Broker, by Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, oddly is set in South Korea, not Japan, and stars Korean actor Song Kang Ho, of Parasite fame.
It rests on a gimmick that may or not be true in Japan or Korea. There’s a box where you can leave unwanted babies anonymously. The nearby church will then seek out suitable new parents.
Photo: CJ ENM
Broker opens with just such a deposit, and the mother takes off, leaving a note that reads “I’ll be back soon”.
The two men running the baby-box assume that’s the last they’ll see of her. The baby brokers take baby Woo-sung and get set to put him up on the market.
Sang and Dong’s rationale is that they’re providing a service to both unwanted baby, and desperate would-be parents.
“Think of us as angels,” says Sang.
But complications occur when, against all odds, mother Moon So-young does in fact return. And while she’s prepared to support the adoption of her baby, she’d like a share of the takings from the two brokers.
When the first would-be adopters of baby Woo-sung take exception to his unsatisfactory eye-brows - a running gag in Broken – So-young takes no prisoners.
The plot is further thickened by two policewomen, who’ve been watching the original baby box from the start. Once money changes hands they can pounce and arrest everyone.
But they’re also alerted to a recent murder which may implicate one, two or all of our would-be baby-brokers.
Like Shoplifters, there’s a nod to the long, rambling sagas of Charles Dickens – particularly Oliver Twist and its ad-hoc family of artful dodgers.
The final piece of the fictitious family – “This is a carful of liars!” says one – is a 9-year-old orphan.
Hae Jin may be long past the usual age of adoption, but he’s prepared to join any family who’ll have him.
I should warn prospective viewers of Broker that the pace is hardly breakneck - particularly at the start. And what with a mostly unfamiliar cast, it does take its time getting up to speed.
The solution to this, I suggest, is plenty of popcorn at the start.
By the time Broker starts hitting its stride – about an hour in – you should be digestively prepared for the various switches, reverses and unexpected conclusions – particularly unexpected conclusions – that sends Broker on its way.
I have to say that Broker wasn’t quite up to the standard of Shoplifters.
But the relief at knowing that the script was nevertheless in the hands of a real writer, rather than merely someone who owns a pen, is worth the price of admission these days.
