VIFF 2022 Closing Film
Working for the first time in South Korea, long-term festival favourite Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) has come up with a sprawling crime story about a baby adoption scam. But in characteristic Kore-eda style, the tone is predominantly compassionate and melancholic—even the cops warm to the perpetrators. It helps of course that the baby broker, Sang-hyeon, is played by Song Kang-ho, the charismatic star of Parasite, Memories of Murder, The Host, and so many others (Song was named Best Actor at Cannes for this performance). His scheme involves intercepting infants abandoned at a church baby box, but things get messy when a young mom (Lee Ji-eun) changes her mind and discovers his racket. She decides to go along with him to meet the the baby’s prospective buyers—actually cops in a sting operation.
Kore-eda fashions plenty of twists and turns as Sang-hyeon, his accomplice (Gang Dong-won), and the girl try to evade the law and find a safe home for the child, but as always, he’s more invested in character than plot mechanics, and the truths we learn about this thrown-together family are revealed in simple, telling gestures, looks, and shadings.
Miraculous in its sensitivity, asking questions about issues of ethics, of choice, of money, and murder, and family, and how to find love in all this sorry mess.”—Ella Kemp, Indiewire
Best Actor (Song Kang Ho), Cannes 2022
Note: the Closing Gala screening of Broker will take place Saturday, October 8, 6pm at the Centre for Performing Arts.
Presented by
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Doona Bae, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young
South Korea
2022
In Korean with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
It's a Wonderful Life
Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. This Christmas classic is whimsical, sure, but it has the depth to stand up to multiple watches, and it really should be a communal experience, because that is what it's about. Rated: G
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Aardman Animation's handcrafted mix of dad jokes, slapstick, mock dramatics and understated emotion makes this return for the claymation odd couple a constant delight. The villainous Feathers McGraw is back to no good, commandeering Norbot the robot. Rated: G
The Count of Monte Cristo
You can't beat this evergreen Alexandre Dumas tale for adventure, intrigue and romance. This lavish French blockbuster from the writers of the recent Three Musketeers movies pulls you in from the first scene and doesn't let off for the next three hours. Rated: PG
Flow
In this wordless and gorgeously atmospheric animated feature, a solitary black cat survives a tsunami and must confront his fear of water whilst sailing through a flooded world with a group of misfit animals. An enchanting adventure film for all ages. Rated: G
The Holdovers
Destined to become a seasonal staple, this bittersweet comedy reunites Sideways director and star Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti in the portrait of a surly classics teacher forced to babysit five "orphans" at boarding school over the holidays.
Who by Fire
Jeff, a 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker, goes on vacation with his friend Max and his family to an isolated lodge. Philippe Lesage’s film is a tense, mesmerizing tour de force that is both agonizing and cathartic. A Berlinale award winner.
Credits
Executive Producer
Miky Lee, Kang Ho Sung
Producer
Lee Eugene
Screenwriter
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cinematography
Hong Kyung Pyo
Editor
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Production Design
Mok Won Lee
Original Music
Jung Jae Il