Photo courtesy of NEON.
It all begins with a baby box, a pregnant prostitute, two men who sell babies on the black market, and two detectives trying to make an arrest.
The baby box depicted in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Broker” is not an uncommon phenomenon. Many hospitals and churches long have provided a place to leave an unwanted baby to ensure that they will be cared for, also known as a baby bin or baby hatch—and the idea is spreading like wildfire across the world.
In South Korea alone, baby boxes receive hundreds of drop-offs per year. For Kore-eda, the extent that mothers use the baby box in South Korea was enough for him to make the film in a language he didn’t even speak (“Broker” is his second non-Japanese language film, the first being the French film, “The Truth”).
The plot sounds like it would be a thriller. So-young (Ji-eun Lee) drops her baby off at the baby box with a note that says she will come back for him, while Detective Lee (Lee Joo-young) and Soo-jin (Bae Doona) stake out their new, unwitting bait nearby. Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (Dong-won Gang), who work at the church where the baby box is located, collect the new baby and decide to sell him—to find him a home with actual parents instead of waiting it out in an overcrowded orphanage.
Dong-soo grew up in such an orphanage waiting for his mother to return, so he has no sympathy for So-young’s situation. But, the next day, So-young returns. She wants to split the profit 50/50 from the sale of her baby, and the men admit that having the mother there will make the sale easier. And so they begin their journey, trying to get a buyer for So-young’s baby, with detectives hot on their trail.
It all sounds a bit heartless. But, as we watch the events unfold and we get to know the characters, we find the complete opposite to be true. Sang-hyeon and Dong-soo’s goal (or at least main goal) is not to make a profit—their goal is to give the child a better life. While individual characters have their opinions ready to attack So-young’s choices, the nature of the story is extremely empathetic, and the brokers slowly transform into a bizarre little family of misfits. Kore-eda is no stranger to this kind of story. Several of his previous features (“Shoplifters,” “Like Father, Like Son”) are all about misfit families and the importance of family.
U.S. audiences might view the film at a bit of an angle, as the conversation here has definitely shifted the focus towards abortion as of late, rather than baby abandonment. But the film still has a universal purpose—it aims to combat the prejudice that society has against mothers. It is not a conversation about what the mother does, but why, and how the mother is not the only factor contributing to a baby’s wellbeing. For So-young, abandonment is the best choice she can think of to help her son. If it takes a village to raise a child, but the village is failing to step up, what should be done?
If there is one thing that Kore-eda should never cease to get credit for, it is that he makes his audiences think. While the film does toe the line of a fairy tale ending, attempting to give its characters a hopeful future instead of the more probable, grittier outlook, the journey makes up for the destination in this circumstance. The film is beautiful, with a strong cast and powerful storytelling.
Don’t miss your chance to see “Broker” at Midtown Cinema this January.
Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com.
January Events At Midtown Cinema
First Run film opening
“Corsage”
Friday, Jan. 6
FraserFest presents
“George of the Jungle” (1997)
Friday, Jan. 6, 9:30 p.m.
“Encino Man” (1992)
Sunday, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m.
National Theatre Live presents
“Jack Absolute Flies Again”
Sunday, Jan. 8, 5 p.m.
First Run film opening
“Broker” (South Korea)
Friday, Jan. 13
Down in Front! riffs on
“Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Friday, Jan. 13, 9:30 p.m.
3rd in the Burg Movie Night
“The Mummy” (1999)
Friday, Jan. 20, 9:30 p.m.
National Theatre Live presents
“Book of Dust”
Sunday, Jan. 22/23, 5 p.m.
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