovingEp16
#Moving
yuji sakamoto's script for monster (2023) won the 75th yomiuri literary award in the 'drama/scenario' category today. this is the first time in eight years that a film script has won this award!
66th Blue Ribbon Awards Nominations
Best Film - Monster
Best Director - Hirokazu Koreeda
Best Supporting Actress - Yuko Tanaka
Best Newcomer - Soya Kurokawa (won), Hinata Hiiragi
similarities between hori sensei & minato
– raised by a single mother
– "don't feel sorry for me"
– scenes where they wear only one shoe
– fell in love during fifth grade of elementary school
when eungyeol said he could finally breathe doing music again & the way here he chokes out "im just me".. the overwhelming frustration evident in his tone the visceral portrayal of a man drowning godd ryeoun is one hell of a actor
#TwinklingWatermelon
#TwinklingWatermelonEp2
jaechan getting teary eyed 😭 he made a whole twinkmelon cast moments edit & being the only one who cried on the wrap-up day he's so precious i'm so soft for this man ❤️🩹
imagine asking 3 times THREE DIFFERENT TIMES during a press conference for a new drama about one actor's supposed "controversy" and he apologizes every single time. hyunwook looks so fucking nervous & all this over what?? korea is such an unserious country
it looks like s3 is going to be the final battle between the special infectees. many characters from s1 are back as monster humans now. they need to bring yoon jisu back too & make it more interesting. s1 mcs are the backbone of this show, we need them back!
#SweetHome2
doha said "i didn't kiII her" & solhee heard it as a lie. he has anxiety & panic disorder and is taking zolpidem (depressant) for insomnia which produces memory problems.. its pretty obvious his guilt deluded him into believing he's the culprit..
#MyLovelyLiarEp4
#MyLovelyLiar
confessions under the rain.. the angst.. their chemistry is so electrifying even while arguing minhyun and sohyun bringing real romance back on screen they are soo insane for this oh my godd
#MyLovelyLiarEp6
#MyLovelyLiar
"i love you"
★★☆☆
“she's someone who avoids suffering losses at all costs & yet she chose me. it made me think that i could be someone who doesn't ruin the life of someone dear to me. so i wasn't afraid or hesitant to love her”
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
#NoGainNoLove
— all the flower names & their meanings that yori tells minato 😭
primrose – first love, longing
blue gromwell – noble
kerria – sublimity
columbine – foolish
white dead nettle – hidden love
celandine – find me, memories, joy to come
dir. koreeda: the request to use the title "innocent" instead of "monster" came from french distribution company due to concerns of potential misunderstanding especially given the christmas release timing.
additionally minato & yori play a card game called "who's the monster" ++