Broker

Release date (UK): 2023
| Country: South Korea | Running time: 129 min
| Genres: Comedy Drama Crime
| Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Writer: Kore-eda Hirokazu
| Starring: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona | BBFC 12

By Jack Weir

Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s latest film follows an unconventional chosen family on a heart-warming odyssey to find an unwanted baby a home. Led by Song Kang-Ho of Parasite fame as an illegal child broker, the familial connection grows stronger as the gang try to evade the investigators determined to arrest them for human trafficking.


Kore-Eda is known for redefining what makes a family in his Palme d’Or winning film Shoplifters and Like Father, Like Son, and continues this exploration in Broker. As a Japanese director, Kore-Eda challenged himself to make Broker in South Korean, stating that directors should not feel limited by a language barrier with actors, instead embracing the artistic potential of a cross-cultural collaboration.


Broker thematically deviates from Kore-Eda’s prior work in its empathetic examination of motherhood and the political nuances that surround it. Abortion was only recently decriminalised in South Korea, the consequence of which is a large population of unwanted children with unwilling mothers. The conflicting views of the film’s young mother and the primary investigator elaborate this complex issue, with upbringing and trauma fundamentally determining a readiness to accept motherhood.

In Broker, Kore-Eda has crafted a balanced and compassionate script with unmatched contemporary relevance where “I love you” becomes “Thank you for being born.”
Broker’s tender performances are complimented by its gorgeous cinematography, showcasing rural and urban South Korea on the adopted family’s journey of forgiveness and self-acceptance. Broker is a masterstroke as one of the most thoughtful, affecting films of the year and the perfect entry point for anyone interested in Asian cinema.

Jack Weir studies Film at 
Edinburgh Napier University.