General Information

- Genre: Drama, action

- Language: Korean with English subtitles

- Running time: 108 minutes

- Presented by: CJ Entertainment

- Produced by: Cinema service

- Distributed by: CJ Entertainment

- Original release: October 2, 2013

- US release: October 11, 2013

Theaters

City Theater Released Date

Los Angeles CGV Cinemas 10/11/13

Fullerton Regal La Habra 10/11/13

Irvine Edwards VTC 10/11/13

D.C. Fairfax Town Center 10/11/13

Atlanta AMC Colonial 10/11/13

Seattle AMC Alderwood 10/11/13

Chicago AMC Showplace Niles 10/11/13

Dallas AMC Grapevine Mills 10/11/13

New York AMC Empire 10/11/13

Honolulu Consolidated Pearlridge 10/18/13

Casts

Yoo Ah In as Gang Cheol

Kim Hae Sook as Soo-ni

Kim Jung Tae as Sang-gon

Kim Sung Oh as Hwee-gon

Jung Yoo Mi as Suji

Lee Shi In as Jongsu

Characters Story

Gang Cheol is the unbreakable Busan guy that seems to have survived a youth fighting his way through the schoolyard and when he lost his father. In the present day, he labors all throughout the day as a longshoreman on the docks of Korea while spending most of his time caring for his mother who suffers not only from myriad physical ailments, but also develops serious dementia as well as often cannot recognize her son or even herself. Despite the situations, Cheol has managed to live up his name, whose characters are synonymous with "strong" and "iron." Throughout the challenges, he keeps his promise to his mother and hangs on doing the right thing as well as holds his ideals and humor in the face of difficult circumstances.

Soo-ni is the mother who loses her mind though never her love in the film. She is the number one source of Cheol's worries and his happiness. Soo-ni is not only physically ill, she is progressively losing her mind and gets into all shorts of trouble around the neighborhood. Her life is a losing battle due to her sometimes being unable to distinguish Cheol and her long departed husband. Her incredible zest for life and love for her son is the only thing that she does not lose among the hardships that the pair faces.

Films and Dramas Yoo Ah-in Has Been in

Movies:

2011: Punch
2009: Sky and Sea
2008: Antique
2007: Skeletons in the Closet and Boys of Tomorrow

Dramas:

2013: Jang OK-Jung, Living By Love
2012: Fashion King
2010: Sungkyunkwan Scandal
2005: Sharp

Yoo Ah-in dropped out of high school to pursue acting and quickly gained various roles in film and television. His breakout role came in 2010 for the most popular drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal.

Films and Dramas Kim Hae-sook Has Been in

Movies:

2012: Thieves and Vocal Clinic
2011: Wonderful Radio
2010: A Long Visit
2009: Thirst
2006: Sunflower
2005: My Girl and I
2004: My Brother

Dramas:

2013: I Can Hear Your Voice
2012: Without You
2010: Beautiful Life
2009: Cain
2000: Autumn in my Heart

Kim's acting career spans over 40 years which continues to stun the South Korean audience as it grows in-depth as well as variety through her numerous roles in movies and dramas. She is notable for playing as difficult characters, juicy roles which showcase strong-willed, funny, sexy, and audacious women.

Synapsis

So the synapsis for this movie is "basically a melodrama that binds with a crime drama" according to news media The Hollywood Reporter in this South Korean film. The movie "Tough As Iron" represents an "unstable cocktail of unrelated genre styles that does not correlate." So basically there is many genres that the producer just mixed everything in the movie.

So since the movie is by CJ Entertainment and they want to hit a "platform release in the United States" because the entertainment industry wants to reach a wider range of audience which are the people of the US. Also since the movie followed after its "Korean debut," it did not waste anytime to move to the US. Unfortunately, the movie "had little likelihood of a crossover success due to the film facing limited prospects beyond the niche markets." So it looks like the movie did not reach the amount that the industry hoped to reach which is considered a disappointment. Hopefully, they can produce an even better movie in the coming years.

Plot

Twenty something Cheol (Yoo Ah-in) who is a longshoreman works at the docks unloading seafood from the fishing trawlers in Busan which is South Korea's largest port. While he is working at the port, Cheol cares for his mother Soo-ni (Kim Hae-sook) who suffers from "dementia as well as has a variety of medical conditions which are undisclosed." So basically the mother is in a bad shape and needs her son to work hard in order to go to the hospital to get treated. He loves his mother so much that he will do anything to get her treated.

Then this is where the problem arises by Cheol's best friend who is Jongsu ( Lee Shi-un) working and putting or setting himself low by "working with the Japanese Yakuza" which is headed by Sang-gon (Kim Jung-tae as well as his "stuttering and sadistic brother Hwee-gon (Kim Sung-oh) which he owes his alliance or allegiance to mob leaders overseas." This gang will go out to find mob leaders and take money from them. Truly ruthless indeed.

Since Cheol's name means "iron," he spends most of his leisure time finding his mother due to her wandering and living home while Jongsu works on a "harebrained investment scheme which is to corner offshore" real estate. Though with Jongsu's terrible decision to borrow money from the bosses gang, the situation gets terrible when the investment scam is revealed and Hwee-gon "calls for the debt" while Cheol finds out that his mother needs a surgery for an organ transplant which could really "save her life" even though expenses is a key factor by them not having the money to afford the operation.

Now to help with the repayment for Jongsu's debt as well as make sure that the funds are secured so that Cheol's mother can have the operation successfully, Cheol now has no choice but to establish a deal with Sang-gon by "working with him" and do "mob hits" by going to Japanese yakuza bosses which can possibly close the ties between them and Korean organization. So by working with him, he sees the world of a Yakuza. The movie "Tough As Iron," deals with blood and money that ties the bind between every character. This warm-hearted dramatic action brings the audience to some surprising conclusions in the end of the film which I will not spoil.

Why the Director's Chose This Kind of Story

Ahn Kwon-tae who is the director and Lee Yeong-jong and Kim Sung-woo the screenwriters, wasted so much screen time to get the narrative up to speed by dwelling on Cheol's relationship with his mother as well as contrasting their fraught though loving relationship with Jongsu's tense home life with his father and then works with associates who are gangsters.

So it is clear that the filmmakers want to have things imaginable by the time the plot gets good which is to combine elements of melodrama, crime thriller as well as romance when Cheol meets a free-spirited young woman (Jung Yoo-Mi) that has a passion to travel which truly makes this film a chaotic genre mishmash.

Production Notes About the Film

Notes about the film is that viewers have gave this film positive comments. One is that the movie is a stellar portrayal of a Busan tough guy which they are referring to Yoo. They also explained about the relationship between him and his mother and how the film is a must see.

Location of the Film That Captured the Authentic Busan

The movie "Tough As Iron" was set in the rugged port city of Busan where people were like sea urchins which are sharp as well as spiky on the outside and tender in the inside. The film was entirely shot on location to capture how unique the city is. Locations were carefully selected in order to portray never before seen local Busan in-terms of scenes and culture. The locations featured were Yeongdo Sanbok Road, Sangdo Beach, and Yeongdo and Sangdo Streets. Finally, the locations showed actual day-to-day workers in the largest fish market in Asia which brought the scenes as well as setting to life.

Overall of the Film

The movie is great because it shows the loving relationship between son and mother as well as to care for your close friends by helping them in-times of hardship or problems. If you watch this film, you might get emotional because of the storyline between the main characters.

So if you have not seen the movie yet, go see it!! I think you will like it.