OVERLAY REPORT

In the 2023 film *Monster* (directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda), the most crucial action made by the lead character, **Minato Mugino**, is his decision to **rescue his classmate and friend Yori Hoshikawa from his abusive home during a severe typhoon and flee with him to their secret refuge.** This act serves as the emotional and narrative climax, representing Minato's final acceptance of his feelings for Yori and his rejection of the "monster" label he had internalized. ### The Crucial Action: Rescuing Yori Throughout the film, Minato struggles with his developing romantic feelings for Yori, which he fears make him a "monster" or "subhuman" (analogized as having a "pig's brain"). To fit in, he initially participates in or ignores the bullying Yori faces at school. However, during the film’s final act, Minato finds Yori barely conscious and covered in bruises in a bathtub at his home, having been beaten by his father. Minato pulls him out and the two escape through the heavy rain to an abandoned railcar they have turned into a clubhouse. By doing this, Minato chooses Yori’s safety and their bond over the rigid societal expectations of being "ordinary" or "manly." This action leads to the film's transcendent ending where the two boys emerge from the storm into a sun-drenched field, feeling "reborn." ### Who Helps Him: Principal Makiko Fushimi The character who most directly helps Minato make this leap is the school’s **Principal, Makiko Fushimi (Yūko Tanaka)**. While she is initially presented as a cold, bureaucratic figure, she has a pivotal interaction with Minato in the **school’s music room** that provides him with the emotional permission to seek happiness. Specific details of this "help" include: * **The Advice on Happiness:** When Minato confesses his distress (without revealing the full truth), the Principal tells him: *"Happiness is something anyone can have. If it’s only for some people, then it’s not happiness. It’s a lie."* This is the most significant line in the film, as it dismantles Minato's belief that his feelings for Yori exclude him from being happy. * **The "Blowing of the Horn":** To help him release the burden of his secrets, she teaches him to blow into a trumpet (while she plays a trombone). She tells him that things that cannot be said can be "blown out" through the instrument. The cacophonous sound they make together is heard by other characters (like the teacher Mr. Hori) throughout the film, but for Minato, it is a moment of profound catharsis. * **Shared Vulnerability:** She connects with him by acknowledging that she is also a "liar" (referring to the rumors that she took the blame for her husband’s accident, or vice versa). This shared sense of not being "perfect" helps Minato realize he is not alone in his struggles. This encouragement from the Principal gives Minato the strength to stop running from himself and instead run toward Yori, resulting in the rescue that serves as the film's turning point.