Why chosen-family drama 'Broker' is one of the best films of the year

Song Kang-ho and IU are the heart and soul of the new South Korean drama film

(Photo courtesy of CJ E&M)

On paper, the film Broker seems unlikely to resonate with audiences.

As the synopsis goes, two men steal babies dropped off at baby boxes in order to sell them to the adoption black market. It’s a child trafficking tale described as a heartwarming family drama.

In theory, it shouldn’t work. In fact, it kind of comes off as offensive. But because director Hirokazu Kore-eda has a gift of giving audiences the unexpected, what results is an overwhelmingly emotional story that has a lot of heart.

Kore-eda is no stranger to tearjerker family dramas, and telling stories about complex dynamics between families of all kinds — related or chosen families, bonded by unusual circumstances.

For instance, his 2013 film Like Father, Like Son is a story of an attempt to swap back two sons switched at birth. The Oscar-nominated 2018 film Shoplifters tells the tale of small-time crooks who take in a child they find from the outside in the cold. Both films ask what is the meaning of “family?” Broker expands on the theme, this time with yet another unconventional family built from desperate circumstances.

I had the opportunity of catching the North American premiere of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Broker at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival last September.

In Broker, Song Kang-ho (from films like Parasite, Snowpiercer and The Host) stars as Ha Sang-hyeon, the owner of a hand laundry shop. Together with his friend Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won), they run an illegal business together.

Dong-soo works at a church, where unwanted babies are dropped in baby boxes, usually found at churches. He and Sang-hyeon steal babies from those boxes in an effort to sell them to the adoption black market.

One day however, the pair’s plan turns upside down. A young mother named So-young (played by pop star IU) comes back for her abandoned child and discovers the two men’s plans. She ends up following Dong-soo and Sang-yeon on a road trip to interview the baby’s potential parents. Throughout their journey the group forge a familial bond. But two detectives are also trailing the group, hoping to catch Dong-soo and Sang-yeon for child trafficking.

Broker is a moving tale that makes the audience question the ethics of money, choices and what a parent should do to give the best life for their child — even if it means giving them up. While there are moments that will undoubtedly make you shed tears, there’s lots of heart and humour as well. As seen in films like Parasite for example, Song Kang-ho has the ability to play characters who commit crimes and do bad things, but also makes you want to root for him. In Broker, you get a sense why he goes into doing illegal business. He’s in debt, and owes money to gangsters he’s done work with. Therefore, he’s forced by circumstances to make money however means.

“[Song] brings sunshine to the set and although this film deals with the serious subject of baby boxes and baby brokers, you feel a certain lightness to the film despite all of that,” said Kore-eda during the film’s screening.

(IU, in the film Broker. Photo courtesy of CJ E&M)

But Song isn’t alone in being the heart of the story. IU, who’s more known for her work as a glamourous K-pop idol, is heartbreaking as a single mom desperate to provide a better life for her baby, as she sees no other options for herself. She transforms into the role of a struggling young mom, one that’s far away from what we normally know her as in real life.

While the film deals with some heavy subject matter, Kore-eda managed to pull in some dark humour into its beginnings. During an audience Q&A of the film, he said the starting point for Broker came six years ago, when he pictured Song dressed as a fake priest picking up a baby from a baby box, and saying “We’re going to be happy together.” Then the next day, selling the baby.

“I was excited at the idea of director Kore-eda writing a script thinking of me. But then alas, I’m just a criminal,” joked Song in response.

“I’m curious what he thinks of me in day to day life.”

Amid laughs, the two had nothing but praise for each other’s work, however.

“As a fan of his, I was very honoured to get an opportunity to work with [Kore-eda],” said Song.

“I think his films provide a perspective, which is a very calm, settled look at society and character. And in that way, I find his work very interesting.”

Broker marks Kore-eda’s very first South Korean language film. And while Kore-eda is no stranger to directing actors who don’t speak his native Japanese, he was honoured to work with Song.

“You have Song Kang-ho and his great talent. He has these two sides to him [in the movie],” he said.

“He has a light and dark and right and wrong and good and evil. He is someone who can depict both of these at the same time. That’s something that I relied on in this film.”

Kore-eda went on to say that directing has its challenges no matter what language he’s working in. Because he does not understand Korean, he says he took extra care over communication on set by writing letters to the actors.

“Song Kang-ho was very aware of the fact that I didn’t understand Korean and was very careful to explain to me the nuances of his performance both on set and during the editing process.”

“I think through this process, I’ve come to realize and to have confidence that if everybody… have the desire to overcome these language barriers, then we can.”

The reason why Broker is one of my personal favourites of the year is because it challenges the audience in wondering what’s right and wrong throughout the film. At some points, you may find yourself empathizing with the police detectives trying to catch criminals in a child trafficking case. But at other points, you find yourself moving closer to the brokers, and getting invested in their personal stories.

Broker is a tale that shows there are grey areas to those who do bad things but aren’t necessarily bad people. What’s great about Kore-eda’s films is that he understands people are often forced to make impossible choices. And while some may choose to do the wrong thing, perhaps there’s reason to wonder what’s forced them to go through with it in the first place.

Broker is now showing in Toronto, and will be released across Canada on January 13th.

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