'Broker' A Review

Broker is a drama about a dry cleaner Ha Sang-hyeon(Song Kang-ho) who is partners with Dong-soo(Gang Dong-won) to steal and sell orphans for adoption from a local church-based baby box where Dong-soo works part time. When one of the mother's(Moon So-young played by Lee Ji-eun) reconisders the three work together to broker the deal for her baby and split the profits. All the while they are being investigated by detectives Soo-jin(Bae Doona) and Lee(Lee Joo-young).

The cast all give really textured, compassionate, mostly understated performances with Bae Doona bringing in some really playful oddness. It's great to see Song here without the weight of his previous international breakout Parasite and you can tell he relishes(and excels in) the gentleness of the character and conveys it with an incredibly light touch. Gang also does a lot with a little, Lee is great but is given less space and quiet in which to work at times burdened with a fair amount of plot/exposition.

Richly shot and evocative but with writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda's immersive yet reserved style, an effective but non-intrusive score, all the production elements click. The film struggles to find it's footing in the third act, struggles to end, devolving into somewhat saccharine platitudes and predictability, most likely because the actual plot is clearly not much of a priority. The scenes of the characters simply driving around, getting to know each other, and spending time together are beautiful, affirming, and disarmingly simple that is what the focus of the movie is and its incredibly successful. The baby box, the cops, a murder reveal, all that stuff doesn't really work and ultimately gets in the way of the heart of the actual story.

A thoughtful, considered portrait of working class humanity, although not as complete or effecting as Kore-eda's absolute stunner Shoplifters.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Rent It.