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Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, and Lee Ji-eun. © 2022. Neon, CJ Entertainment, and Zip Cinema. Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Watched it at The Chicago International Film Festival 2022 through AMC Theaters (CIFF #4)
One Family Road Trip Will Determine The Future. Korean cinema is thriving every year and with the huge win from Parasite, it's all eyes on South Korea. We recently received two bangers from South Korea this year and with Broker, this is one of the most calming dramatic films I've seen in a while. It's a rich story filled with deep-human characters and beautiful directing to make this film lovable in every way. It's a film that will rethink family, love, and how much it takes to protect the one you care about in your life. Or help the person have a better life and not make the same mistakes as you did in your life. It's a film about life, love, and family. This film is the definition of a sweet film. Join me on this road trip around South Korea to find the perfect home for this abandoned baby. Story: Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) is the owner of a hand laundry and volunteers at the nearby church, where his friend Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) works. The two run an illegal business together: Sang-hyeon occasionally steals babies from the church's baby box with Dong-soo, who deletes the church's surveillance footage that shows a baby was left there. They sell the babies on the adoption black market but for a good cause. But when a young mother So-young (Lee Ji-eun) comes back after having abandoned her baby, she discovers them and decides to go with them on a road trip to interview the baby's potential parents. Meanwhile, two detectives, Soo-jin (Bae Doona) and Lee (Lee Joo-young), are on their trail to arrest them for the act of selling the baby to a family. This is a heartful film in many ways. It's a film that deals with loss and caring for the ones you love the most. It plays with those subjects through these characters and by the time you get to meet them, you will either love them or hate them. But once the film delves deep into these characters' actions and their purpose in doing this job, you will love them instead of hating them. I really loved how the villain of this film is ourselves. There is no true villain in this story and more about us trying to abandon our love. It's a sad story and it works by bringing the heartful moments alive. I really loved this story and how they play with human trafficking is quite interesting. They make it heartful through the lens of the main characters but from the detective's perspective, it's a dark one. You get to see how each character feels when the baby is about to be sold and you get mixed emotions throughout the scene. But it doesn't quite happen. Without saying the ending, the tone gets a little bit sadder but by the end, it completes its tonal shift cycle into a much happier film. It's a strong story overall and the plot of the film moves very great. It's slow but it gets its job done with its nice pacing. The characters in this film are amazing and I loved the performances from this cast. Song Kang-ho is still fantastic and his performance in this film is so heartwarming. He cares about everyone who is on this road trip and his ending is so sad but much happier for his character arc. The best actor in this film who stole every scene is Gang Dong-won. He is fantastic in his role and it's his best career performance to date. I loved his relationship with the family and his love for Moon So-young (Lee Ji-eun). The little kid is pretty funny in the film and the baby is too adorable that the audiences were "awwing" every time he shows up on the screen. The two detectives are great in the film and their sense of humor is pretty funny. They are the most dramatic ones in the film and they really nailed it off. Love the cast in this film. The directing is very strong and it's great seeing Hirokazu Kore-eda directing a Korean film. He normally directs Japanese films but he still carries his heartful tone into a Korean film and it works perfectly, especially for this cast. His directing shines during small heartful scenes and fun scenes including the car-wash scene and the carnival scene. The carnival scene really broke me and it's a scene I will not forget. Now that's international cinema to me. The cinematography is simple yet beautiful and it captures the emotions of each character. I also really enjoyed the music of this film and the production of this film is great. It feels indie yet feels like a mid-budget Korean film. The screenplay is very strong in this film and I love how the film takes its time to build the love for these characters. Especially the mother since she abandoned the child in the first place. Overall, the production is great and I really enjoyed the heartfulness of this film with its entertainment value. It's a push away from a dramatic tone and playing around with a heartful tone with a serious subject. It's a risky move but the execution is a success. However, there are some minor things that didn't quite work for me. While I like how it added drama when the mafia was involved with the trafficking, their purpose felt empty. They were there just as a small obstacle and they were only featured for around 7 minutes or less. I wish they added more context or backstory about Moon So-young having this baby. I would love even a minute of how it happened and it will help build more character. Also, this film is slow so expect some audiences to be bothered, so let it be warned. But overall, this film was still fantastic and heartful. This is a film that should be seen in theaters. You will be glued to that screen when the heartful moments start playing and I'm betting money that you will definitely cry. It's a heartful film with amazing directing, fantastic performances, and a story that takes it to a calmer tone filled with drama and sunshine. I really loved this film and it's the best Korean film of this year. Check it out when it arrives in theaters and support Korean cinema as always. Another banger on my 2022 list. In Select Theaters December 26, 2022. Vizeit Score: "A" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for your continue support.) Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr.
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