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.

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.

It's a great movie. Truly a masterpiece. It made me feel so many different feelings. I cried laughed scared and fell in love while watching it. The acting is really on point. There's no bad acting in this movie even cameos and child actors did a great job. The story made me really think about my existence, my relationships and my parents and I'm so grateful toward hirokazu koreeda for making this great,calm,thoughtful and encouraging movie👍

Profound drama with mostly likeable characters. Kore-eda picked up scattered parts in first half before put his own signature bittersweet story about humanity. Awesome cast strongly formed a new-found family that will tear us apart. The ferris wheel scene tho 😭

Just as his previous films, Hiro Koreeda's "Broker" deals with existential themes like the meaning of family (or the lack of it). You may argue that the Japanese star director even doubles down on this, adding crime (selling babies) and even homicide to the mix. The fact that his recent film is set in Korea might even add a somber, heavy note - as most Korean films of the 2000s have confronted the impact of deep societal rifts with head-on cynicism (Parasite; Burning) or even brutality (Squid Game).

For all its melancholic atmosphere, though, "Broker" never loses its sense of humor and optimism: In its better parts, it even has a feel-good road-movie charm; in its weaker moments - including the somewhat saccharine ending - it feels more like a fairytale than the quietly realistic style Koreeda is famous for. Nonetheless, a few tears and moments of warmth can be beautiful at times, and the film's story is still worth dwelling more deeply on.