[Here is the Cannes] 'Broker' Quiet but Intensely Resonating 'The Power of a Master' [Review]

75th Cannes Film Festival Scene
How Was the Revealed 'Broker'?
Koreeda and Song Kang-ho Receive 'Warm Welcome'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Cannes (France) = Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] 'Broker' is a prayer-like film delivered by director Koreeda Hirokazu. It gently unfolds the image of ordinary people, each with different wounds, forming a family, radiating a positive energy. The virtue without violence remains intact. However, complex relationships are erased and lightly completed. The film, which purely captures the heavy themes of family and life, lightly touches our hearts. It is not provocative. The calm and subtle 129 minutes pass in an instant, showcasing the 'power of a master.'

On the 27th at 7 p.m. (local time), the premiere screening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival competition film 'Broker' (directed by Koreeda Hirokazu) was held at the Lumi?re Theater.

This work is a collaboration with domestic production staff, starring Koreeda Hirokazu, who won the Palme d'Or, the highest award, at the 71st Cannes Film Festival in 2018 with 'Shoplifters,' and Song Kang-ho, who appeared in the Palme d'Or-winning film 'Parasite' at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and served as a jury member in the competition section at the 74th Cannes Film Festival.

So-young (IU) abandons a baby in front of a baby box in the deep dawn. Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), who runs a laundry and tries to repay debts, and Dong-soo (Kang Dong-won), who works at the baby box facility and is from an orphanage, secretly take the baby.

A day passes. So-young heads to the baby box to find the baby Woosung. When she learns the baby is missing and tries to report to the police, Sang-hyun and Dong-soo confess that they were trying to find new parents who would raise Woosung well. Sang-hyun proposes to So-young to join the deal, and the three set out on a journey to find Woosung's new parents in an old van whose trunk door barely closes.

Detective Su-jin (Bae Doona) and junior detective Lee (Lee Joo-young) have been conducting a stakeout investigation for half a year to arrest brokers in the act. They secretly follow their trail.

Koreeda Hirokazu's thematic consciousness shines in 'Broker' as well. The good-hearted people who set out on a journey in the van get to know and understand each other, forming a different kind of family. The film avoids provocative elements such as violence, jealousy, and twists, keeping the relationships between characters and the story simple.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The appearance of actors Song Kang-ho and Kang Dong-won meeting Koreeda's cinematic world is distinctive, and the collaboration with domestic production staff adds significance. Song Kang-ho builds the drama piece by piece with familiar yet varied acting. His power to show a new face in every work shines again this time. IU, however, disappointingly fails to demonstrate the expected presence.

At first glance, the film seems simple, but it is heavy, pitiful, and beautiful. The tears that flow helplessly in this calm film are the true strength of 'Broker.'

Director Koreeda Hirokazu, who has depicted various forms of family through 'Nobody Knows,' 'Like Father, Like Son,' and 'Our Little Sister,' points out the social undercurrents through different forms of family in 'Broker' as well. People marginalized in the dark corners of society form families. Ultimately, human problems are resolved not by society but by individuals forming another family as a protective fence.

The on-site reaction to 'Broker' was intense. Standing ovations lasting more than 12 minutes poured out, drawing the hottest response among Korean films screened at Cannes. Especially, the applause grew louder every time Koreeda Hirokazu and Song Kang-ho appeared on camera.

The Cannes Film Festival's respect for the Palme d'Or-winning director and actor was impressive. Thierry Fr?maux, the executive director, actively drew applause more than ever, heating up the atmosphere. Song Kang-ho, who served as a jury member at last year's Cannes Film Festival, enjoyed the festival with a more relaxed expression. IU, invited to Cannes for the first time, seemed to have relaxed and teared up after the film ended. All of them expressed gratitude while looking around the audience filling the Lumi?re Theater with happy faces.

Cannes (France) = Reporter Lee Isul