Broker (South Korea, 2022)

A baby box is a small space, where parents can leave behind their babies anonymously. Sang-Hyun (Song Kang-Ho) finds new parents for a baby left in a baby box and makes a special deal with them. He calls himself a broker of good will. Sang-Hyun works with Dong-Soo in this endeavor. They get involved with So-Young, who placed her baby in the baby box, but has now come back for her baby. Meanwhile, Detective Soo-Jin and Detective Lee chase after Sang-Hyun and Dong-Soo.

While doing research for his film Like Father, Like Son (2013), director Hirokazu Koreeda came across the concept of a 'baby box' operated by a hospital in Japan, and decided he one day was going to make a film based on it. Later he learned that the number of babies left in baby boxes over in South Korea was larger, so he shifted his attention to their shores and put together an all-star cast for his first Korean film.

 

Just like in Shoplifters (2018), Koreeda looks at family and relationships in an unconventional way (he views the two movies as siblings due to developing them at the same time) and wanted to explore different sides of motherhood. The result is a beautifully shot journey and a reminder of why Koreeda is one of the best directors of contemporary Japanese cinema.

  

Genre: Drama. 2h 9min.

Aloners (South Korea, 2021)

Jina, a solitary woman re-evaluates her isolated existence after her neighbor dies alone in his apartment.

What Aloners does right is the spot on portrayal of a modern, low income worker who seems to exist only for the company to make money. Jina is an employee in a call center where everyone is a small cog in the wheel, and her life sort of just blends in with the noise of the world around her. It's all very real in how Jina, while being a high ranked employee and surrounded by colleagues, still lives in isolation. Aloners is the debut of Hong Seong-eun, who wished to confront her own experience of loneliness in a society where everyone is connected. She has talked about how the devices in our hands and the screens we stare at distract us from getting to know ourselves. A relatable and great film. 

Genre: Drama. 1h 31min.

Sing, Dance, Act: Kabuki featuring Toma Ikuta (Japan, 2022)

Toma Ikuta and Matsuya Onoe were classmates back in their high school and have been close friends. In their high school days, the two promised that they would stand on the same stage some day. And for the final stage of Onoe's produced kabuki stage series, Ikuta will star as a special guest in his first ever time to perform kabuki.

Many people know Toma Ikuta from films such as The Mole Song (2013 and The Brain Man (2013), but in Sing, Dance, Act he puts himself out there and gives it all when the chance to perform in a kabuki play. Between the demanding training for difficult dance acts, Ikuta shares his thoughts on various subjects like his career and childhood while friends in the business also weigh in on how Ikuta is as a person. 

I must admit I was drawn into the film way more than I first thought, Ikuta isn't an actor I've deliberately followed or sought out movies by, but after seeing him here my respect grew immensely. He really comes across as very genuine and someone who doesn't do anything half-hearted. 

Genre: Documentary. 1h 27min.