Alternate Best Actor 2022: Song Kang-ho in Broker

Song Kang-ho did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning CANNES, for portraying Ha Sang-hyeon in Broker. 

Broker is a good film about the "brokers" of an abandoned child, who go with that child's mother to find a buyer while being tracked by police. On re-watch, though I would say it isn't Kore-eda's best, getting bogged down a bit by the amount of plotting he includes particularly a strangely haphazard one involving a gangster wanting the child. 

Having said that there is still plenty to appreciate about this film within Kore-eda's typical appeal about calm observation via slightly atypical circumstances. This time working with a South Korean cast, led by two well-known South Korean vets Bae Doona as the seemingly cold cop tracking the brokers, and Song Kang-ho as the lead broker. The very idea of the brokers at the core of the story seems a particularly corrupt idea, as Song's Ha along with Gang Dong-won's Dong-soo, who is also an orphan himself, collect babies abandoned at a local church and sell them on a black market. You don't instantly reject them, despite their actual job seeming a bit diabolical on the surface because of the performances of both men, though particularly Song who is his typically charming self. Song brings that innately joyful presence of his that does quickly disarm you from being too suspicious of the men, and you instantly suspect that they must have some better motivation despite how potentially horrid their chosen crime may be. Song just exudes a good man so you believe they must have a good reason and in every aspect of his performance in a way he is putting any viewer at ease because in every instance, even when destroying evidence of their crime, Song presents an affable manner seemingly of a man who isn't nefarious despite the nefarious deed he seems to be committing. 

Matters get slightly more complicated quickly when the mother of the child comes back, Moon (Lee Ji-eun), joins the two men in their slightly rough van to try to sell the child. Early on we do get an explanation for this practice where Ha explains that they would rather the child not just be left an orphan and that they do search for a genuinely loving home. Song's performance is essential in this scene because you absolutely need to believe Ha at this moment. And with Song you absolutely do, who just delivers every word with just sincerity and a kind optimism that is emphasized in every word. His expression isn't of a man hiding something more, as strange as the practice is, and as much as they are making money from the practice, Song shows that Ha is performing a real duty to help the child out in his mind. And everything Song does in the performance shows the good nature of the character. His presence might as well be described as sunshine here with the great big smile that is most often adorning his face in every given moment. Song showing consistently a man who just wants to help the situation even while doing it in a way that most would deem questionable and is in fact illegal when it comes to practical description. 

For much of the film, which is most often on this ragtag group, who are eventually joined by another young orphan just to add to this, and where Song is a great deal of just emphasizing the optimistic manner of his character. Song doesn't present him as foolish within this idea either, rather his manner with this is always as someone keenly empathetic towards those around him and keenly aware of the problems they may be facing. That is where Song does excel in creating a sense of true empathy in really the moments quite simply where Ha isn't smiling and in these moments Song does bring a real emotional depth in the sense of the character's willingness to try to understand others. I love particularly his pivotal scene with Moon where they talk about her choice to abandon her child, and while Ha asks the occasional pressing question which Song delivers with the most genuine sense of concern, his eyes at the same time show this respectful restraint within the character. It is wonderful to work in portraying this sense of the man's real honest goodness even within his profession as the reinforcing trait in Song's performance consistently throughout the film is his care and concern for others. It is simply a given and that is what it should be. 

Now Ha, despite ostensibly being one of the leads of the film probably has the least given to him in terms of backstory for the four main leads of the film. The one scene that differs from this is when we see Song visit his own daughter, where he clearly some deadbeat dad to some extent as he is promising money for his estranged wife and trying to connect with his daughter. Although I think the scene itself is implemented a little imperfectly just it feels placed in the narrative in an overly disconnected way,  Song is great in the scene. As this is a scene where Song doesn't show cheerfulness as the basic emotion in the man. Rather he is filled with a certain insecurity and where in every other moment you see his lack of hesitation to emotionally reach out there's a real power to the restraint in the power of his work at the moment by showing Ha nearly lost for words and holding back his emotions. In turn, what Song shows is Ha dealing with his real pain at the moment where in particular when his daughter quotes a dismissive remark about him, Song is heartbreaking at the moment when he thinks that is coming from his own daughter as you see in his subtle reaction just how much pain is in this. 

Speaking of disconnected scenes though, there are none more disconnected than the gangster also seeking the child, which frankly should've just been removed from the film since they feel so rushed. Sadly Song is the one involved in these scenes. This is particularly in the final scenes with the gangster where two extremely rushed and very brief scenes need to show the typically happy-go-lucky man not only not happy but going straight to murdering the gangster. An idea that I think could've worked if it was built in a more substantial way, but the whole process feels rushed and haphazard. Song is good to his credit, though the odds are stacked against him because he legitimately doesn't have enough time to really convey that determination to take such a rash act. It isn't entirely convincing, not due to Song, I think he does what he can but the writing sabotages the attempt. The same is true for his extremely brief final scene, where Song's silent expression does reveal the weight of the crime, but it is so brief, it limits the power of seeing Ha fall to this point. Again Song does what he can but I do think Kore-eda does a disservice to his performance in both scenes. And I hate in part having to leave this review as such because I don't want to be misunderstood this is a wonderful performance still. He's so great in every little naturalistic moment we get with him and the group. I have to say although the limits of the film, keep this from being one of Song's best performances, and in the scheme of the film, I will say the two female leads left the greatest impression, which was true on my initial watch but only became more abundantly clear on re-watch.