This review may contain spoilers
All those enthusiastic letters! They can't go unchallenged.
The love story was implausible piecemeal. Side plots were pursued for a tiringly long time. Also the annoying: "I want to spare my friend suffering, therefore I torture him terribly, but with good intentions", could not be missing, because the end was near.There was of course a love triangle, so much time must be! The FLs sidekick seemed more important than the ML and had more scenes felt. The FLs in Korea always break the hearts of the greatest men, even when, as here, the FLs are simple-minded, almost dead, moderate-looking, and treat the great men like cab drivers. The glorification of FL was exaggerated to excess, including their professional skills.
FL is not a likable person overall, although she appears that way on the surface. She intentionally ruins ML's life plan, as critical as one may be of his perspective on life. She does not love him very much, as eagerly as she constantly pursues other interests. She is consistently selfish, hiding that behind her countenance of suffering. Rarely is there any reference to the precious time that remains. Wasting her time: she takes a bit of revenge, does nice things too, so what? Why should one also be precious with precious time?
Probably because of the flaws, the series drowns in a stream of tears. And an ending can be so mendacious that it cracks: the people want it, the writers write it.
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The premise "I want to live even when I am dying" is a cliché, in this drama, the intensity of that feeling is powerful. I fall in love with this drama because of the emotion portrayed by every character and how they make me feel. I laugh; I cry and even ask myself why this thing happens, because in real life they happen. I specially love the music and the tango scenes, they are superb! Can't wait for the other episodes!!
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WOW!!! A must watch drama for those who want to change their life.
I have watched several movies where the main character may die due to illness and usually the theme is that how a person learns to love and the family has to prepare to say their goodbyes.First let me get few things of my chest before I describe what really moved me about this drama. I would have given this drama a perfect 10 if it were not for episodes 10-13. The three episodes dragged on and on about FL's depression. I understand that for a cancer patient, depression would be a part all the emotions but in this case it was too much. However, in retrospect as I write this review, may be the writers were thinking that it is very difficult to stand tall in front of circumstances without allies and the love of your life.
Second.. Acting: I am in love with KIM SUN AH's acting skills. She really carried the character and the emotions till the end. Not for one second I felt that she was acting. I also give high marks to the doctor Uhm Ki Joon who had the most transformation of this drama. So from my POV, Yeon Jae (FL) & Eun Suk (doctor) were the heroes of this drama and the director executed their relationship very well. I was not too thrilled with mom's acting especially at the critical moment of mom's discovery of daughter's cancer. I think Kim Hye OK (mom) could have done a better job. Her acting at that moment looked fake and it took away from this beautiful drama.
My Interpretation of this drama:
This drama is not for everyone. This is NOT a ROM/COM. It is a serious drama giving a powerful message about creating a life of the dreams for oneself. The cancer and life/death situation was there to WAKE the FL up and take action. When she threw all the caution to the wind, she finally started to LIVE!!. That's when the work of transforming her life began. For me the following quote from the drama sums it up:
"There isn't much to life. It is not like we take our money and power with us when we die. we just live each day by seeing the person we love. As we live like that, that'll be a happy life".
I also learnt from this drama about self-respect. One cannot begin to create a life of their dreams until one begins to fully self respect themselves first. Expecting self-respect from others without loving myself first is a futile effort. The journey begins inside at first. In this drama when our FL put herself and her happiness first, it was wonderful to watch how people around also transformed.
I hope you watch this drama. The ending was a bit of a surprise but did not disappoint me. Thank you the writers, the actors for such a beautiful work of art and life.
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This could be in every romantic fan's bucket list...
I am a little divided with this drama...I usually want stories that has close and happy endings. But, sometimes, an ending that we can cherish and maybe is open to our dreams and hopes is nice.
Sometimes poetry is not written but rather portrait in a movie. Even with some unnecessary moments, this drama delivers good pace, silent and will give you warmth at the same time that punches you with an endless winter.
STORY – it is quite simple but very well written. We have it all, the characters are deep enough for us to understand them, the situations also. Is it a love story? Well, it is so any stories in one.
ACTING – awesome acting for the most of the cast.
MUSIC – the music is used very well, painting the scenes in a good way.
REWATCH – never. This drama is awesome, but remind me “Grave of the fireflies”, a wonderful “anime” movie that I advise everyone to watch, but I will never view it again.
OVERALL – a beautiful story. If you like that, please watch and let your mind dream of a new hope…
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This review may contain spoilers
2011/SBSI initially choose to watch other drama's before I started on this one, as the plot descriptions I read didn't really warm me up too much. For anyone with similar doubts though, I can safely recommend this drama to you. Scent of a Woman is a good example of how older dramas used to be made and therefor many viewers will discover recognizable (if not predictable) plot devices, story lines and actors/actresses. The successful recipe that these types of dramas are made from is executed well enough to make this worth your time.
I have some good things to say about cast, but I don't believe its perfect or near perfect. This drama could have been better if the casting was done more carefully (or different anyway). First of all, Kim Sun Ah (as Lee Yeon-Jae). How she manages to look so much younger than she did in 2005's My Lovely Sam Soon, I am not sure, but does she look stunning! As one could expect in advance, she doesn't even need to rely on her appearance, because those familiar with her works know she will deliver an excellent performance. Roles like these are made for her, and she plays them like no other. Secondly, there is male lead Lee Dong-Wook. Seeing as I have yet to see the drama My Girl, Scent of a Woman is the first time I see him perform. A new face almost always takes getting used to and this is no exception. There's very little I really have to say about his performance, seeing as I was not very impressed nor disappointed. It was passable overall, but not convincing enough in my opinion. His character's action stretch the limits a little at times and too little is done to support his character's sudden interest in Lee Yeon-Jae. He's no Hyun Bin just yet.
Spoilers Removed!
http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/mk34n/scent_of_a_woman???_??_2011sbs_classic_korean/
Spoilers Removed!
Secondary female lead Seo Hyo-Rim was miscast in my opinion. She is, or comes across as, too young to be taken seriously compared to the rest of the lead cast. One who could also come across as a 16 year old school girl simply does not perform convincingly as a director of a large company.
The supporting cast is almost entirely flawless. Kim Hye-Ok as the essential KDrama mother does precisely what is expected of her and comes to life especially in the later episodes. Sa Hyeon-Jin as Lee Yeon-Jae's girlfriend is unfortunately not given too much screen time. My guess is her character had to give away a lot of room to doctor Eun-Suk. She did the best she could with the limited resources she's been given, but overall fails to stand out. Of the company's staff, two particularly stand out. Eternal comic relief Kim Kwang-Kyu has a very nice two-faced personality in Scent of a Woman, which is an improvement over his earlier one dimensional characters as in Oh! My Lady and The Accidental Couple. His tango scenes with Chae Ji-Yeon (Veronica) are energizing and enjoyable. Secondly, there's Son Seong-Yun (as employee Nam Na-Ri). After seeing her in My Princess in a supporting role as well, it's time she gets cast in a bigger role for a change. She'll need more than her pretty and cute appearance, but she deserves a chance. I wasn't too impressed with Lee Jeong-Kil's performance as the Chairman/Dong-Wook's father though, he should pay some more attention to Park Yeong-Gyu, who does a better 'company chairman' in Protect The Boss. The other supporting characters do well although it is a little unfortunate that Jeong Dong-Hwan (as Yeon-Jae's mother's love interest, Teacher K) arrives late into the drama. His entry would have been welcomed at the start.
From the cast, to the script. Scent of a Woman is mostly a classic in this sense, and little of surprise is introduced as we see another drama unfold where a rich chaebol's son falls for the 'poor' hard working 30+ woman.
Spoilers Removed!
http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/mk34n/scent_of_a_woman???_??_2011sbs_classic_korean/
Spoilers Removed!
On a completely different and lighter note, the tango scenes. I read raving reviews about this and while I personally didn't think the popular scene in question (Episode 8) was the best thing ever to happen on Korean television, but it was well done. This goes for the performance with Doctor Eun-Suk later on as well, but even more for the early scene on the beach with the older foreigner and the dance with Veronica and Bong-Kil as the tango teachers. A great way to liven up this drama, which despite focusing on Yeon-Jae's attempts to make her last months the best of her life, still is overall quite a sad story.
This is a drama that is very much story and character driven, so I'll not give as much attention to the production value of Scent of a Woman. I have no particular complaints, although I do get annoyed a little when another drama production team is unable to make a car go fast without speeding up footage or stage an accident in a convincing fashion. It doesn't matter though, the production is adequate and doesn't distract the viewer in any way. Compliments on the scenes shot in Australia, they are great!
The soundtrack is a disappointment. The only music that stayed with me longer than a few moments is the ring tone that Yeon-Jae's phone plays (mostly in the first half). Other than that, nothing really stands out (including the karaoke sessions and the fan meeting) and that's a shame when I recall the soundtracks from dramas that I've seen recently (IRIS, Protect The Boss, Secret Garden). This didn't distract me either, don't get me wrong, but it is a missed opportunity nonetheless.
Overall, this is definitely a drama I would recommend to anyone who likes the average Korean drama. The classic set up works well with superstar female lead Kim Sun Ah and the rest of the actors and the script support her into making this drama a success. The few issues I have with the plot and some of the performers are minor, so go watch this if you haven't already!
7/10
http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/mk34n/scent_of_a_woman???_??_2011sbs_classic_korean/
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I never expected to get tears in the first episode already - the story hooked me from the beginning and I cried like almost in every episode because it really really touched me. The story is about a woman who's trying to fight for her life and her love at once and she carries you along with her - it's impossible to NOT get hooked on this drama...
It is certainly not something light to watch because it's such a serious topic which is still so present in our world and lives. They involved some comedy in the story but you never really lose that serious frame which builds up the whole drama.
The story started off very strong and makes curious how it will continue.
The Acting and the Cast was off the charts! The chemistry between the main couple was so real you could actually feel it yourself while watching this drama.
I love how Lee Dong Wook and Kim Sun Ah play their roles, they really got to me.
ALSO I have to mention the dancing as I'm a dancer myself and danced the Tango or as in this drama: the Tango Argentino. Those scenes especially between the Lee Dong Wook and Kim Sun Ah were truely amazing! I got chills watching them.
The story also never lets you off or calm down. You always had to worry about something that is happening and you could feel the atmosphere this drama is creating.
I also liked the music - although it was quite cringy at some points but oh well - who cares?!
As I'm a total wreck now that finished this drama, I probably would wait a good while until I would actually watch it again.
I love this drama through and through <3
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This one touched your heart and showed you that love is possible in the most unlikely place and with the most unexpected person. This is one of those that gives you hope for love. It shows you that love can truly conquer all, if you just have a little faith in it.
I'm sorry, I'm a hopeless romantic! That was really mushy and now that I've said that, I can review the drama. Great chemistry! The cast was awesome. My favorite is Uhm Ki Joon's character (Chae Eun Suk). He was such a refreshing reminder that love comes in all forms. i half wanted Kim Sun Ah's character to end up with him. A must see... again and again and again... :)
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It's been a while since I've come across a show that has left me re-evaluating my own life after watching it, and it's one of the rare few dramas that actually has a heroine that was going through things in her life that I could really identity with.
The cast is amazing and the plot moves along at a good pace. Thankfully the angst and conflicts don't drag on for too long, and lastly, the message of the story itself is simply inspiring and moving. And I do encourage everyone to give this a chance.
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The three leads are so awesome that I can even forget about the rest of the characters (who were irritating for most part). Kim Sun -A was amazing as a woman with a terminal illness trying to make the most of her every remaining moment. And Lee Dong Wook was perfect (and so hot). I was already his fan but after watching this he has become my most favorite korean actor. His facial expressions were flawless and conveyed so much emotion. And together Kim Sun -A and Lee Dong Wook had sizzling chemistry. The other lead Uhm Ki-Joon as her doctor and childhood friend was wonderful. His transformation from a cold hearted guy to a truly sensitive doctor was stunning to watch as was his crush on Kim Sun -A's character.
Thankfully this drama never veered of into the melodrama category and managed to give an uplifting story without being too unrealistic or trying to force unnecessary tears from the viewers. The story was sweet, funny and touching. The ending was perfect and is one of my favorite drama endings ever.
As to the rewatch value, well i have already seen it Three times so......
All in all one of my favorite dramas of all time.
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