A gangster duo who steal babies and sell them and a prostitute who committed a crime are on the run from a handful of money collectors and a detective duo looking for the big coup…

What sounds like action-heavy drama becomes a dreamy patchwork family story in the hands of Hirokazu Kore-eda, probably the most friendly director in the world. Sang-hyeon (Song Kang Jo), laundromat owner and father to a daughter he rarely gets to see, and his friend Dong-soo (Gang Dong Won), who grew up in an orphanage himself, have built a small adoption “business“: they steal children who have been abandoned in a baby hatch and give them to well-to-do couples who wouldn‘t be able to adopt legally because they‘re unmarried or homosexual, for example. When little Woo-sung is abandoned, the anonymous mother leaves a note saying “I‘ll come get you.“ It usually doesn‘t happen, but the next day So-young (Lee Ji Eun) does stand at the door to see her son. She discovers what the “Brokers“ have planned and decides to join them to help with the parent selection and get some of the money. A road trip begins which Kore-eda uses to ask questions about parenthood and childhood and show the gentle connections beyond the categories of mother-father-child. Sang-hyeon, Dong-soo, So-young, baby woo-sung and seven year old orphan Hai-jin, who they pick up along the way, form a bond on their journey that is founded on growing understanding. Kore-eda‘s network of good-hearted people also includes the two cops on their stakeout, eavesdropping on the everyday conversations of the ad-hoc family at a fast food restaurant.

Hendrike Bake (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy