Han Ji Min and Kim Hye Ja deliver stunning performances.
Some really great characters, I thought the brother was a really different character and I really enjoyed the playful relationship he had with Hyun-Joo.
Nothing in the sound track particularly stood out, but it wasn't bad either, I think it's more a sign that what was going on in the story drowned everything out emotionally.
I think it's definitely got to be worth at least one rewatch, because once you finish it you'll probably want to watch it again to see if, knowing how it ends, you understand what goes before it differently.
So good.
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There is no light in those eyes...
The Light in your Eyes is the most depressing drama I’ve watched. It is depressing because the heartwarming scenes were always followed by heart wrenching ones. Every episode was designed to make me cry. This was an emotional roller-coaster I would have preferred not to be on.The drama is about the life of an unfortunate woman and the way she deals with ageing. The acting gets better as the story progresses but I just couldn’t get over the number of unfortunate incidents that a single family suffers through. I felt everything was a bit too over the top.
The plot in the last three episodes confused and irritated me. The plot twist was superfluous and made the previous episodes an unnecessary drag. While 12 episodes is short I felt they should have condensed it further to 8 and I would have probably appreciated the story more. This was a struggle to finish because I am not a fan of crying all the time.
I decided to watch this drama because people have been raving about it but I just couldn't get myself to like it. Overall this is a tearjerker and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone for an easy watch cause it’s anything but easy. Unless you want to be depressed and bawl in every episode, this drama is not for you.
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1“I couldn’t properly embrace myself once, in my entire life. So I suffered.”
This review is extremely subjective. I won’t even try to pretend there is anything objective in it. Knowing there will be some kind of plot twist ruined the show for me. Before it happened, I was feeling a lot of frustration and impatience to know what it is, but since I predicted it early on, I just felt disappointed when it was revealed.Here’s the thing, while the show has some amazing moments, life lessons concerning treasuring your life, every little moment, appreciating people around you etc, I truly did not like the majority of the characters. The last episode sucked all the sympathy I might have had for Kim Hye Ja with just two or three scenes. That’s an achievement.
I do believe the show was unnecessarily depressing and sad. After 10 episodes of misfortunes that were multiplied in the last two episodes, the closing narration just completely missed the mark for me. It was like putting a plaster on a plane crash victim.
Talking about the twists - if you start the drama knowing there will be one, there is a high chance you will predict it. For me, the expectations of some unexpected, well built twists made me disappointed when in reality it was the most obvious scenario that could have happened. Because of that, the last episodes just had little emotional impact on me - the disappointment was too strong for other emotions to surface.
The acting was truly amazing. I was especially amazed by Ahn Nae Sang, Lee Jung Eun, and surprisingly Nam Joo Hyuk's performance. While Ahn Nae Sang and Lee Jung Eun aced the more subtle emotions, Joo Hyuk truly delivered with the strongly emotionally charged ones.
Overall, I don’t regret watching it. As I said, it had great messages and moments, many memorable lines and conversations. Yet, the primary emotion I will associate with it till the end will be disappointment.
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I can't even imagine if there is any other content like this!!!
Never I saw a drama like this. From beginning till the end, I was in awe of the characters, story, writing, music and the cold and chilly sadness of this creation.There was no science fiction, there was no time travel, it was no fantasy. It was a story of a women trying to figure out her life, after such oppression of time.
She grew-up poor, loved by family, fell in love with the most loneliest person. Their life was short lived but she was so in love, that after he was taken away...her love turned to stone. She couldn't love anyone, not even herself, she suppressed her emotions and wanting to forget her pain, she did the worst possible thing - turning her back toward their son, the only thing she could have really loved. She froze in time, broken all the way inside, not knowing the light she needed was always there, but perhaps there was too much darkness notice that. Now old, and suffering from the incurable illness, she try to relived her life, as could have happened, if he wasn't taken away. She was finally able to save her love this time, going back and forth in her memory to help him live. In last hours of her life, she was able to convey her love, she hid from his for 50 years. Even after such sadness and unhappiness, she was content, she choose the happy moments she had in life. In her final moments, she crosses that bridge of "light" and succumbs to her love in the end, and they both embraced each other for eternity.
Acting: Kim Hye ja is an acting godess of Korean cinema so no comments on her further. But this young actor Nam, made me fall in love with his acting this time for this drama, he had for his age, toughest scenes, and he nailed every scene of his, and as always Han Ji-Min did what she does best. Hats off to this drama.
I can't even imagine if there is any other content like this!!!
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"your eyes. they shine so bright. i want to save their light."
I don't know what I liked or disliked about this drama. All I know is that I cried a lot, especially in the last episodes. This drama made me question a lot of things and this drama also made me realize a lot of things.No one wants their loved ones to die and no one is ready to see their loved ones' death. And I realized that soon after watching this drama because something similar happened to me. It made me realize that we, humans, are nothing without feelings and I am one of those of human.
Maybe, this drama is not that deep and I am being biased. But if you watch this, then I believe you will relate to a lot of these things. Honestly, that is what I like about 《The Light In Your Eyes》. It shows the most usual human emotions with a dramatic effect. At times, the dramatic effect can get a bit too much and make the drama seem rather ridiculous. But the emotions picks it up and you will be "in-touch" with the drama no matter how weirdly dramatic it seems.
The qoute I wrote as the headline is not from the drama, but I think it pretty much sums up all the female lead's feelings for her loved ones and the male lead (he is also her loved one) and most of her goals in the drama. She wants to save everyone she loves and she wants to live with them like she did before. She wishes to see the light in their eyes for a long, long time.
The female lead, in the first few episodes, might seem insecure, jealous and somewhat selfish. But as the story progresses, you will end up liking her and will find her somewhat relatable.
The male lead doesn't do much, but his presence is sad and bittersweet and his interactions with the female lead, both as young and old, are sweet, motivating and hilarious.
The romance between the female lead and the male lead is not like the other melo- romance dramas as there aren't many intimate scenes. But they became one of my favourite couple.
The family members of Hye-ja are another focus of the drama. And their interactions keeps the story going not making it boring, but rather hilarious and sad. They care for eachother, love eachother, and they gives the most comedic relief in the drama.
All the actors are known faces for me and no one disappointed me. Lee Joon-ha became my favourite Nam Joo-hyuk character and I don't think any other character can replace him. This was my second Han Ji-min drama and this made me fall in love with her acting. Her acting is so natural and she can potray any emotions just perfectly.
The music was somewhat unique because it had a classical mood in it which I don't usually see in such dramas.
I think re-watching 《The Light In Your Eyes》 would make it seem boring as the storyline would be known to you. But I feel since the drama itself mostly focuses on emotions and human growth, it will be a decent drama to re-watch.
"even if one ordinary day is followed by another ordinary day, life is still worth living. don't waste the present regretting and worrying about the future. live this day beautifully"
《The Light In Your Eyes》 wishes to follow the same goal as the quote which is from the drama. And it does a great job creating the right mood for a scene and the right emotions are provided in that scene.
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I fast-forwarded through most of the drama, but even I have to admit it was beautiful..
Those who expect a romance or a romcom will be sorely disappointed - but you will be rewarded with a powerful social message and beautifully written characters and storyline. It makes you cry A LOT, but the slow pace of life shown reflects the actual message from the series - life is quite mundane and ordinary most days, but we must find the beauty and meaning from it where we can.I didn't know what to expect so I found the early episodes quite slow and boring. But after Episode 8, I started appreciating the message the writers were sending us - that when we are young, we refuse to accept we will get old and we take things for granted.
Overall, I would recommend the drama, but only if you are ready and willing to go through some powerful emotions and accept the slow pace of unfolding. Yes, and do watch out for that famous plot twist!
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The Light in Your Eyes shows a lot of the contempt and belittling that old people receive. The story deals with this often in a wide array of situations, trying to reflect what it feels like to be old, and at times how age becomes a sole reason to be disregarded.
Even more interestingly, it gets to show it from an audience perspective as well, and that’s really infrequent in pro-youth, always glamorous K-drama. I saw lots of comment from people who were just waiting for the old version of Kim Hye Ja to go away (seeing all she did as wrong) and the 25-year-old to return, refusing to believe that the “grandmother” is the main character (and also despite the fact that Kim Hye Ja is a better actress than Han Ji Min. I do not intend to take away from what Han Ji Min does, but the skill from the older lady really shows).
In fact, after it seemed her old version had done all she could for the story, even I was eager for the protagonist to go back to her younger self so that all the characters could have a better life. It’s a pretty sad symptom, but it’s good that Dazzling is able to bring it out clearly.
As it happens there is a lot the drama wants to bring out—on the sad side. Scamming, solitude, neglect, bitterness. It communicates these aspects of real life well enough that one can actually learn something from it, despite the inconsistencies visible in the plot if one looks away from it as separate, isolated scenes or cases and sees it whole.
And there are many inconsistencies.
Dazzling is unredeemably slow. I thought it was about to pick up after episode three, but it didn’t. And this happens with a lot with many things in the drama. When a character is about to make sense, something happens that changes them and it’s as if we didn’t know them at all. When it looks like the plot is going to progress at last… the turning point never comes. The episodes throw one bait after another to make you look forward to a scene, or tell you “this will solve it!” and it never comes, it doesn’t work out like that. “Bad guys” get away as they please and do what they want, the good characters are certain comic relief at times but often don’t do more than that.
Neither the changes of pace nor the connection between one event and the next are well done in the slightest, and it really hurt my patience to find out things such as a couple of episodes being spent on a “lost” dog to then find out that after that dramatic problem was “solved”, the dog was just never brought up again.
Examples like these are later pushed aside due to more important events, but it makes the episode-by-episode watching frustrating nonetheless.
Summarising over the categories, in “Story” it’d be helpful to be able to differentiate between premise and execution, because in a case such as this one I’d definitely use that. The soundtrack doesn’t stand out at all, and on the other hand the acting is great and for many characters it gets better and better as it goes on (Han Ji Min’s which I mentioned above, for instance). And I’d never think of re-watching this drama.
Overall, this drama is strange. The premise isn’t the reason as much as the uneven, tremendously hole-filled plot of inconsistent tone, content and pace. It’s especially weird because most characters do earn a place for themselves and are sensitively defined even among all those fragrant issues.
I would decidedly not “recommend” The Light in Your Eyes because it’s actually really hard to watch. It takes constant patience, it’s tremendously boring every few scenes (it brings your interest back up in-between so that you still watch) and often I couldn’t convince myself that I wasn’t just plainly wasting my time, and there’s something that will test even the most tolerant viewers. (Something which I’m leaving out entirely in this review and that would change the context of some things I’ve written entirely.)
However there is good in this story as well, some of it rare and a lot of details very worth-watching. And depending on how you take the plot-choices, watching it whole might actually make you love it more, rather than less.
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This review may contain spoilers
You’d actually think it’s your typical light hearted rom com with a slight dark background, but it ends up driving you to an unexpected destination, leaving you feeling blessed and grateful about life... First, the writers were brilliant. This story was well thought of and planned, you can conclude that every story in the series was carefully considered. They successfully conveyed the hardships of time passing by, people leaving, and our tendency to take each other for granted. Wow.
Second, the actors were too brilliant. I never really appreciated the “background” characters... but here, they turn out becoming the main stories in the end. It’s such a joy to reach the end and see everything make sense. (again, writing was... wow)
Third, it’s my first time seeing a drama dedicated to our beloved grandmas and grandpas. I’ve always had a soft spot for old people, and this one just spoke to that side of me too well.
Fourth, just the fact that you thought it was about this story but it ended up becoming about another, all along... it literally made me gasp, confused for a split second, then gasp again at the realization of how beautiful this series was to actually focus on family and life. It’s really not just a love story.
I’m really in awe.
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I dropped it but picked it back up and finished
I don't know if I would have disliked this drama if I had binged it all the way through. I got through the first 8 episodes months ago, and then paused and didn't think I would finish. I don't know what made me decide to go ahead and finish it up.This is a very slow story and has a twist to it that wasn't wholly unexpected but not completely how I though it would play out either. I don't want to give it away, but this show ended up being pretty raw and ended up making me cry in the end. I don't think it's for everyone, so I can't say that I'd recommend it for everyone. I feel like some people will hate it, and some people may appreciate it for personal reasons like I did.
Kim Hye Ja is a great actress and really carried this drama. Nam Joo Hyuk seems sort of awkward, and for Han Ji Min, I don't think she got enough of the spotlight but did a good job with her role.
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This drama wrecked me
In a good way. A really beautiful story that takes you on a journey and hits you with truth and a little pain when you least expect it. Definitely one of my ten, need to update that list...The acting is superb, which is no surprise and I loved seeing a drama featuring an older woman as the star that wasn’t written solely about or for an older audience. This show will open up your mind and help you see the world and others in it in a new way, a more honest and complete way. Helps us remember there’s good and bad about every stage in life, and never dismiss others based on age, young or old.
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good acting but confusing story
Every so often, I would try to pick a good Korean drama to watch. It will not be fair to say that this drama was not good, but I definitely did not feel good after watching.Is it just me, I wonder? Korean dramas, many a time, though try to convey thought-provoking and inspiring messages to audiences at the end of the show, tend to have stories with lots of angst and make them sensational, but sometimes ended up making the stories more complicated and confusing than they should have been.
This 12-episode drama gave a glimpse of how in order to save and have something back, one has to give up in return another thing of the same value or at least that was what I thought it was trying to convey.
Kim Hye Ja (Han Ji Min), though wasn’t sure about her direction in life, was an optimistic and bubbly 25-year-old girl. She found a watch on a beach when she was young and this mysterious watch when winded, allowed her to turn back time. When her father met with an accident, she desperately winded the watch, hoping to prevent the accident from happening. Despite trying many times, she failed again and again. Eventually, at the very last attempt, she managed to save her father’s life, but as a result turned into a 70-year-old woman herself.
The initial 10 episodes of this drama were interesting. They showed in detail Kim Hye Ja’s initial shock and her gradual acceptance from a 25-year-old girl to a 70-year-old woman who was acted by another actress also by the name of Kim Hye Ja. The problems she faced all of a sudden as a 70-year-old woman were realistic, such as not being able to run like before, knees cracking after climbing up a few steps, feeling tired and wanting to rest after walking just a short while, not being able to see as well as before, feeling sleepy early in the night and waking up very early in the morning, etc. I felt intrigued watching all of these. They were portrayed so well in the older Kim Hye Ja. Although I did wonder why they didn’t use the same actress, the older Kim Hye Ja looked convincing enough with similar face features, build and mannerisms as the younger one.
This drama also highlighted some of the issues faced by less well-off families in Korea and problems faced by the elderly in the Korean society – abandonment by their own children, loneliness and suicide.
I had wanted to give this drama a high score when I was watching the first 10 episodes, in fact I binge-watched the 10 episodes in less than 2 days because I was really curious to know what would happen to Hye Ja at the end, whether she would remain as an old lady or return to her original state and how, and what would become of her romance with Lee Joon Ha (Nam Joo Hyuk), the cute-looking male lead.
However, I changed my mind entirely after watching the last 2 episodes. I do not know how to describe my feelings towards these 2 final episodes. It felt like a different team of scriptwriters took over the script-writing or the scriptwriters couldn’t decide how to continue the story, or simply they just changed their minds and decided that they did not wish to continue with the original script, but all in all it was a total letdown for me…It was incoherent and I was watching with bewilderment the whole time. I did not quite understand why things were happening the way they were because what I saw in the first 10 episodes seemed no longer valid. The characters were the same, but the setting was no longer the same. It felt like what happened in the first 10 episodes was just a dream, imagination or illusion of Kim Hye Ja or was it not? I wasn’t sure.
I will not be able to describe my thoughts of the last 2 episodes without some spoilers, but as I do not want to write spoilers in this review, I will just touch a little. Simply put, there was a twist in the last 2 episodes, totally unexpected, everything just changed all of a sudden and we were thrown to the year 1970 when Hye Ja and Joon Ha (whose wig was hilarious – the typical long straight and thick hair of the 1970s) met before their parents’ times. There were neither explanations nor hints, maybe there were, but I didn’t see nor understand them. And then we were brought back to the so-called present where we saw Hye Ja, an old lady in a nursing hospital with slight dementia and her father and mother in the past 10 episodes were now her son and daughter-in-law. We were then shown frequent flashbacks on her life with Joon Ha in the 1970s from their dating, marriage, birth of their son, death of Joon Ha to just Hye Ja and her son eventually.
All the while, until the very end, I was hoping for an explanation or at least clearer hints as to which was actually the present time, which was the past, what exactly happened, how were the last 2 episodes related to the past 10 episodes, was the watch responsible for all these, but I never got the answers from what I saw, at least not from watching it once. Maybe I have to re-watch twice or even thrice to better understand.
As for the cast and their acting, I have no negative comments – from the first episode to the end. I think their acting was believable, everyone of them from the main leads to the supporting leads did a good job. When they were jubilant, sad, helpless, desperate, or even silently devastated, whatever emotions, I could feel and empathize with them and I cried or laughed with them. The BGM also helped. Such were the emotions I had when I watched the first 10 episodes, but the last 2 episodes had me in disbelief that this was the show I had binge-watched the day before. The acting was still just as convincing, but the turn of the story gave me so much confusion that I couldn’t wait for the show to end. The incoherence made everything, whether it was the movements or the conversations, suddenly just became meaningless, exasperatingly slow and draggy.
Overall, I would still recommend this drama to anyone, because I did enjoy the first 10 episodes, but enjoy the first 10 episodes and be prepared for some confusion in the 10th and a half episode mark onwards till the end.
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