Broker, 2023.
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-Eda.
Starring Song Kang Ho, Gang Dong Won, Doona Bae, Lee Ji Eun, and Lee Joo Young.
SYNOPSIS:
One night in the pouring rain, a couple of small-time crooks secretly carry off an infant who was left at a baby box. But on the following day, the mother So-young unexpectedly returns for her son Woo-sung. Realizing that her baby has been taken, she is about to call the police when the two men tell her everything. They claim that they stole the baby in order to find him a good home, and so the three of them embark on a journey to find new parents for Woo-sung.
Broker is one of those unique, soul-stirring cinematic journeys, the kind that unfolds with a simpatico between the characters and the audience. Neither know the destination, and thanks to an ensemble of wonderfully layered performances, nor do they really want Hirokazu Kore-eda’s delicately woven human-drama to find one. When it does, Broker becomes that special kind of experience, one where for the briefest of times as the credits roll you’ll feel as though the ills of the world outside the four-corners of the cinema screen simply don’t matter.
It’s a story which pits you straight into such a bleak existence. One filled with seemingly normal people simply trying to survive against a backdrop of poverty, prejudice, and the weight of societal expectations. It’s a Busan that reflects so many contemporary issues, which makes empathising with this morally ambiguous line-up of characters very easy indeed. Much in the same way that Kore-eda filled the heart-warming Shoplifters with a family full of ne’er do wells that you’ll ultimately root for, the dysfunctional group at the heart of this tale are all painted in real-world shades of grey by the tender script.
Travelling across Korea in a beat-up car, this disparate group of characters form the kind of fractured family Vin Diesel can only dream about. Driving the narrative is Parasite‘s Song Kang Ho, who brings that same grounded charm to his role of a criminal with a conscience. It’s a performance of complexity that mirrors the film as a whole. Presenting one thing and all of the preconceptions that carries, before peeling away the layers to reveal deep-seated humanity.
However, if he’s the Cannes Best Actor draw for Broker, then it’s his co-stars crammed into the back of the family wagon, and those tailing him in the police car (the wonderful Bae Doona), who steal away with the film.
Gang Don-Wan (Train to Busan: Peninsula) is arguably the delicate beating heart of Broker. A quiet presence, one burdened by a personal history that weighs heavy on the situation they find themselves in. His performance is the emotional conduit which brings the travelling companions together, and the scene he shares on a Ferris wheel with the equally brilliant Lee Ji-Eun is so beautifully acted and devastatingly emotional that it’ll sit with you long after the film has ended.
You needn’t worry about Broker being too depressing though, because among the weighty hitting themes of loneliness, child-abandonment and identity, streaks a delightful sense-of-humour, largely emanating from an infectiously fun performance by Im Seung-soo, the cheeky, soccer-loving scamp who stows away with the gang, or the unique eyebrows sported by Woo-Sung, their valuable nappy-wearing commodity.
Kore-Eda has made another exquisite drama, one that evolves into something unexpectedly beautiful, with layered performances that work perfectly with the slow burn reveals of the plot. Broker is a reflection on the world, one that is tough and challenging, but equally touching, and ultimately full of hope.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter
