‘Broker’ is a drama that follows two friends, Sang-hyeon and Dong-soo, who run an illicit business – stealing babies from a church’s baby box and selling them on the adoption black market. The two are met by a young mother who comes back for her son, and the three join forces, as they go on a road trip to interview potential parents.
The film opens on Sang-hyeon, a laundromat owner, and his friend Dong-soo who volunteers at the local church. One night, So-young drops off her son at the church baby box, and the two friends take the baby boy and delete the video footage of him being dropped off. Unknown to then, two police detectives, Soo-jin and Lee watch as Sang-hyeon drives off with the child.
The following day, So-young goes back to the church looking for her child, and Dong-soo brings her to Sang-hyeon’s laundromat where they tell her they’re looking for potential parents for the boy on the adoption black market. The three decide to go on a road-trip together to interview the potential parents.
On their way, the three visit an orphanage, where Dong-soo was left as a child, to spend the night. There they meet with Mr. Lim, the man who runs the orphanage and facilitates the child trafficking scheme. The following day they discover one of the orphanage boys, Hae-jin has stowed away in their van, and the trio decide to keep going ahead. After meeting a couple, the interview does not go well, and So-young proposes to look for other potential parents. In the meantime, Soo-jin and Lee are hot on their trail and decide to set up potential parents for adopting the boy in order to trap and catch Sang-hyeon and Dong-soo.
The set-up is unsuccessful, and the three decide to look for other parents. Along the way, So-young reveals that the child resulted from her work as a prostitute, and the father was a mob boss, who’s wife offered to take the child and raise it as her own, with the mob goons hot on their trail in trying to retrieve the child.
After finding another couple, So-young is ready to part with her child, yet Soo-jin and Lee have arranged for another set-up with them. So-young meets with the detectives, and decides to take a deal with the police, as she had murdered the child’s father. On the day of the drop off, So-young goes with the police, and Dong-soo is caught in the transaction.
Some time later, after having served her prison sentence, So-young is contacted by detective Soo-jin, informing her that she had taken in her boy and has now found a couple with whom the boy is to stay. She invites So-young to meet her son and his parents where Soo-jin usually meets with them at a park. The film closes on So-young leaving from work and heading for the park.
‘Broker’ is a family drama, with a large emphasis on found families. The three main characters – Sang-hyeon, Dong-soo and So-young meet at a very difficult time in each of their lives. Sang-hyeon is in debt and tries to make ends meet through his baby trafficking activities, whilst Dong-soo seems to be participating due to his past as an orphan, having been deeply impacted by the fact that his mother never came back for him. So-young is in an even more strained situation, as she is on the run from having killed the mob boss and is conflicted about having responsibility towards a child that was not planned for.
The film explores the odd group dynamic as the three people seek resolution for their respective problems and come together during a chaotic time, yet the film manages to carry a heartfelt tone as they each play a vital part for the others and find solace in each other. Inadvertently, Sang-hyeon becomes a sort of father figure to the group as he plans their way ahead for giving away So-young’s baby, yet manages to establish a heartfelt tone to the adventure as he cares for the boy. At the same time, Dong-soo and So-young start to care for each other, as So-young sympathises with Dong-soo’s past as an abandoned child, and grows more attached to her own son as a result. Additionally, the two develop a romantic connection as they find in each other someone who understands being alone and feeling neglected by those around them.
Besides exploring the family dynamic, ‘Broker’ also comments on the negative side of the illegal activities of the group, and plays out a detective stint in the story through Soo-jin and Lee. Perhaps not always melding well with the core tone of the film, Soo-jin and Lee do provide a stark contrast to what the group perceive as a morally righteous quest – giving the children away to families that want children, rather than leaving them in an orphanage.
The movie also tries to tie in a more suspenseful element through showing the trio being pursued by the mob foot-soldiers. The transition to them being chased does not seem to add that much to the story and seems to fizzle out towards the end, being completely dropped by the end of the film, as after the police raid they are not heard from again.
The main cast consists of Song Kang-ho as Sang-hyeon, Gang Dong-won as Dong-soo and Lee Ji-eun as So-young. Each very different to the other, the group come together well after their initial meeting and conflicting reasons for their shared goal, and establish a true connection and work well together to create a strong and sincere bond. After they part ways, it is truly hard to sever the connection, with the ending of the film providing hope that they may meet again, as the unlikely family that they formed carried with it an honest and heartfelt connection.
The film works well when focusing on the found family drama. Despite the introduction of the criminal figures and numerous transitions to the detectives chasing them, ‘Broker’ establishes a genuine and real feel to the odd family that forms before us and carries a heartbreaking culmination to their adventure, - not because most of them were likely to end up in prison, but for having been separated. Denoting the importance of coming across people you care for and who look out for you, ‘Broker’ delivers an earnest look at finding and establishing a family in the most unlikely of ways.
Score: 3/4
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