[HanCinema's Film Review] "Tough as Iron"

Kang-Cheol (played by Yoo Ah-in) is genuinely happy with his life. Yes, he has to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. His mother Soo-In (played by Kim Hae-sook) is suffering from dementia, and requires a great deal of personal care in addition to finances in order to function. Most of the time she misidentifies Kang-Cheol as being her late husband rather than her son- but still, life is happy. Not in a self-deluded way, either- it's a case of genuine love.

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The gangsters in this film aren't so lucky. While they do have feelings somewhat approximating what we call love, this naive faith starts getting them in increasingly worse trouble. Kang-Cheol actually has relatively little to do with the gangsters- but he is a man who is reliant almost entirely on the patience and generosity of his acquaintances in order to survive on a day to day basis. So the movie moves slowly to the moment where Kang-Cheol has to make a deal in order to save himself and his mother.

Or is is just his mother? "Tough as Iron" may surround itself in the trappings of a street-fighting environment, but one uncomfortable fact becomes clear the longer this film goes on. Kang-Cheol's mother is holding him back. Taking care of her forces him to abandon any kind of ambition and adventure in his life. Now, as far as the gangsters are concerned? This is absolutely a change for the better. As far as his feelings are concerned? He loves his mother more than anything in the world, so that's not a problem. But what about the fact that some day, he is going to have to live without his mother- what then?

These are difficult dramatic questions- and subtle ones to boot. I didn't actually realize this was what "Tough as Iron" was about until the closing shot, when in a subtle burst of symbolism, we see Kang-Cheol do something that would have been unthinkable earlier in the movie. In most films, this action would be about trust- but Kang-Cheol has no issues with intimacy. Rather, it's more of a release. He's a good person, and he tries so hard to be a good person, that he needs forgiveness for feeling conflicted about emotions that are difficult to resolve.

It's a very poignant moment and does a great job capping off what the film had been up to that point. At times it feels scattershot, and Kang-Cheol only ever even interacts with the gangsters in a few scenes. But that's what makes the film's final denouement so effective. While everyone is motivated by love, it motivates them to do completely different things. As long as he has his mom, Kang-Cheol is fine. But the gangsters aren't satisfied so easily- they lack the genuine sense of respect that exists in Kang-Cheol's filial relationship, and without it, their fate is destined to end terribly.

Technically speaking it's probably more accurate to refer to "Tough as Iron" as a melodrama. The dangers the characters experience are, for the most part, artificial externalities. This is especially true if we see the gangster plot as being just an unrelated set of events that Kang-Cheol only gets involved in out of necessity. But then, that's the reality of difficult family situations with no right or wrong answers. It's just as well the beauty inherent in the film's deeper message- to ask whether the best-case scenario is necessarily ideal, the worst-case scenario necessarily horrible, and to not feel guilty when the answers to these questions aren't what you expect.

Review by William Schwartz

"Tough as Iron" is directed by Ahn Kwon-tae and features Yoo Ah-in and Kim Hae-sook.