Hello, movie lovers! Today, I'm excited to introduce Broker, a film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and starring Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, IU (Lee Ji-eun), and Bae Doona.
📌 1. Basic Info
- 🎭 Genre: Drama
- ⏱️ Runtime: 129 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Rating: PG-12
- 🎬 Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
- 🏆 Awards:
- Best Actor (Song Kang-ho), 75th Cannes Film Festival
- Ecumenical Jury Award (Kore-eda)
- ARRI Award (Munich Int'l Film Festival)
- Multiple wins at Chunsa Film Art Awards
Trailer
👥 2. Main Cast
- Song Kang-ho as Sang-hyeon
- Gang Dong-won as Dong-soo
- IU (Lee Ji-eun) as So-young
- Bae Doona as Su-jin
- Lee Joo-young as Detective Lee
- Cameos: Song Sae-byeok, Park Hae-jun
🎞️ Plot Summary
Because the story of Broker is already widely known in Korea, I’ll reference the official synopsis from Naver Movies for clarity:
Sang-hyeon (played by Song Kang-ho) runs a struggling laundromat and is constantly in debt. Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won), who grew up in an orphanage, works at a church-operated baby box facility—a place where unwanted babies can be anonymously dropped off.
One stormy night, the two men secretly take a baby left in the box.
To their surprise, the next day, the baby’s mother, So-young (IU / Lee Ji-eun), returns to retrieve her child, whom she had named Woo-sung. Upon discovering her child is missing, So-young threatens to report them to the police.
Cornered, the men confess their actions. They tell her they took Woo-sung to find him a better home with loving parents. While their reasoning sounds outrageous, So-young, rather unexpectedly, decides to join them on the journey to find suitable adoptive parents.
Unbeknownst to them, two detectives—Su-jin (Bae Doona) and her junior partner, Detective Lee (Lee Joo-young)—have been tracking the entire operation. They’ve been quietly gathering evidence for months and are ready to catch the group red-handed.
What begins as an act of desperation turns into an unpredictable, deeply human road trip filled with quiet humor, hidden pain, and moments of unexpected warmth.
🎥 Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Signature: Redefining "Family"
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda is well known for his contemplative works such as Nobody Knows, Like Father, Like Son, Shoplifters, Our Little Sister, Still Walking, and I Wish. His films don’t portray traditional nuclear families, but rather explore unconventional, often fractured families.
In Nobody Knows, he told the story of children abandoned by their mother. In Like Father, Like Son, two families discover their sons were switched at birth. Our Little Sister explores half-sisters forming a new family after their estranged father's death.
But Kore-eda never presents these families as “broken.” Instead, he gently invites viewers to reconsider what truly makes a family. Is it blood? Or is it connection, care, and shared hardship?
💔 Broker: A Story Rooted in Social Taboos
Broker follows this same path, but dives even deeper into morally complex territory. The film weaves together issues such as:
- Single motherhood
- Baby boxes and infant abandonment
- Abortion
- Illegal adoptions and human trafficking
- Aging out of foster care
Yet, rather than painting these themes in dark, gritty tones, Kore-eda treats them with his signature softness—helped by Song Kang-ho’s uniquely disarming, often humorous performance.
Through their journey, the characters raise profound questions that reflect real-life debates:
- “Why have a baby if you can’t raise it?”
- “Does terminating a pregnancy serve the parent’s interest or the unborn child’s?”
- “Who decides who is ‘fit’ to adopt?”
👥 Shifting Perspective from Judgment to Empathy
Broker doesn’t moralize. It doesn’t seek easy answers. Instead, it asks the viewer to set aside black-and-white thinking and walk in each character’s shoes.
It suggests that behind every headline—about abandoned babies or illegal adoptions—there are people with painful stories and complicated reasons. That doesn’t excuse their actions in the eyes of the law, but it makes the situation far less clear-cut.
This is where the film’s emotional power lies. It presents ethical dilemmas without preaching, inviting us to wrestle with uncertainty:
- Is it truly better for baby Woo-sung to return to an institution, or to find a loving adoptive home—even if through illegal means?
- Is blood family always better? What about chosen families, bonded through affection rather than DNA?
- Is society’s approach to abandoned children—cutting off support at a certain age—truly fair?
In a symbolic sense, the beat-up van that carries the characters through rain-soaked highways mirrors their emotional journey: full of bumps, turns, and uncharted roads.
🔍 Rethinking What’s Right
As I watched Broker, I kept questioning how limited our value judgments can be. So often, our moral compass is shaped by convenience, culture, or a single perspective.
This film shakes that foundation. While its tone may feel gentle or even fairy tale-like, its questions cut deep. It challenges the viewer to reconsider their assumptions about parenthood, legality, and love.
⭐ Ratings Overview
- IMDb: 7.1
- Rotten Tomatoes: Critics 93%, Audience 91%
- Metacritic: 77
- Naver Movies (Korea): 6.66
Interestingly, the film received glowing praise from international critics but a more lukewarm response domestically. My guess? It may have been marketed too much as a mainstream film in Korea, despite its indie soul.
While it features big-name stars like Song Kang-ho and Gang Dong-won, it’s not the kind of movie that appeals to everyone. It’s subtle, emotional, and morally complex.
✅ Should You Watch Broker?
For me, the answer is a clear yes.
If you’re a fan of Kore-eda’s introspective style, this film will resonate deeply. If you’re not—Broker might just convert you.
Song Kang-ho’s charm and gentle humor keep the tone grounded, even when the themes get heavy. The movie never rushes, allowing you to sit with its questions long after the credits roll.
While some of the thoughts it provokes are weighty, they’re well worth reflecting on. I believe we all, at some point, should ask ourselves: What truly makes a family? And who gets to decide?
"이 포스팅은 쿠팡 파트너스 활동의 일환으로, 이에 따른 일정액의 수수료를 제공받습니다."
