By George Kozera
Acclaimed Japanese Director, Hirokazu Kore-eda, had graced TIFF with every movie he had directed since 1995 and with his latest, BROKER, he once again proves he is a master of his craft.
Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) steal babies from the Busan Family Church where there is a âbaby boxâ for mothers to drop off infants that they cannot care for and the two men sell them on the adoption illegal black market. But when So-young (Lee Ji-eun) returns for her baby and discovers their illegal business, she decides to go with them on a road-trip to interview potential parents for her baby, all while two detectives, Soo-jin (Bae Doona) and Detective Lee (Lee Joo-young) investigate them. As back stories are revealed, BROKER expertly navigates many cinematic themes: not only is it heartfelt and heartbreaking with surprising bursts of humour, but it is also a murder mystery.
Song Kang-ho (âParasiteâ) leads a letter-perfect cast as this movie touches on some of themes of family and repercussions of errors made which was explored brilliantly in the Directorâs Shoplifters, but BROKER is an astonishing piece that will leave the audience invested to its very end.
BROKER screens at TIFF ’22 as follows:
Tue, Sep 13 IN-PERSON Royal Alexandra Theatre 5:30pm
Wed, Sep 14 IN-PERSON Royal Alexandra Theatre 8:30pm
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