Broker

Broker is a very poignant and sweet and engaging film from start to finish. It takes a very gentle and subtle approach at all times that makes for a very relaxing and meditative experience, despite the fact that it is often dealing with very serious issues.

Mostly this gentleness and subtlety comes from the performances and the style. Song Kang-Ho gives a terrific performance as do the whole cast. They each have their own complexities and issues that come to light and are intriguing to explore and discover.

The direction is beautiful, capturing the characters and the scenery perfectly. Visually the film is nice and rewarding.

I think the story is where the film needed the most work. At times it felt a little fractured and didn't really come to fruition in a satisfying way.

Overall though Broker is a very strong film with lots to offer.

Broker has a stellar cast: Song Kang Ho, Bae Doona, Gang Do Won, IU, even small roles have familiar Korean star faces all over. This is a good movie, and while all the stellar casts shine bright as always, it fell flat on the script. No conflict and no tense almost 124 minutes of runtime definitely not a movie for everyone.

Good 7/10.

"Shoplifters," one of the best movies I've seen in recent years, led me to this film by the same director. "Broker" shares a lot in common with the other film, mostly in giving us another ragtag assortment of characters who ban together as a family in the absence of more traditional relatives. Both films are about family being defined by the people who support you in life, not necessarily those you share blood with. I liked "Broker," but not anywhere nearly as much as "Shoplifters." It's got a laid back road trip vibe, but it's also got a whole bunch of plot strands that don't completely get resolved satisfactorily. One in particular, about some gangsters after money owed them, feels especially unnecessary and even left me feeling a bit confused.

So not a home run, but there's still a lot in the movie to like and I would recommend it based on that.

Grade: B+

The film takes us on a journey of sadness and hopes into the mysteries of modern society. On one hand, the film deals with an issue that is very hard on hearts, which is the abandonment and trafficking of children, and on the other hand, hope through good people who know nothing but giving by sheltering orphans and raising them. Despite the predominance of the sad side in the film, the events were not gloomy and dark, but rather random and spontaneous and a glimmer of hope begins to grow and spread in the middle to the end......even in the worst of people there is good.

Of course not forgetting the great performance from Song Kang-ho.

A journey of finding the best future for a baby. Instead of using the term of disfunctional family, I prefer to describe them as souls fated to meet and to heal their inner child's wounds.

Many said it is a slow paced film with beautiful cinematography, but for me it is nothing near slow paced.

Dir. Koreeda forced us to think non stop from the 1st scene.

All cast members acted perfectly and percisely, even the baby.

Song Kang Ho deserve his Best Actor title with no doubt.

He is the sweet bitterness of the film.