Julian (Seeking Film)’s review published on Letterboxd:
This year’s running theme of “more of the same” at Cannes is very much in full-swing with the latest from Hirokazu Kore-eda. Thankfully for all of us, Broker is in fact… the latest from Hirokazu Kore-eda, meaning that “more of the same” implies, in most cases, a fantastic piece of filmmaking and, in rarer cases, a full-on masterpiece. You can probably ascertain the category into which Broker is snuggly nestled.
Continuing his post-Shoplifters trek outside his native Japan following the decent but ultimately slight, France-set The Truth, Kore-eda this time makes his way to South Korea, pairing up with none other than Song Kang-ho for a road drama about abandoned babies… just shut up and take my money, already!
Why exactly Kore-eda decided to shift from Japan to South Korea for this particular story evades me, but for all I know, he may have just been looking for an excuse to direct Song and IU, which, if we’re being honest, is as justifiable a reason as any. Kore-eda’s mastery of lighthearted tone punctuating a more tragic thematic thread is perfectly in line with the subtleties that Song brings to his performances, which makes his presence here obvious—some might even argue uninspired—but also fully rewarding. IU (whom I wasn’t even aware was an actress) steps up to the task with imposing (ostensible) frailty, while Gang Dong-won would fit in undetected alongside any number of Kore-eda’s regular Japanese collaborators.
What Broker reaffirms more than anything else is that, any time a film employs child actors, it should be legally mandated for Kore-eda to show up and guest-direct all their scenes. You all already know how I feel about children, but the performance Kore-eda gets out of this spunky little tyke (not the baby) is impressive and heartwarming enough in itself, but even more so coming from a director who (I assume) doesn’t even speak the same language as the child he’s guiding!
When it comes to describing what makes Hirokazu Kore-era’s at-once breezy and soul-crushing films so worthwhile, it’s really an experience that goes beyond mere words. If you haven’t seen any Kore-eda yet, Broker will be just as perfect an introduction as Shoplifters or Still Walking. And if you have seen his work, you get the benefit of another worthy effort with a shiny new coat of paint.
My friend, who’s never seen a Kore-eda film and got into the WORLD PREMIERE, was unimpressed and compared Broker to Green Book… he slept out in the hall last night.
Cannes 2022.
(PREVIOUS—> R.M.N.
UP NEXT—> GOD’S CREATURES.)
