TIFF ’22 Review: ‘Broker’ brings heart to an illicit subject
‘Broker’ is an unexpectedly heartfelt dramedy about a set of unrelated individuals trying to sell a baby and the cops trying to stop them.
People’s views of families and child-rearing have vastly changed over the last few decades. The idea of a “normal” family no longer has a standard definition because what’s “normal” differs for everyone. For many, children are not and will never be part of the equation. For others, having a child or more is the only way their life will feel complete. Consequently, people on either ends of the spectrum can find themselves in desperate situations. Broker is the story of people who relieve women of their burden and aid others in becoming parents.
Detective Ji-Sun (Bae Doona) and her partner (Lee Joo-young) have been monitoring a baby box in an attempt to catch a local ring of child traffickers. When So-young (Ji-eun Lee) leaves her son, Woo-sung, at the drop-off, Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) claim him and erase all evidence of the exchange. While the pair look for a buyer for the baby, So-young returns for him. Unexpectedly, the three partner to get the best possible price for the boy and hopefully find him a good home at the same time. Ji-Sun, desperate for an arrest and seemingly personally invested in the investigation’s outcome, goes to great lengths to catch them in the act. But as the sale drags on, everyone has an opportunity to get to know each other and discover that together they may have finally found what they’ve all been missing.
It’s somewhat surprising to discover a film about child trafficking is actually a heartfelt family dramedy. Sang-hyun and Dong-soo are not hardened criminals selling the children into slavery, but rather they’ve found a way to profit by taking two tragedies and hopefully creating a lifetime of happiness. Both are all too aware of the country’s child welfare system and, in their eyes, they’re saving the children from a life of hardship… and being paid for their good deed. So-young felt she couldn’t give Woo-sung the life he deserved, so she is choosing to give him up. There is a lot of discussion throughout the picture about a mother’s decision to leave or abandon her child with both sides making very emotional and compelling arguments.
The somewhat dark humour emanates from the fact that nothing seems to go right for any of the characters, no matter how well they think they’ve planned. There’s also a running a joke about poor Woo-sung’s thin eyebrows. It’s easy to judge everyone involved at the start of the film, but they’ve all experienced difficulties that led them to this predicament and informs the choices they make throughout the narrative. Writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda adeptly finds the balance between sad and funny, never trying to make light when a character is actually in pain, while also ensuring the comedy feels organic to their personalities.
Broker had its Canadian premiere in the Special Presentations programme at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Read other reviews from the festival.
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Dong-won Gang and Bae Doona
