It's all about Lies, Lies and More Lies!!!!
Watching this Taiwanese classic in 2024 is definitely interesting and my expectations are high (maybe too high). I can look past the fashion and ML’s ugly hairstyle, but “Autumn Concerto” has so many different tropes and illogical things. I also feel that I need to stop my critical thinking and enjoy the ride on a more emotional level. That way, the drama is more enjoyable.I love the mature Aidy An in “Legend of Dugu”. She’s the best part of that show. But a younger Aidy An is somewhat annoying in this drama. Her acting is not quite there yet and gave me this bland expression. But I think what’s worse is I don’t like her character, Mu Cheng. She is definitely pretty in this drama, but Mu Cheng keeps a secret for way too long. She should and could have spoken up many times in various situations, instead of acting like a victim. I also do not like her voice, which is supposed to be gentle and soothing. I just find it annoying, unfortunately.
Despite not liking Mu Cheng as a girlfriend, I like her as a mother. Her relationship with her son Xiao Le is the highlight of the show. This little kid is adorable but I don’t think there’s any other 5-year old who speaks like him out there. I am going to look past that and just enjoy how kind-hearted, sweet, adorable and smart he is. Xiao Le’s interaction with every single adult brings me so much joy. Yes, even the little kid bully.
Vanness Wu is another draw to watch this drama. But I find his acting very inconsistent. There are scenes I think he did fine and was natural, but not when it comes to more emotional (angry or sad) scenes. I really feel for his character. Poor Guang Xi suffered so much and is being lied to by everyone. I was rooting for him and actually wanted him to not end up with FL. I think he deserves better.
When it comes to acting, Chris Wu is the best out of the main characters, only second to ML’s mother. I cannot believe “Autumn’s Concerto” is his very first drama (He did have a few movies under his belt). But compared to Aidy An and Vanness Wu, he’s the less experienced one but I love his acting the most. If it’s in any other drama, his character would be the male lead. His confession to Mu cheng is so touching and sincere. I want to marry him! Chris Wu is the best part of the show and he doesn’t seem to have aged.
The pacing of the drama is a little uneven as well. I found the first arc when they were all in college went by pretty fast. A lot of things happened but each mini subplot or misunderstanding is resolved rather quickly. But once we switch to the present-day timeline, the pace slows down. They spend a lot of time in the village with those loud villagers. I am not surprised they are loud but at least they’re not too nosy. Towards the end of the drama, the pace picked back up a little with the court cases. But also felt that the editing and storytelling are choppy. I also think that the drama waited too long for the shit to hit the fan (the big secret to out).
For a melodrama with a focus on romance, it’s really hard for me to enjoy when 1) I don’t like the female lead, 2) I don’t think the leads should end up together, 3) I think the secondary leads should just go and date each other and forget about the leads who don’t deserve them. For a romance-lover like me, if I am not rooting for the leads to be together, there’s no way I would end up enjoying the drama. I also need to shut down my brain because there are too many ridiculous things that happened. I don’t want to list them all as they could be spoilers.
But luckily, we have an adorable kid, a handsome Chris Wu, nice secondary leads who are not evil and Vanness Wu showing off his abs. This is enough to keep this at an 8.0 for me. Even though I like the songs, they are WAY overplayed. I wonder if I would have loved “Autumn’s Concerto” more if I were watching this in 2008 and not in 2024.
Completed: 1/25/2024 - Review #398
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How would you feel, if you fell in love with someone, you were dying, then they left, and you lost your memories, then it came back, and you found out everything that you knew was a lie? I know right, that sounds extreme, and that is why it’s a drama. The most extreme things happen in dramas, and isn’t it why we love them? They take things from reality, and mix it together to get the most exaggerated, extreme, events to happen to these innocent and sometimes not so innocent characters’ lives, and make a way for them to find a happy ending, and sometimes a tearful sad ending. For those reasons, we come back for more and more…and I am no exception. The circumstances in this drama, may it be extreme and the most typical event that happen in an Asian drama, it still turns out to be a good one.
Though I have said it a million times, that I am usually not impressed with most Taiwanese dramas, be it for the dodgy cinematography, or the acting, I was pleasantly surprised with this. The cinematography if you find a good version, is nice, it pretty, and for the most part acceptable and good, the acting as well. I think this is one of the best acting I have seen in a Taiwanese drama, and this is unusual because I usually can only find good acting, in my opinion, in Ariel Lin and Mike Chang dramas. But I was surprised to see the passion and emotion in both the main actors and actresses, and the not so important actors. Though there were some, few, actors and actress that had iffy acting skills, for the most part, they were excellent. The child who played the son of the leads, wow, he was amazing. He was good at crying, being senser and having deep conversations. That takes a lot for a child of his age .
Speaking of deep conversations, though there may be, a lot, parts that you want to skip through because they seem boring and uninteresting to you, you really shouldn’t skip them. I myself, had the urge to press fast forward, to skip the main couple, and what not, but I didn’t. I hope you don’t either. This drama has some of the most interesting, intense, and deep dialog that I have ever seen. From the child, to the elders, these conversations have meaning, and aren’t just placed there to fill in space. With each dialog you get to know each character better, these conversations they have are important in learning about the characters, and seeing how they developed, and seeing their true feelings that sometimes cannot always be acted out.
Overall, I enjoyed this drama, obviously. I finished it quickly, for it being 21 episodes long. But I am not saying it is a flawless drama. I do have a bone to pick. This drama, ended too fast. There are many dramas that endings that leave you unsatisfied, and this is partially one of them. I say partially because we get a sense of closer, but the way it ended didn’t satisfy me. The feelings that they all went though, the drama and tragedy, wouldn’t be able to resolve in one episode. Though I cannot give the ending away, I just want to say that the lead couple needed another episode to get things straight, for them to either get together or for them to go their separate ways, they needed a lot more time to talk about it, and to work it out. Maybe going spate ways for a while to figure out how much they mean to one another, and to see if they really do love each other, and to show how much they would miss one another. Or to stay to just leave, and not look back, living lives as separate people and strangers. There was a sense of being rushed, and that left me a little upset, but that is the only thing that I have to really complain about this drama.
To end this, I would like to say that I do recommend this to people. For those who love a good ole melodramatic drama, to those who are interested in watching a Taiwanese drama for the first time, and for those who are looking for some sadness in their life. I think this drama will fulfill the hunger of most drama lovers, and those who are just now trying to find something to get them interested in.
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The first six episodes are brilliant at summarising and basically laying the groundwork for the rest of the series, without making the audience feel like they were loosing out. Or things were being rushed too quickly.
A beautiful story, with adorable characters (even now, I remember little Xio Bin, the five year old with the charisma of a person twice his age...wait, are 10yo's charismatic? You decide)
The grasshoppers are frigging annoying, and with them chirping horribly in one shot, and the next one everything's deadly quiet clearly show there needs to be a continuity error person on the lookout.
Also some of the supporting character's tales are worth skipping, but otherwise BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL
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What is so great about this drama to even suck in me this intense?
The drama starts very fast and the pace goes on in the same speed. The story doesn't drag.
The music fits, but sometimes I'd like the scenes to be silent. I still listen to the OST at times.
The acting is just awesome. I don't like Van Nes Wu. Yes, I hate his face and he looks so clumsy, but he did his job very good. Ady An....wow...that woman is just beautiful. She suits her role so good. I really really loved her. The boy actor is a diffrent caliber, so cute.
Chris Wu as Hua Tuo Ye was really believable, the way he acted and all. I want to have a friend like that. Also all the other actors did their job good. The only one I didn't like this much was the fiancee.
I already rewatched it so the rewatch value is high.
Don't fret because of the 21 ep or because you don't like Van Nes Wu like me just give it a try.
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Story : 10/10 of couuurs cuz the poor his hates girls he just want to show theirs real faces but when she came to his life he found out that she is innocent and really good he fell in love with her he lived for her and only her she made him believe in life and her strong love made him live cuz he was about to die he misunderstand her and lost his memory after that he got it back he thinks that she hates him trying to revenge but his love for her is still burning!!with the baby now he just couldn't hate her and never can !
Acting/cast: 10/10 cuz the cast is good you can say but theirs acting was amazing he Perfected his roll when he was sad/happy/sick you can see it from his eyes him and her and the little baby he was the best he is sooo skilled that he makes you Believe him when he cry
Music:10/10 i liked all of the ost and the soundtracks they were so amazing specially the opining song it was amazing and the songs are sooo emotional
Rewatch value: 10/10 actually i just finished it and i am rewatching it i cried with them laughed with them they were awesome
Overall:10/10 one of the best dramas i ever watched you wont regret watching it it teated me things one of the mussst watch.
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So many things going on this drama that keeps you at the edge of your seat and not wanting to miss an episode.So yes ,it makes you want to pull an all-nighter . I cried,laughed,had upsets,smiled and wanting to shake some of the characters.Do take a chance to watch it,you won't regret it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Let me start by saying that I really love this drama. I didn't know what to expect when I first started it, as I have watched only one tdrama before. The story isn't something that will blow your mind, but the execution was wonderful. Things I loved: The chemistry between the leads is great and the love story is very sweet.The child actor is just so precious and he is basically the wisest character of the show. The second leads are amazing characters, they are kind, good hearted and they genuinelly wish the best for the ones they are in love with. It is almost impossbile not to like the second lead lady (if you will watch the show, you will know what I mean). The pacing of the story is almost perfect, I didn't feel the story dragged on, even if there are 34 episodes. This drama has a lot of cliche elements, but they are done so well that it made me remember why I love Asian dramas so much.
Things I didn't love so much: the editing of the episodes was a bit annoying because between important moments of the show there are some flash back or flash forward scenes that are kind of spoilers. Maybe some people will like that, but I found myself irritated by it.
I am recommending this tdrama to all the romantic souls out there and I am surely going to watch it again.
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Very good drama that goes to show just how much good acting and chemistry matter in a series. The story and the scripts are not particularly impressive, but trust me, when you start watching, you couldn't care less. Watch if 1) you're looking for a deep love story, 2) you're looking for serious romantic business (aka skinship and cie), 3) you've had an overdose of comedy and want something different, 4) you're ready for a rollercoster ride of emotions. Don't watch if 1) You have low tolerance for relationship conflicts, 2) You have low tolerance for misunderstanding, 3) You don't like kids.
THE STORY
The premise of the show is nothing innovative and does not peak interest. At least, in my case and many others, you hear about how great the show is and then think about watching it. The few initial episodes seduce you like the best player in the world, but the rest of the show drives you insane until you reach the end and feel like your emotions were mercilessly toyed with...except that you loved it. Honestly, the story is frustrating, but it's 'real', something you can't relate to but you can find coherent, and it has characters you can only like, even if you don't always understand them.
THE ACTING
Pretty cool! I'm still new in the realm of Taiwanese dramas. It looks bad to say it, but to be honest, I started with recent romcoms, and they got me thinking that I would never be able to take Taiwanese shows seriously. The acting was almost cartoony, I'm guessing due to the genre. Autumn's Concerto shattered all my prejudice. The acting is superb. There's so much chemistry between all actors but particularly the main couple. I really believe that it's that, more than the story itself, that sucks the viewer in. The little boy is incredibly good too, which is rare for a child actor of his age.
THE MUSIC
Fab. Maybe the main theme song, I love him (Wo ai ta) by Della Ding, will not do it for you, but you'll have to admit it matches perfectly the mood of the show. And there's plenty of other tracks that you'll be able to obsess over. My personal favorite: I thought (Wo yi wei) by Victor Wang.
REWATCH VALUE
It's a matter of mind over heart. Whenever I'm searching for something to watch, my heart begs me to rewatch it, craving for all the intense emotions that it provoked, but my mind tells me not to, because I just can't deal with it. Conclusion is, I'll probably rewatch it again. More than once.
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