interpreters Song Kan-ho, Bae Doona, Gang Dong-won premiere 21 December 2022. This is the opening line we hear in Broker, a film that threads a delicate path through desire, duty, and the moral ambiguities surrounding a controversial practice. The first visuals center on a very young girl who has relinquished her newborn, a moment that unfolds in a space where a baby box stands, inviting readers to contemplate what happens next. Two women sit in a car, observing and following the infant’s every movement from the moment of surrender. A policeman enters the scene, hinting at the tension between law and compassion. As the narrative expands, we learn that the adults who are escorting the child operate within a system that traffics the baby to the highest bidder. Yet the storytelling reframes the situation: the birth mother encounters two people who defend themselves by insisting they search for the best possible outcome for each abandoned child. The trio then works in concert, chasing a shared goal with relentless persistence. They embark on an odyssey that refuses to settle for easy answers and instead pursues a nuanced search for the most compatible environment for the child’s future.
Broker is not a simple tale about newborn trafficking or moralizing about the choices of parents. The director, Hirokazu Kore-eda, does not lecture or condemn the different paths that lead to these outcomes. He treats the characters with a balance that transcends judgment, focusing on the humanity that drives them rather than the moral verdicts of society. The film’s drama is rooted in human connection, not sensationalism, and its tone remains restrained even as the plot brushes with emotionally charged moments. This restraint—combined with a empathetic lens—allows the film to probe difficult questions without slipping into melodrama. In Kore-eda’s hands, the story refrains from offering pat conclusions, preferring instead to reveal the complexities people face when love, obligation, and vulnerability collide. Critics have observed that this approach, common in Kore-eda’s cinema, can feel both intimate and challenging, inviting viewers to wrestle with their own responses to painful situations.
Kore-eda has emerged as one of the most internationally recognized Japanese filmmakers, and Broker marks a broadened cross-cultural reach. The director’s reputation for global storytelling is reinforced by his previous project, The Truth, which was crafted in France and featured a high-profile ensemble including Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve along with Ethan Hawke. Broker shifts the stage to a South Korean production, starring Song Kang-ho, Bae Doona, and Gang Dong-won, all of whom are renowned for their ability to inhabit complex, morally porous roles. The collaboration highlights how Kore-eda’s storytelling bridges different geographies while maintaining a consistent emphasis on family, belonging, and the quiet, sometimes painful, acts of care that define human bonds. The cast brings together performers celebrated for their craftsmanship in both international cinema and local Korean film culture, underscoring the director’s skill at uniting diverse acting traditions into a coherent, emotionally resonant narrative. Critics have pointed out the seamless fusion of performances with the film’s carefully composed visuals, which further elevate the sense of shared humanity at the core of the story. Credit: Film Journal.