God, Hirokazu Kore-eda is seriously one of the masters of modern cinema. His movies are as simple as they are brilliant. He knows how to find beauty in the smallest things, and his films always leave me with a warm feeling, even if they're usually sad and/or melancholic. The characters and societies he portrays in his work always feel so real and genuine. It also helps that he knows how to pick one great cast, as clearly shown here. In fact, this particular cast is so f**king good that I can't even pick an MVP, they really are that good. There's not a single line or facial gesture that doesn't feel natural and real. I had been looking forward to Broker for so long, and it actually ended up being even better than I expected. This is certainly one good way to start the year.