Broker Receives 12-Minute Standing Ovation at Cannes, Longest Ever for a Korean Film

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Broker received a 12-minute standing ovation following its premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, NME reports. The first Korean-language project from the Japanese filmmaker, Broker beat out Park Chan-wook’s 2009 Thirst for the title of longest-ever standing ovation for a Korean film at the festival.

According to Korean news outlet EDaily, the rousing standing ovation began with Cannes Film Festival executive director Thierry Frémaux. The film’s director and main cast—Song Kang-ho (Parasite), singer and actress Lee Ji-eun, Gang Dong-won (Peninsula), and Bae Doo-na (Sense8)—were in attendance for the overwhelmingly positive reception.

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Kore-eda previously won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2018 with his Japanese-language crime drama Shoplifters.

Broker stars Song Kang-ho as Sang-hyun, a “broker of goodwill” who sets up a baby box for parents looking to anonymously surrender their children. Working with Gang Dong-won’s Dong-soo, the men take it upon themselves to find new parents for the infants while also padding their pockets.

Related: Song Kang-ho Confirmed as Lead in Kim Jee-Woon’s Cobweb

Lee Ji-eun (also known as multitalented K-pop idol IU) joins the cast as So-young, a young woman who crosses paths with the men when she places her own baby in the box; Bae Doo-na and Lee Joo-young (Itaewon Class, Times) are police detectives on a mission to uncover the broker’s illicit operation.

Watch the trailer guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings here:

Positive reviews have been rolling in for the film since its premiere, with BBC’s Nicholas Barber raving:

Not only is it Kore-eda’s first Korean production, but it’s an accessible, high-concept genre movie that brings to mind the Coen brothers and such crowd-pleasing indies as Little Miss Sunshine. I can’t recall a non-English-language film which was so ripe for an English-language remake – or one that was so expertly crafted as to render a remake completely redundant.

Broker is the Latest From Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo

Photo Credit – Barunson E&A

The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney describes Broker’s cinematography as “[ranging] from the ineffable despair of the rain-drenched opening to the possibility of hope and deliverance as a train cuts through the magnificent countryside.”

The “unfussy visuals” are the latest work from South Korean cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo, whose impressive resume includes the internationally acclaimed thriller Parasite. The 2019 film was awarded Best Cinematography by the Korean Association of Film Critics and garnered several other nominations. Hong’s other cinematography credits include 2013’s Snowpiercer and supernatural horror The Wailing (2016).

South Korean audiences can catch Broker in theaters beginning June 8; a North American release date is TBD.

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