7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Boxes are left out for people to anonymously drop off their unwanted babies.
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, IU, Lee Joo-youngForeign | 100% |
Drama | 68% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Korean: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda is an exceptionally talented filmmaker who’s been on a streak of involving dramas over the last decade, mostly recently on view in 2018’s “Shoplifters” and 2019’s “The Truth,” which offered him a chance to make a French endeavor, changing things up from his usual interests. With “Broker,” Kore-eda is back in South Korea, examining the inner lives and relationships of characters involved in the business of selling babies. This is no horror story, adding to the helmer’s preference for humanist dramas, taking time to understand the mindset of those contributing to such a situation, exploring the complexity of such a choice. There are layers to examine with “Broker,” and wonderful moviemaking to help with the journey, as Kore-eda oversees excellent performances and an approachable level of melancholy with this feature, which remains gripping, even when it deals with simple matters of the heart.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a satisfactory level of detail, with facial particulars most pronounced, examining differences in age. Urban tours retain a level of texture with building exteriors and decorative additions. Cityscapes and rural travel preserve deep distances, showing off the bigness of the locations and all the architectural offerings found along the way. Costuming is fibrous, including softer baby gear and thicker business attire. Color is alert throughout the viewing experience, doing well with signage and clothing, which offer a brighter sense of primaries. Warmer moods are set with interiors, and a fresher sense of outdoor events, with distinct greenery. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is acceptable, with blacks reasonably controlled, losing a little information during evening sequences. Mild banding is periodically encountered.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix deals with the gentle ways of "Broker," offering crisp instrumentation with scoring cues, which provide a warmer sound to support the feature's emotional moods. Dialogue exchanges are distinct, securing clear conversations and delicate confessions. Surrounds are active, exploring atmospherics with changing weather and community bustle, also capturing a sense of the open world with outdoor events. Music offerings push out as well, with decent immersion. Low-end isn't challenged with the largely dialogue-driven picture.
There is no supplementary material on this release.
"Broker" doesn't build to a big showdown, electing to deal with individual interests in the sale carefully, with Kore-eda peeling back layers of motivation and emotional investment while pulling the main characters together as a type of family the members have rarely experienced. It's a delicate picture dealing with some potentially bruising acts of crime and punishment, and while some degree of police procedure seeps into the endeavor, "Broker" doesn't give itself over to expected areas of hysteria. Kore-eda doesn't follow the easy path to a resolution, preferring to stick with human responses to mistakes and fears, especially with So-young, who wrestles with a decision she regrets in some ways, miraculously finding others who understand her confusion, creating unusual bonds in a feature that does wonderfully with subtle acts of compassion.
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