Japanese writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda's films — "Shoplifters," and "Still Walking" among them — are gentle dramas that sneak up on viewers, becoming achingly poignant and unexpectedly moving. His films often reconsider what makes a family, and Kore-eda's latest, the outstanding "Broker," set in South Korea, is no exception.
The full story slowly comes into focus, but the absorbing "Broker" never feels slow. A young woman, So-young (Lee Ji-eun, "My Mister") drops her baby, Woo-sung (Park Ji-yonh ) off at the Busan Family Church in front of a box designed for such anonymous deliveries. Lee (Lee Joo-young, "Itaewon Class") who along with Su-jin (Doona Bae, "Cloud Atlas"), witnesses this act, puts the baby in the hatch where Woo-sung is received by church volunteer, Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won). Dong-soo, however, takes the infant to his friend Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho, "Parasite"), as they plan to sell the child to couples who cannot go through the traditional adoption route.
