Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired the U.S. rights to Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu‘s thriller, Monster, Variety is reporting. The distributor plans to release the movie in American theaters late this year or early next year.
The deal comes after the feature had its world premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last month. The drama’s writer, Yuji Sakamoto, won the best screenplay prize during the festival.
The critically acclaimed Kore-eda previously won Cannes’ Palme d’Or for his 2018 crime thriller, Shoplifters. Kore-eda’s latest feature marks his return to his native Japan for the first time as a filmmaker since he won the coveted festival award five years ago. His crime comedy, Broker, also played in competition at last year’s festival, for which Song Kang-ho won the best actor award.
Monster was scored by late Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Last Emperor). The movie was shot by cinematographer Ryoto Kondo (who previously worked with Kore-eda on Shoplifters).
The thriller tells the story of a widowed mother, Saori (Ando Sakura, Shoplifters) who notices that her young son, Minato (Kurokawa Soya) has begun exhibiting strange behaviors. When she brings her concerns to the staff at his school, she discovers that a teacher, Hori (Nagayama Eita, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai) is responsible and demands an explanation. Told through the multilayered perspectives of mother, teacher and child, the drama gradually unveils the truth which proves much more complex than anyone expects.
“We are thrilled to bring Monster to Kore-eda’s fans across the U.S., and particularly honored to highlight this final project of the renowned late composer Sakamoto Ryuichi,” said Doris Pfardrescher, president and CEO at Well Go USA. “In keeping with director Kore-eda’s reputation as a master of nuance and detail, and aided by an exemplary screenplay and score, Monster beautifully and eerily captures how a single story can be experienced in vastly different ways from person to person, even if they experience that event in tandem.”
The U.S. acquisition of Monster was negotiated by Pfardrescher on behalf of Well Go USA and by Eva Diederix at Goodfellas, as well as CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers. Gaga Corporation is managing sales in Asia, while Goodfellas (formerly known as Wild Bunch International) is handling all other international sales for the movie.