Broker

Broker, the latest film from Shoplifters director Hirokazu Koreeda, is an affecting arthouse social drama and features solid performances from its ensemble, led by Parasite's Song Kang-ho. The script, cleverly-written with a beating heart, opens up a well-rounded discussion about baby rights.

Sang-hyeon, a laundromat owner and his friend Dong-soo volunteer at a church with a baby box, which they use to conduct an illegal business of selling babies to rich families on the adoption black market.

So-young, a young mother who returns the next day after dropping her baby in the box, discovers their operation and decides to join them in finding the proper family for her child. As they set out on their road trip, two detectives are hot on their trail...

When the film started, I had never heard of a baby box before. I thought it was a fictional satirical premise, like Black Mirror. "A church has an open 24-hour box that lets people drop unwanted babies anonymously. Ha-ha. Gotcha." Hirokazu Koreeda's slice-of-life cinema vérité style then slowly sank in through these long ponderous shots, I realized these boxes actually exist.

Song Kang-ho, who nabbed the Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival this year for his performance, is naturalistic and precise. You cannot put a pin through it. Song plays the moment 100% with no species of "look at my acting" or chewing scenery.

In line with recent actors commenting on the overkill of method acting in the press, I love that the Cannes Film Festival rewards acting that doesn't seem like acting. I still consider them my Oscars.

As my first time seeing a Hirokazu Koreeda film, I was impressed by the precision behind his stylistic choices. Using multiple viewpoints from his characters, Hirokazu Koreeda's script fairly presents the moral dilemma of selling an orphan baby without ever being preachy or didactic.

Is it better to sell an orphan to a rich family or leave him for an orphanage? Should a baby box exist? Does the box save babies or just encourages people to abandon babies?

Koreeda takes no sides on the matter. He shows you a character's point of view, then pulls you out of it by presenting the counter argument and pulls you away again with a third and the process seems infinite. The brilliance is that the story dissects the issue to the point that there is no clear cut simple answer. It becomes completely grey.

Then Koreeda moves on and deconstructs "What makes a family a family?" Is it made by blood relation, marriage or coupling? Is it just everybody involved having the intention?

What I enjoyed about Broker was how he dealt with a heavy depressing subject with soft hands and presented its debate with optimism and heart. Hirokazu Koreeda believes in people and champions for the misfit; so much so his optimism glosses over the final resolution of the story in a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of way.

In the end, the journey was well worth it and Broker gave me a clarity of mind about baby rights that I continually thought about long afterwards.

From the writer-director of Shoplifters comes yet another delicately layered & endlessly human drama concerning a group of broken folks who come together to form an unconventional family. Brimming with warmth, told with tenderness and anchored by impressive performances, Broker navigates through love, abandonment, family, choices, ethics & adoption, and is engrossing for the most part.

Written & directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the premise is simple, accessible & in motion within minutes into the picture but the accompanying subplots do make the whole thing seem a tad messier than it needs to be. The more time we spend with these characters, the more we can empathise with them and the powerful bond that develops between them is allowed to evolve with a certain naturalness.

There are times when some of the branching storylines feel unnecessary to the central plot and don't contribute in a manner that enriches the viewing experience. The highlights are the strong & measured acts from the entire cast, with Song Kang-ho leading from the front and Lee Ji-eun standing out in her supporting role. The chemistry between them also has a familial quality to it, and it glues the film together.

Overall, Broker is as sweet & sentimental as it is sobering & melancholic and often makes sure that its emotional beats are hitting the right notes. The ending is somewhat unsatisfactory but the journey leading up to it never allows the interest to fizzle out, thanks to excellent character moments & commitment from its cast. A more streamlined narrative would've worked wonders but this South Korean drama still packs a punch.

A journey of finding the best future for a baby. Instead of using the term of disfunctional family, I prefer to describe them as souls fated to meet and to heal their inner child's wounds.

Many said it is a slow paced film with beautiful cinematography, but for me it is nothing near slow paced.

Dir. Koreeda forced us to think non stop from the 1st scene.

All cast members acted perfectly and percisely, even the baby.

Song Kang Ho deserve his Best Actor title with no doubt.

He is the sweet bitterness of the film.

Just as his previous films, Hiro Koreeda's "Broker" deals with existential themes like the meaning of family (or the lack of it). You may argue that the Japanese star director even doubles down on this, adding crime (selling babies) and even homicide to the mix. The fact that his recent film is set in Korea might even add a somber, heavy note - as most Korean films of the 2000s have confronted the impact of deep societal rifts with head-on cynicism (Parasite; Burning) or even brutality (Squid Game).

For all its melancholic atmosphere, though, "Broker" never loses its sense of humor and optimism: In its better parts, it even has a feel-good road-movie charm; in its weaker moments - including the somewhat saccharine ending - it feels more like a fairytale than the quietly realistic style Koreeda is famous for. Nonetheless, a few tears and moments of warmth can be beautiful at times, and the film's story is still worth dwelling more deeply on.

Broker is a very poignant and sweet and engaging film from start to finish. It takes a very gentle and subtle approach at all times that makes for a very relaxing and meditative experience, despite the fact that it is often dealing with very serious issues.

Mostly this gentleness and subtlety comes from the performances and the style. Song Kang-Ho gives a terrific performance as do the whole cast. They each have their own complexities and issues that come to light and are intriguing to explore and discover.

The direction is beautiful, capturing the characters and the scenery perfectly. Visually the film is nice and rewarding.

I think the story is where the film needed the most work. At times it felt a little fractured and didn't really come to fruition in a satisfying way.

Overall though Broker is a very strong film with lots to offer.