Koreeda Hirokazu film Broker’s teaser poster featuring IU, Kang Dong-won, and Song Kang-ho out

The teaser-poster of celebrated filmmaker Koreeda Hirokazu's film Broker was released on Tuesday. This poster features the lead actors of the film — IU, Kang Dong-won, and Song Kang-ho — along with a baby. Each of them, known to play a pivotal role in the film have varying expressions which teases their situations in the film.

The tagline of the film, written in Hangul, translates to ‘Baby box, the place where our special deal began,’ according to a report in Soompi. The poster released on April 12 indicates that the film is set to be released in June 2022. However, the date of release has not been confirmed by the makers of the film as of now.

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What is Broker about?

Broker is billed as an slice-of-life story, which also stars Bae Doona and Lee Joo-Young as Detective Soo Jin and Detective Lee. They persistently follow the brokers to chase them down. In addition to its impressive star cast, Broker has also garnered attention for bringing stars Kang Dong-won and Song Kang-ho together on screen after 12 years. The actors previously worked together in Secret Reunion.

Song Kang-ho and Kang Dong-won were cast in the film in 2020 while IU joined the team in January 2021. Broker also marks celebrated Japanese filmmaker Koreeda Hirokazu’s first Korean film. He is well-known for having won the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for his film Shoplifters.

In a statement from the makers, the director revealed that the film was conceptualized five years ago. He said,

“As always, it all began with the actors. I first met Song Kang-ho at the Busan International Film Festival and Kang Dong-won when he was in Tokyo for work. I have continued to stay in contact with the two actors in Tokyo, Seoul, Busan, and Cannes. At first, we simply exchanged greetings but as we continued to share conversations, it naturally led to us talking about working on a film together.”

Speaking of the other cast and crew members of Broker, the director said,

“I worked with Bae Doona in 2009, and I thought to myself, ‘I hope we work together again, next time as a human character,’ and that dream has finally come true over 10 years later. And now I will be working on a film with crew members and Korean actors I greatly respect.”

According to media reports, the film is about the concept of baby boxes. These boxes are a way out for parents who are unable to provide for their children. They are given the option of giving their baby away by placing them in these boxes. The director hoped that the film would move the actors, and he also sought to create a film which is thrilling, heartwarming, and emotional.

It must be noted that the producer of film is also well-known for bankrolling impressive content. Zip Cinema is behind films such as #Alive, The Most Ordinary Love, Golden Slumber and The Priests. CJ ENM, the South Korean film production and distribution company which worked with award winning films such as Memories of a Murder, Oldboy and Parasite is also distributing Broker.