Things I Watched: Broker – A thoughtful drama about child trafficking

I’m never sure when I sit down to watch a Kore-eda movie whether it’ll be one of his expert dramas in the vein of Maborosi and Nobody Knows, or a simpler tale such as Our Little Sister or After the Rain. Broker kind of skirts a line between these types. It’s a combination of grand subject matter but with a delicate character portrayal at its heart. It’s not my favourite Kore-eda movie, nor do I think it blends all of its themes perfectly together, but it stands out because of the way that Kore-eda so expertly lends a humanist touch to the minutiae of interpersonal relationships.

Broker is, to my knowledge, the first and only South Korean movie Kore-eda has made. The story focuses on a group of amateur child traffickers led by Sang-hyeon (played by the ever-recognisable Song Kang-ho). They take ownership of a baby abandoned by his mother and seek a buyer which leads them to be chased by detectives; the main one being played by Bae Doona. Their attempts to sell the child deepen their relationship, opening up the story to show a contrast between the unlawfulness of their actions and the unfortunate circumstances that drive them towards it.

What I really like is this focus on ‘unfortunate circumstances’. Every character has a backstory that similarly shows them being abandoned by society. It portrays them as ‘benevolent’ in their desire to find loving parents rather than concerned with monetary reward. The police detectives on the other hand are often shown up in humorous ways – intentionally due to their lack of emotional interest. In this sense, it skirts similar themes to The Third Murder in being more concerned with people’s complex inner lives rather than the headline-grabbing crime behind it all.

The only downside for me is how the second half kind of ambles; the first hour is more solid. I also think the police story gets a bit muddled until the end but it does resolve nicely.

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