‘Broker’ wins top prize at Munich International Film Festival

“Broker,” the first Korean-language film project by Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, on Sunday won the top award at the 39th Munich International Film Festival.

According to the festival organizer, the ARRI award, established in 2008, is given to the filmmakers of the best international film in the CineMasters competition section.

An independent three-member jury decides who shall receive the award, worth 50,000 euros ($52,000).

Kore-eda’s “Broker” centers on relationships formed through “baby boxes” installed at churches or institutions in Korea where desperate parents can leave their newborns anonymously.

The film begins with So-young (played by Lee Ji-eun) leaving her baby in front of a baby box at a church. Sang-hyun (played by Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (played by Gang Dong-won) secretly steal the baby to sell him to a family who cannot adopt legally. So-young, who returns to the church the next day, finds out that Sang-hyun and Dong-soo have taken her baby. So-young and the two men then go on to search for the right parents for the baby. Meanwhile, a cop, Soo-jin (played by Bae Doo-na), follows the two men.

Established in 1983, the Munich International Film Festival is Germany’s largest summer film festival, which screens some 200 films annually.

Meanwhile, Song won the best actor award at this year‘s Cannes Film Festival for his role as Sang-hyun in “Broker.”

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)