Premiere - Broker : Paris special screening Club Allociné

By Mulder, Paris, Forum des Images, 29 november 2022

Broker is a 2022 South Korean drama film directed and written by Hirokazu Kore-eda starring Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun, and Lee Joo-young. The film revolves around characters associated with baby boxes, which allow infants to be dropped off anonymously to be cared for by others.  

We were present at the Paris special screening, Broker (Les bonnes étoiles). The movie Broker (Les bonnes étoiles). The movie was followed by a Q&A with the director Hirokazu Kore-eda. You can discover our video in 4K just below : 

The idea for Broker was initially conceived by Kore-eda while researching the Japanese adoption system for his 2013 film Like Father, Like Son, discovering in the process its similarities with the South Korean adoption system.  He learned about Japan's only baby box, a place where people can anonymously leave children, and the criticism surrounding the system in Japan. It can be found all around the world, including South Korea, where it is much more popular in comparison with Japan. After Kore-eda discussed with Song, Bae, Gang making a film together, he decided to combine the two ideas. Kore-eda had previously become acquainted with Song and Gang at various film festivals, while he met Bae on the set of his 2009 film, Air Doll. Kore-eda has described Broker as being a companion piece to his 2018 film Shoplifters, with the two films sharing a thematic interest in social outcasts who come together to form unconventional families.

The film was announced on August 26, 2020, with Song, Bae, and Gang set to star, under the working title reported to be Baby, Box, Broker or simply Broker. Kore-eda originally used Baby, Box, Broker as the goal of the story was to connect the three elements. However, as he was writing the script he settled on Broker because he "realized that [the film] had this structure where it's the detective's side, Soo-jin's side, that ultimately wants the baby to be sold the most. The 'broker' in the film changes as the story unfolds. And I thought by focusing on the word Broker, the title would become very simple and strong. I really liked this structure where the person wanting to sell the baby inverts as the storytelling progresses."

After meeting with the three South Korean actors, Kore-eda started working on the script.[19] Kore-eda said the first image that came to his mind was "of Song Kang-ho, wearing a bride's outfit and holding a baby, smiling at the baby and then selling the baby." After the casting of actress Lee Ji-eun, who is also a renowned singer in South Korea, Kore-eda chose to add a scene where Lee sings a lullaby.  Even though he had written an initial draft, Kore-eda struggled with the ending of Broker and he ended up rewriting it many times during the shooting with the help of Song.

Kore-eda said Song was the South Korean actor he wanted to collaborate with the most and the first person who came to his mind for the role of Sang-hyeon. Gang and Bae came to the director's attention after he saw their performances in Secret Reunion and Air Doll respectively, with the latter being directed by Kore-eda himself. In February 2021, Lee Ji-eun was announced to have joined the cast.  Kore-eda chose to cast Lee after having seen numerous Korean dramas while in quarantine, including the 2018 television series My Mister starring Lee, where her performance impressed him.  Lee said she accepted because she was looking forward to playing a mother when Kore-eda offered her the role.  While preparing for the role, she researched how society views single mothers and the hardships they go through. In March 2021, it was reported that Lee Joo-young had joined the cast. She was picked by Kore-eda after he saw her performance in Itaewon Class and A Quiet Dream. Principal photography took place from April 14 to June 22, 2021. The director of photography is Hong Kyung-pyo. Notable filming locations include Pohang, Uljin and Samcheok.

The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened on 26 May and won Ecumenical Jury Award and the Best Actor Award for Song Kang-ho. It was released on June 8, 2022, in theaters in South Korea and will be distributed in France by Metropolitan filmExport December 7 2022.

Synopsis :
On a rainy night, a young woman abandons her baby. The baby is illegally retrieved by two men who are determined to find a new family for him. During an unusual and unexpected journey across the country, the destiny of those who meet this child will be deeply changed.

Broker (Beulokeo)
Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Produced by Eugene Lee
Starring  Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young
Cinematography : Hong Kyung-pyo
Edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Music by Jung Jae-il
Production company : Zip Cinema
Distributed by CJ E&M, Metropolitan FilmExport (France)
Release dates : May 26, 2022 (Cannes), June 8, 2022 (South Korea), December 7, 2022 (France)
Running time : 129 minutes

Photos and video : Boris Colletier / Mulderville