Commitment (2013 film)

Commitment (Korean: 동창생; Hanja: 同窓生; RR: Dongchangsaeng; lit. "Alumnus" or "The Graduate") is a 2013 South Korean action drama film starring Choi Seung-hyun.[4] He plays the teenage son of an ex-North Korean agent who is tasked to kill a North Korean assassin in South Korea in order to save his younger sister played by Kim Yoo-jung.[5][6][7][8]

Commitment
Directed byPark Hong-soo[1]
Produced byPark Eun-gyeong
Lee Deok-jae
Lee Seong-hun
Choe Ji-yun
Written byKim Soo-young
StarringChoi Seung-hyun
Han Ye-ri
Kim Yoo-jung
Music byNoh Hyeong-woo
CinematographyKim Gi-tae
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Kim Jae-bum
Distributed byShowbox/Mediaplex[2]
(South Korea)
Well Go USA Entertainment (United States)
Release date
  • November 6, 2013 (2013-11-06) (South Korea)
  • December 6, 2013 (2013-12-06) (United States)
Running time
113 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$6,834,802[3]

The film is about third generation Koreans since the division of the peninsula and the Korean War, historical events that the teenage characters did not directly experience, but nevertheless, change their lives and destinies.[9][10]

Plot

Nineteen-year-old Li Myung-hoon (Choi Seung-hyun) never imagined he would become a killer. Born to a privileged life in North Korea, his dream was to become a pianist. But when his father, a North Korean spy, dies disgraced, Myung-hoon and his younger sister Hye-in (Kim Yoo-jung) are sent to a "guilt-by-association" forced labor camp. Their father's superior, high-ranking military official Colonel Moon (Jo Sung-ha) proposes a deal to Myung-hoon: if he goes down to the South as a "technician" (an assassin) and finishes what his father had failed to accomplish, he and his sister will be released from the prison camp. Myung-hoon accepts the deal and undergoes two years of intense training.

Myung-hoon finally arrives in South Korea under the guise of a North Korean defector. He is adopted by a South Korean couple who are actually North Korean spies and enrolls at a local high school. He gradually befriends Hye-in (Han Ye-ri), a bullied schoolgirl who shares the same name as his sister and has aspirations of becoming a professional dancer. Myung-hoon then receives his mission: in order to rescue his sister and go back home to the North, he must locate and take out "Big Dipper" (Jung Ho-bin), a North Korean agent working for the opposing government faction. Meanwhile, a power struggle ensues in North Korea with the failing health of dictator Kim Jong-il, and Myung-hoon quickly becomes a liability and must ultimately cope with Colonel Moon's treachery.

Cast
  • Choi Seung-hyun – Li Myung-hoon / Kang Dae-ho (cover identity used in South Korea)
  • Han Ye-ri – Lee Hye-in[11]
  • Kim Yoo-jung – Li Hye-in, Myung-hoon's younger sister[12]
  • Yoon Je-moon – Cha Jung-min, South Korean National Intelligence Service agent
  • Jo Sung-ha – Moon Sang-chul, North Korean senior colonel
  • Jung Ho-bin – "Big Dipper," North Korean agent
  • Kwak Min-seok – North Korean agent, Myung-hoon's adoptive father in South Korea
  • Kim Sun-kyung – North Korean agent, Myung-hoon's adoptive mother in South Korea; cover identity as pharmacist
  • Dong Hyun-bae – one of the bullies
  • Kim Min-jae – North Korean agent
  • Lee Joo-shil – North Korean agent
  • Park Ji-il – South Korean agent
  • Kang Bit
  • Park Sung-woong – Li Young-ho
Myung-hoon and Hye-in's father
  • Dong Hyun-bae - as the troubled kid's friend
  • Yoo Jae-myung - Kim Sun-myung
Head of Recon Bureau Unit 8. "Defected" in 1992.

Release

The film was released in South Korea on November 6, 2013, opening at number 2 in the box office.[13] On its opening weekend, it sold 689,600 tickets, grossing US$2,859,921.[14][15] In total, Commitment grossed US$6,512,794 with 1,048,254 tickets sold nationwide.[16][17]

Following its pre-sales deal to eight Asian countries (Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia),[18] distribution company Well Go USA acquired the North American rights to the film and gave it a limited theatrical release on December 6, 2013.[19][20] Commitment played in a total of 22 theaters and grossed US$60,317 on its opening weekend.[21][22] In total, the film grossed US$76,543 during its North American run.[23]

European distributor Splendid Film also released Commitment as Silent Assassin in German-speaking territories in 2014.[24]

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References
  1. Ho, Stewart (11 September 2012). "The Alumnus, Starring Big Bang's T.O.P, Finds New Director and Resumes Filming". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  2. Noh, Jean (18 May 2013). "Showbox finds buyers not afraid of Commitment". Screen International. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  3. "Commitment (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  4. Lee, Hye-ji (27 September 2013). "Big Bang T.O.P Man Up in Posters of Upcoming Film". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  5. Sunwoo, Carla (26 June 2012). "T.O.P to play North Korean assassin". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. Ho, Stewart (24 January 2013). "Big Bang's T.O.P Wraps Filming on The Alumni". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  7. Lee, Tae-ho (24 January 2013). "New Movie Starring T.O.P Wraps Up Shooting". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  8. Sunwoo, Carla (25 January 2013). "T.O.P wraps up filming movie". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  9. Lee, Eun-sun (8 February 2013). "A Lonely Boy Meets a Lonely Girl in COMMITMENT". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  10. Sunwoo, Carla (31 December 2013). "North Korea a major theme in movies' big year". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  11. Hong, Grace Danbi (30 October 2013). "Han Ye Ri Talks about Being Able to Work with T.O.P and Park Yoo Chun". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
  12. Hong, Grace Danbi (25 June 2012). "Kim Yoo Jung and Han Ye Ri to Become T.O.P's Ladies in The Alumni". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  13. Lee, Sun-min (12 November 2013). "Thor sequel leads box office in Korea, U.S." Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  14. "South Korea Box Office November 8–10, 2013". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  15. "Korean Box Office". Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  16. "South Korea Box Office November 22–24, 2013". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  17. "Korean Box Office". Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  18. Song, Soon-jin (27 December 2013). "2013 American Film Market Report". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  19. "K-Pop Crossover: T.O.P. Film Commitment Hitting U.S. Theaters, And Other Popular Korean Movies Which Have Hit America!". KpopStarz. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  20. "Commitment (2013) – Release Info". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  21. "Weekly Box Office December 6–12, 2013". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  22. "Weekly Box Office December 13–19, 2013". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  23. "Commitment (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  24. Tae, Sang-joon (29 October 2013). "COMMITMENT Commits to US, Europe and Asia". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
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