Award-winning Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda explores chosen families and social pressures in his newest feature, Broker. Inspired by the local phenomenon of “baby boxes,” where unwanted newborns can be left anonymously in boxes outside churches, the film offers a thoughtful reflection on how our past influences our decisions and perspectives.
On a dark and chilly night, So-young (played by Lee Ji-eun, also known by her stage name, IU) leaves her newborn son, Woo-sung, in a baby box outside a church. Little does she know, this action will set off a chain of events.
Monitoring the baby box are friends Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) and Sang-hyun (Parasite’s Song Kang-ho), who have made a business out of stealing newborns before they are discovered in the box and selling them to eager adoptive parents. Dong-soo and Sang-hyun believe they are simply bypassing the cumbersome red tape and helping prospective parents who are otherwise unable to have children of their own—and the profit the two brokers make off the endeavour is, of course, a bonus.
However, also monitoring the baby box are two policewomen (played by Bae Doona and Lee Joo-young). They are on a mission to catch the brokers in the act of selling little Woo-sung and arrest them for human trafficking.
When So-young has second thoughts and returns for Woo-sung, she ends up teaming up with Dong-soo and Sang-hyun to find suitable adoptive parents and share in the profits. What follows is a kind of family road trip movie as the characters become increasingly bonded by their emotionally complex pasts and desire to live better futures. Their unconventional family unit works as they collaborate, challenge each other, share secret truths and fears, and lean on each other for support.
At times the film is light-hearted and amusing, while other times it’s poignant and deeply affecting. It strikes a remarkable balance in tones, moving deftly between emotional shifts. The characters are given a lot of depth and humanity, and we (and they) come to understand and empathize with their actions.
The characters’ perspectives on sensitive issues largely stem from experiences in their past. For example, a character who was abandoned by his mother at birth initially resents So-young for leaving her baby. However, that changes as the characters get to know one another more keenly and their friendships strengthen; they are able to see through another’s eyes and respect that person’s decisions.
Even the policewomen come to struggle somewhat with the case as they witness the grey areas that defy expectations of a black-and-white situation. It becomes complicated both emotionally and logistically as they find themselves in an increasingly morally ambiguous set of circumstances.
Although it’s not a morality tale, the film does remind us to be less quick to judge others. It explores complex topics with nuance and highlights the importance of compassion as well as family. It also shows us that family comes in many unconventional forms and can be chosen or found along the way rather than inherited.
We root for our charming, complicated, happenstance family throughout the film and hope they stay together. The film has a somewhat open-ended conclusion, but it’s effective since another major theme in the story revolves around the uncertainty of the future.
Broker is the first film Koreeda has directed in South Korea. He also wrote the screenplay. The film premiered at Cannes, where Koreeda previously won the Palme D’Ors in 2018 for his film Shoplifters. Broker was well-received, and Song Kang-ho won the Cannes Best Actor award for his role in the film.
Broker is screening at this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival as part of the International Spectacular section.
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