A Monster Calls

Hola everyone.

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As you can see from the title of this post, today we’re going back to our movie-fan-roots. I recently watched the movie “A Monster Calls” and I thought I’d share my experience with you.

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To be honest, I didn’t really quite know what the movie was honestly about until I watched it. I mean, I was literally drawn to it still. I watched the trailer as soon as it was out and I was already in tears afters those two minutes. But I only had an idea of what it was about. So here’s a little description:

“A Monster Calls” is about 13 year old Conor who’s mum is having a hard time fighting against cancer. His dad left the family when Conor was little, his grandma doesn’t really seem to like him that much and the other guys are bullying him at school. So you could say that Conors life is pretty tough too. That changes when one night, seven minutes after midnight, the big yew tree next to their house suddenly comes alive and turns into a monster. The monster wants to tell Conor three stories. And after that, Conor has to tell him a fourth story, his truth, the nightmare he’s trying to hide. The one thing Conor never wanted to face. (Here’s the link to the trailer if you want to watch it – youtube.com)

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Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? I went to watch the movie with my mum – of course – because honestly I wouldn’t have been able to watch it with anybody else. I would have just sat there, screaming inside “oh my goooood, I want to be with my mum, NOOOOW!!!”. But this way I had her right there sitting next to me and I could cuddle my face into her while the tears were rolling down my cheeks.

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For me, the movie is a pure masterpiece. It completely draws you into the story from the first second on and it breaks your heart into a million pieces, but somehow the pain also heals you. I especially liked the artistic style of the movie, as all the stories the monster tells are drawn in water colours. It’s magnificent to watch.

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In my opinion, what matters the most and what keeps you awake, thinking about the movie over and over again, is the ending.

If any of you haven’t seen the movie, beware, spoilers ahead.

As you can probably tell, the movie ends the exact way you think it will end. Conors mum just wasn’t strong enough to fight, the medicine didn’t work the way they had planned and everyone knows she won’t make it. After the monster tells the third story, it’s Conors turn. But he doesn’t want to tell it, to face the truth, his truth. But at one point he simply has to. And that’s when we get the reminder that we are all just human. Conor simply wants it all to end, his pain, the stress, just everything. Also if it means he has to let his mother go. I think at this part the monster tells Conor the exact thing he and also we, the audience, need to hear: “You were merely wishing for the end of pain… Your own pain. An end to how it isolated you. It is the most human wish of all.”

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Conor understands whats going to happen and that it’s not his fault and although he doesn’t want to, he has to let his mum go. In the last few moments, Conor holds his mum and the monster is with him. Then we see his mum looking up and smiling at the monster, which means that she can see it too. Conors mum then passes away, seven minutes after midnight.

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At the very end of the movie Conor comes back to his grandmas house, who has prepared a room for him. He goes in and finds a book on his desk, a book that seems to be his mums art book (she wanted to study art). Conor opens the book and finds paintings of the three stories the monster had told him. And right on the last page he finds a painting of his mum sitting on the shoulder of the monster.

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Personally, I think this end leaves you enough space for interpretation. For me, his mum together with the monster and her seeing it before her death means that she also met it when she was younger and struggled with the death of her father. And now that Conor is struggeling too, the monster is visiting him. What a cute way to end such a dramatic, heartbreaking movie.

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Apart from the beauty of the whole movie, my favorite and most emotional scene has to be when Conor and his mum have the “talk”. She knows she’s going to die and leave Conor alone. And he’s angry at her. But she understands him. And while tears are rolling down her cheeks she says: “It’s okay that you’re angry. I’m angry too, and if you need to break things, by god you break them. I wish I had 100 years, 100 years I could give to you.” That scene literally broke my heart into a billion pieces. And again I was so damn glad that mum was with me. I would’ve really needed her at that moment.

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Overall, the movie is a complete masterpiece. And I would recommend it to anyone at every age. Just keep in mind that you won’t walk out of the cinema with a smile on your face. It really hurts, but somehow the pain feels good. The movie breaks you and then cuddles you into a warm blanket full of emotions. It’s overwhelming, but in a good way.

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If any of you have seen or read it, what do you think? And how do you interpret the end? I’d be really happy to read from you. And until then I hope you liked this post and, as always, I hope you’re all doing well and thanks for reading. x