Foreign Films: Commitment (동창생)

Commitment (동창생) is a spy thriller that centers around the story of a young North Korean agent (Big Bang's T.O.P.) that is sent to South Korea with a mission to kill spies from an opposing sector. In particular, T.O.P.'s character Myung-hoon poses as high school student Dae-ho with uncanny skills in weaponry and in hand-to-hand combat by day. By night, Myung-hoon takes on a wholly new persona as a heartless assassin who will kill whoever it takes to get the job done.

Holly invited Karen and I to see the movie during a limited engagement at Cineplex (10 Dundas St E) last Tuesday. Unfortunately, Karen got held up at work and could not make it to Cineplex that night. In any case, Holly and I went to the 4:30PM showing and watched 108 minutes of material that sparked sadness, disgust, anger, and regret among other emotions. (Spoiler Alert!)

I found Commitment's story line truthfully heartbreaking. The interesting facet of the film was Myung-hoon's motivation for murder, which was to kill in order to find a way out of his current predicament. The tragedy of the story was his slow realization that his actions did not have any impact on his future.

It was a shame to see the lead character's untimely demise but it did add a touch of realism to the story line. In fact, I do not think it could have ended any other way for poor Myung-hoon. It was either death (the more likely and actual ending to the story) or life after espionage (an impossible end based on the history of previous agents). Having said that, I do commend the character for his unfailing commitment to his cause, which was largely due to his commitment to his family and his friend. Moreover, I commend his efforts and his success in providing a life for his loved ones, which was a small consolation amidst a terrible death.

I have not watched enough Korean movies to be able to objectively judge and recommend Commitment. However, it is definitely a nice change from the more light-hearted Korean dramas shown online.