Favorite actor of his compatriot Bong Joon-ho, and star of his film "Parasite", Palme d'Or 2019, he plays in this Kore-eda film a man involved in baby trafficking, who will form a small family of odds and ends around him.
"I'm very happy for my whole family," he said soberly when he received his award at Cannes.
In the film, her debt-ridden character discovers an abandoned baby and volunteers to find her a new family, in exchange for money.
Around him gravitate another man who helps him in the "transaction" and the young mother, whose motivations remain opaque for a long time.
The sale of the baby will turn into a trip between Busan and Seoul, in a decrepit van.
Song Kang-ho expected "meticulous and calculated" acting direction from Kore-eda.
"But he really respected us and brought out our emotions in a way that was really free, benevolent and inexhaustible," he said in early May in Seoul.
In 25 years of career, Song Kang-ho has toured with many South Korean directors including Park Chan-wook ("Thirst, this is my blood", 2009, "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" 2003) and Bong Joon-ho ("Memories of a Murder" 2004, "the Host" 2006, before "Parasite").
© 2022 AFP