Our Beloved Summer (2021)

Love takes time and a lot of understanding

OKAY now I never expected to like this drama since this is the first work of Choi Woo Sik that I will ever watch. Kim Da Mi on the otherhand, watched her in Itaewon Class but barely finished it because it was just not my cup of tea. BUT BACK TO THE DRAMA.

This drama has all the tropes that I genuinely love. Haters to lovers, highschool sweethearts, exes to lovers again, slow burn and it even has a strong female lead, which I find so cool. I literally cried the first episode! And the first episode isn't even that sad. The SFL and SML didn't even irritate me. Their chemistry is chef's kiss and the sweet scenes were enough to make me wiggle my toes and feel butterflies in my stomach.

Also, Yeonsu's (The main female lead) story is so understable and realistic! Even the reason for their break up is so realistic. Everything in this drama is realistic that is why I love it so much.

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All the reference movies from OBS.

আপনি জানেন কি?
Our Beloved Summer-এর প্রায় প্রতিটা এপিসোডেই কোন না কোন বিখ্যাত বা দর্শকনন্দিত মুভির রেফারেন্স টানা হয়েছে! চলুন একটু চোখ বুলিয়ে নেয়া যাক এই রেফারেন্স মুভিগুলোর উপর!

প্রথম এপিসোডঃ I Know What You Did Last Summer
১৯৯৭ সালের মুভি ক্রাইম/হরর জনরার মুভি I Know What You Did Last Summer। একটা গ্রুপ ট্যুর দিয়ে আসার পথে চার বন্ধু একটা এক্সিডেন্ট করে। আহত ব্যক্তিকে হাসপাতালে নেয়ার পথে তারা পুরো ব্যাপারটাকে ধামাচাপা দেয়ার জন্য লাশটা একটা খাদে ফেলে চলে যায়। তারপর অনেকদিন পর সবার জীবনেই কিছু অদ্ভুত ঘটনা ঘটতে থাকে যেটার যোগসূত্র পাওয়া যায় সেই এক্সিডেন্টটার সাথে।
ড্রামাতে দেখা যায় ১০ বছর আগে করা একটা ডকুমেন্টারি হঠাৎ ভাইরাল হওয়ায় ৫ বছর আগে ব্রেকাপ করা উং আর ইয়ুন সু-র আবার দেখা হয়।

দ্বিতীয় এপিসোডঃ 1791 Days of Summer
1791 Days of Summer এর রেফারেন্স টানা যায় ২০০৯ সালের রোমান্টিক মুভি 500 Days of Summer এর সাথে। মুভির মূল মেসেজটা ছিল- Your happiness cannot be dependent on another person. মুভিতে দেখা যায় টমের পুরো জীবনটাই সামার কেন্দ্রিক হয়ে যায়। তাই সামার যখন তাকে ছেড়ে চলে যায় তখন টম নিজেকে পুরোপুরি হারিয়ে ফেলে।
ড্রামায় দেখা যায় ইয়ুন সু চলে যাবার পর উং-এর জীবনটা কিভাবে তছনছ হয়ে যায়!

তৃতীয় এপিসোডঃ 10 Things I Hate About You
১৯৯৯ সালের টিন কমেডি মুভি 10 Things I Hate About You, যেখানে ম্যালা কাহিনী শেষে কেট তার ক্রাশ প্যাট্রিকরে জানায় যে আমি তোমারে অনেক ঘৃণা করি, কিন্তু তারপরেও তোমারে ভালোবাসি!
ড্রামাতে উং ও ১০ টা কারণ খুঁজে বের করে কেন যে ইয়ুন সু-রে ঘৃণা করে, কিন্তু তারপরেও ভালোবাসে!

চতুর্থ এপিসোডঃ The Boy, or the Girl, We Liked Then
জাপানি মাঙ্গা Na Xie Nian, Wo Men Yi Qi Zhui De Nu Hai by Giddens Ko অবলম্বনে তৈরি তাইওয়ানীজ মুভি You Are The Apple Of My Eyes (2011) মুভির রেফারেন্স দেয়া হয়েছে এই এপিসোডে যেখানে দেখা যায় ক্লাসের সবচাইতে বোকাসোকা ছেলেটা সবচাইতে মেধাবী মেয়েটার প্রেমে পড়ে।
ড্রামাতেও তাই। সবচেয়ে সিরিয়াস মেয়েটা সবচেয়ে খামখেয়ালী ছেলেটার প্রেমে পড়ে।

পঞ্চম এপিসোডঃ A Secret That Can’t Be Told
২০০৭ সালের তাইওয়ানীজ মুভি Secret (অথবা A Secret That Can’t Be Told)-এর রেফারেন্স টানা হয়েছে এই এপিসোডে। সেখানে অসম্ভব এক প্রেম কাহিনী দেখা যায় যেখানে নায়ক এক মিস্ট্রি গার্লের প্রেমে পড়ে কিন্তু যার কথা কাউকে বলতে পারেনা।
জি-উং তার বন্ধুর প্রেমিকার প্রেমে পড়ে, কিন্তু বন্ধুত্বের কথা ভেবে সব চেপে যাবার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়।
উল্লেখ্য, এই মুভিটি কোরিয়াতেও রিমেকের কাজ চলছে যেখানে নায়কের ভূমিকায় EXO-র D.O. কে দেখা যাবে

ষষ্ঠ এপিসোডঃ Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen এর বিখ্যাত উপন্যাস Pride and Prejudice যেটা শত শত ভাষায় অনুদিত হয়েছে, মুভিও তৈরি হয়েছে বেশ কয়েকটা যেখানে দেখা যায় সমাজের দুই স্তরের বাসিন্দা দুই নর-নারী একে অন্যের প্রেমে পড়ে কিন্তু সামাজিক বিধি-নিষেধের বেড়া ভেঙ্গে তাদের আর এক হওয়া হয় না।
ইয়ুন সু-ও ঠিক একই কারণে উং-কে ছেড়ে যায়, কারণ তারা দুইটি আলাদা স্তরে বিলং করে।

সপ্তম এপিসোডঃ Catch Me If You Can
Leonardo Di Caprio আর Tom Hanks এর বিখ্যাত মুভি Catch Me If You Can (২০০২) দেখেননি এমন মানুষ মনে হয় খুব বেশি খুঁজে পাওয়া যাবেনা! পুরো মুভি জুড়ে চোর-পুলিশের খেলা চলে, কিন্তু কেউ কাউকে ধরতে পারেনা।
উং আর ইয়ুন সু প্রায় কনফেস করেই ফেলে যে তারা এখনো একে অন্যকে ভুলতে পারেনি। তারপর এমব্রারাসমেন্ট এড়াতে দুজনেই শ্যুটিং ছেড়ে পালায়!

অষ্টম এপিসোডঃ Before Sunset
বিখ্যাত Before ট্রিলজির দ্বিতীয় কিস্তি Before Sunset (২০০৪) যেখানে অনিচ্ছ্বা সত্ত্বেও একটা ট্রিপে গিয়ে জেসি আবার সিলেনের দেখা পায়। পুরান প্রেম জোড়া লাগে।
উং আর ইয়ুন-সু দুজনকেই কিডন্যাপ করে একটা ট্রিপে নিয়ে আসা হয় যেখানে তারা তাদের আগের ট্রিপের স্মৃতি রোমন্থন করে।

নবম এপিসোডঃ Just Friends
একশান কমেডি কিং Ryan Reynolds এর ২০০৫ সালের মুভি Just Friends এর রেফারেন্স টানা হয়েছে এই এপিসোডে। মুভিতে দেখা যায় স্কুল লাইফে জেইমি ক্রিসকে ফ্রেন্ডজোনড করে রাখে কারণ দেখতে সে খুব একটা সুবিধের ছিল না। দশ বছর পর আবার যখন তাদের দেখা হয় তখন তারা বুঝতে পারে যে তারা একে অন্যের প্রেমে পড়েছে!
উং আর ইয়ুন-সু সব ভুলে বন্ধু হবার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়! জাস্ট ফ্রেন্ডস!!

দশম এপিসোডঃ Hello, My Soul Mate
২০১৬ সালের চাইনিজ মুভি Soulmate এর রেফারেন্স দেয়া হয়েছে এই ড্রামায়। উল্লেখ্য এই মুভিটা কোরিয়াতেও রিমেকের কাজ চলছে Hello My Soulmate নামে, যেখানে মেইন লিডে অভিনয় করেছে KIm Da-mi। জ্বি, Our Beloved Summer এবং Itaewon Class এর নায়িকা কিম দা-মি! দুই বান্ধবীর লাইফ-লাস্টিং বন্ধুত্বের গল্প বলা হয়েছে মুভিতে।
চৈ উং আর জি উং-এর বন্ধুত্বের গল্প বলা হয়েছে ড্রামায়। উং এর সাথে NJ কে দেখে ইয়ুন সু-র জ্বলে, খুব জ্বলে!!

একাদশ এপিসোডঃ Our Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days
১৯৮৯ সালের ফ্রেঞ্চ মুভি My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days এর রেফারেন্স দেয়া হয়েছে এই এপিসোডে যেখানে ফিজিক্যালি ডিজেবলড নায়কের সাথে মেন্টালি সিক নায়িকার অসম্ভব ভালোবাসার গল্প বলা হয়েছে।
উং আর ইয়ুন সু আবার এক হয়। উং তার আজীবন গোপন রাখা কষ্টের কথা ইয়ুন সু-কে বলে। ইয়ুন সু দুহাত বাড়িয়ে উং-কে বুকে জড়িয়ে নেয়।

দ্বাদশ এপিসোডঃ Begin Again
Begain Again (২০১৩) মুভিতে বয়ফ্রেন্ড ডিচ করার পর মানসিক ভাবে ভেঙ্গে পড়া তরুণ গায়িকার সাথে এক মিউজিক প্রডিউসারের দেখা হয়। তারা সব ভুলে আবার নতুন করে জীবন শুরু করে।
উং আর ইয়ুন-সু আবার নতুন করে ডেট শুরু করে। একেবারে প্রথম থেকে!

ত্রয়োদশ এপিসোডঃ Love Actually
২০০৩ সালের বিখ্যাত মুভি Love Actually-র রেফারেন্স দেয়া হয়েছে এই এপিসোডে। বিভিন্ন মানুষের ভিন্ন ভিন্ন প্রেম আর বন্ধুত্বের গল্প দেখানো হয় এই মুভিতে।
ইয়ুন সু তার কলিগের কাছ থেকে ডেটিং এডভাইস নিয়ে উদ্ভট আচরণ শুরু করে উং এর সাথে। এইদিকে এসিস্ট্যান্ড ডিরেক্টর Chae Ran লাভ একচুয়েলি মুভির রেফারেন্স দিয়ে জি উং-কে জিজ্ঞাসা করে- What’s your ending?

চতুর্দশ এপিসোডঃ Life Is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful (১৯৯৭) সালের এই ক্লাসিক দেখেনি এমন কি কাউকে এখনো পাওয়া যাবে? অপ্রাপ্তির যন্ত্রণাকে কিভাবে প্রাপ্তির আনন্দ বানাতে হয় সেই গল্পই বলা হয়েছে এই মুভিতে।
সব ঠিকঠাক চলছে উং আর ইয়ুন সু-র ভেতরে। জি উং আর এনজে ও নিজেদের সামলে নিয়েছে। সল-ই তার নতুন রোমান্সের খোঁজ পেয়েছে। লাইফ ইজ বিউটিফুল!

পঞ্চদশ এপিসোডঃ Three Idiots
আমির, সারমান আর মাধবনের ২০০৯ সালের হিন্দি মুভি 3 Idiots এর রেফারেন্স টানা হয়েছে এই এপিসোডে। তিন বন্ধুর বন্ধুত্বের, স্ট্রাগলের, সফলতার আর ভালোবাসার গল্প বলা হয়েছে এই মুভিতে।
উং, ইয়ুন সু আর জি উং এর একান্তই নিজেদের গল্পগুলো বলা হয়েছে ড্রামায়। ইয়ুন সু অবশেষে তার সব দ্বিধা ঝেড়ে উং এর কাছে আত্ম-সমর্পণ করার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়। উং-ও তার খাম খেয়ালির জীবন ছেড়ে সিরিয়াস হবার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়।

ষোড়শ এপিসোডঃ Our Beloved Summer
অন্য কোন মুভি/ড্রামা নয়, এই ড্রামারই রেফারেন্স টানা হয়েছে। A life without love is like a year without summer. দিন শেষে সবাই ভালোবাসা খুঁজে পেয়েছে, জীবনের মানে খুঁজে পেয়েছে। জীবনে বসন্ত এসেছে। ওহ না, গ্রীষ্মের উষ্ণতা এসেছে!!

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Rom-com at its peak

Our Beloved Summer adds a brand new and refreshing layer to romcoms that I feel most have lacked. Although sometimes entertaining, I'd gotten bored of the regular rom-com K-Drama formula; two main leads, one with a very traumatizing and troubling past, they both somehow had a connection all the way back when they were children that they're unaware of, they get together by episode 8, spend some time resolving a side-conflict which forces them to break-up and then get back together in the end. Our Beloved Summer very VERY loosely follows this formula and adds their own charms along the way. But mostly, instead of relying on overused plot points to get viewers emotionally attached, OBS takes a more realistic and simplistic approach as they deeply dissect the true complexities of a human relationship. It's a worthwhile watch that touches you in ways without being too overtly dramatic or incredibly traumatic (not necessarily an issue if other shows do, but it's nice to see something new). The show has a way of portraying loneliness especially, and I find that it does a great job of doing it.

Besides that, OBS also has a knack for absolutely amazing cinematography. The colors not only look gorgeous on screen, but also hold their own significance. The use of seasons was stunning and overall, very pleasing to the eye. You can find several edits of The Beauty of Our Beloved Summer to see it for yourself.

And I cannot write this review without mentioning how great of a job they did on the main relationship; one of the healthiest and best executions and subversions of popular dynamics into one couple. It goes without saying that Kim Dami and Choi Wooshik absolutely killed it with their on-screen chemistry. In fact, my main complaint of this show is that I wish I had gotten to see even more of them.

If you're someone who enjoys character driven slice-of-life stories with said characters actually well-written on top of having pretty shots and scenes, definitely give this a try.

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Coming of age but with skeletons in the closet

It took me a long time to come back to this drama and finish it, but it was worth all the pain taken to sit and finish. I read a lot of reviews about it being slow paced, there being a lack of movement in plot or story, etc. I would like to add that if you're interested in character development, then this is the drama for you.
There's a popular phrase that states that you are bound to make the same mistakes over and again through the span of your lifetime. It's daunting but very easy to believe it. Every snippet of their past vowed a repetition of the same mistakes and the same habits that got them where they are, but their perseverance got them through to change. And all of that healing, all of these realizations, happened only and only because of how much they just really wanted to be with each other. Not because of their need for love, but because of their need to be better for the sake of each other. That was the highlight of this drama.
Choi Ung's art and its metaphors, interpretations, and meanings were a lovely and strong addition to his character development. Thoroughly enjoyed his character, it was very well conceptualized. Kook Yeon Soo's relationship with her grandmother and Lee Sol-I was also very insightful, but her character could have used a little bit more of the focus. There was a lack of addressal to the shift from her ambitious high school self to her office working determined but not as ambitious self. Losing all the money and having to build from ground up really changed her, and it would have been nice to have more depth into that as we got a lot of depth into Choi Ung.

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Superb drama about entering the adult world, full of sensitivity and emotion.

Story:
Reunion 10 years later, of 2 high school students who had filmed a documentary "the worst student, the best student". Afterwards, they dated for 5 years, and broke up painfully. The television crew wants to make a new documentary "what happened to them?".

Cast:
All the actors are excellent and the CL takes us into an emotional whirlwind. The chemistry between these two is palpable, amazing, natural.

Technical:
The production is dynamic and we don't get lost in useless scenes, although the narration is slow and delicate at times. This allows you to soak up the atmosphere of this drama little by little, all in sensitivity, in humanity.
The images are beautiful (the Korean directors and cameramen have really acquired a unique know-how on this point).
The OSTs are beautiful, sweet, moving.

Conclusion:
A superb moving drama about the difficulties of entering the adult world, full of sensitivity and emotion.

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It is possible to have way too much of a good thing

There are a ton of reviews for this show, so I wasn’t going to add to them, but I feel frustrated enough to want to write one. I’ll try and make it short, in keeping with my critique!

I loved how this show started. Great characters, clever interweaving of flashbacks, beautiful unfolding of relationship etc etc. But as a writer I got really frustrated watching this. There is a natural arc for any story that you write and it has an appropriate length that does it justice. The perfect length states your case and leaves a clear impression in the viewer’s mind that is just enough for them to want to hold it in their hand and gaze at it a while longer, hopefully realising things for themselves, that lead them deeper. In my mind, this is the joy of a story. Not just what is told, but where it leads you afterwards.

However, in order to realise that goal, a writer needs to do two things:
1) have the message precise in their mind;
2) write only enough to illustrate it clearly.

Mostly, too much information is written and the job of editing is the delight of tightening and sharpening and chipping away until that message shines like a cut diamond. When you have cut sufficient away for the brilliance to emerge, then you have found the natural length of your story.

But dramas are commissioned and given a length: write a story that fills 16 episodes. What happens when you need to expand the story to fill the space allotted? Your diamond gets cut to fit the setting and instead of being sparkling and sharp, it becomes cloudy and dull. The writer tried to expand the beauty that was there and in the process went round and around and around the same material until it was trampled underfoot in the endless circularity that was all the middle episodes, by which time I was barely interested enough to follow it through to its inevitable conclusion.

If this had been an 8 or even a 10 episode drama, it could have rated at 8, no trouble. There was stuff that was good. The dialogue, the performances of the leads in particular, the sets, the cinematography, the drawings featured in the show... But sadly, it just has to be a flawed 6.5 for me.

What my rating means: 6+ Some aspects of it were OK but it had serious flaws. It will pass the time but you can find something better.

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Go into it with certain expectations

I'm coming out of this drama conflicted over how I feel about it. From a slice-of-life perspective, it's fantastic. The characters are all very well thought-out, from their backgrounds and histories to their personalities and how they react to the world around them. I think Woong himself is the best example of this, introduced as the kid in school with the worst grades whose only ambition is to live comfortably. Over the course of the drama, we get a lot of depth into how he really felt during that point in his life as well as how he feels in the current day, and there are a lot of layers to his character that you wouldn't expect if you were only to see the first few episodes. Yeon Soo also has these characteristics, though her side of things didn't pull at me the same way Woong's did.

The story has a bright cast of side characters, too, who make the world feel very lively and lived-in, and they wholeheartedly make the drama better. Except... the unfortunate reality is that they're underutilized. Early on they feel like they might be important, but as the episodes go on they lose their significance. I can't really say that any of their stories are left unfinished, but none of them were particularly satisfying. Ji Woong is the best example. Early on, we're shown just how close he is to Woong, we see them growing up together and later on we see them leaning on one another. But further into the show, that starts to fade. As they pull more and more focus on the main couple, they leave him behind to deal with this small, out-of-nowhere plot with his mother. His mother is important to his character to a degree, sure, but that's all that his story amounts to in the end and that was really disappointing to see. Certain aspects (spoilers - if you watch it, you'll know) felt like they were just thrown in to find a way to end his conflict, and his romance with his coworker, which was hinted at and hinted at, was resolved very briefly out of nowhere. All of the couples but the main one were like that. We could have gotten so much more out of these characters than what we did.

That doesn't mean I hated the show. I liked it, I just didn't love it. The show shone its brightest during the original flashback scenes. All of the high school content and the original documentary was a lot of fun. Woong and Yeon Soo were lively and funny and charming, and it really felt like something special. I honestly wish the rest of the drama could have kept that feeling going, because it just became a bit generic once their adulthood started. And for a drama whose premise centred around a follow-up documentary to the one they starred in during their high school years, it didn't seem to matter all too much to the plot.

Our Beloved Summer does have some really heart-wrenching moments. The characters are very human and sympathetic, and it plays its strengths well. But it's not perfect, and it could have done better. A good example of its shortcomings is the plagiarism incident that happens early on in the drama. Another artist goes on television and implies that Woong has plagiarised him, but when comparing both artworks it doesn't really become apparent how the work was allegedly plagiarised, other than (I think - don't remember too clearly) them being drawings of the same (or similar if I'm remembering incorrectly) building. The thing about buildings is that if they're drawn at the same viewing angle, those drawings will look pretty similar. It's a bold claim and one that's taken very seriously in the art world, but I couldn't see the plagiarism myself because of that and thought, well, maybe they'll point out how it was plagiarised. But they didn't. They introduced the conflict and used it to push their plot along and show different facets of their characters, but they didn't care about the plagiarism itself. Naturally, Woong did not plagiarise. If anything, I believe that the other artist plagiarised Woong, but what bothered me was that there didn't seem to be a reason for this claim to be believed. Woong didn't address it and it faded from the story. Like a lot of other subplots. It came in, caused some trouble, and then vanished without any real resolution.

So, watch Our Beloved Summer. It's cute, and they care a lot about their characters. Well, about the main 2. Like cute couple scenes? Watch it. Like slice-of-life? Watch it. Don't like things feeling half-finished? Well, then maybe this one isn't for you.

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one of my fav dramas so far

Everything about this drama is perfect so far. The acting is well done, the express the emotion perfectly. the story plot is simply but interesting enough to captivate viewers and pull them along for each episode, and even make views think about their own life and relationships. The beautiful cinematography makes it hard for viewers to look away, it help strengthens the mood and emotions in scenes, especially with the help of pathetic fallacy. Also looooovee the ost, v's voice is like a comforting hug after you feel the emotions portrayed in the drama. The only bad thing about this is having to wait every week, every episode makes me longing for the next. 10/10 would recommend this drama. only on ep 8 will alter when finished

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OverHyped

Had gr8 potential but iam disappointed and also the female lead is annoying and often selfish. She loves then leaves the male lead with no explanations. This is not love. Leaving someone to pick up the pieces after your breakup is immature and doesnt let the other person get closure. If the roles were reversed, we would be calling the person toxic. Unfortunately, women seem to get away with a lot more selfishness in dramas. Netflix has great production, music, locations but somehow loses out on empathatic characters. The women are portrayed as get-up-and-leave kinds in the name of female emancipation and freedom. I just dont get it. Had Dropped the drama after 12, felt its draggy . Drama could have finished in 10 or 12epi .She seems to be stuck, acting out like a high schooler.

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TOXIC AT ITS MOST

Many people are going to disagree with me but this show is SO overrated just because the casts are famous people. If this show were to casts unknown actors and actresses it wont go far.

First of, i hated the FL. Her character and personality in thr drama was too much for me. But then again, this is only my personal opinion. I read the review and ALMOST ALL the reviews said this was a good drama but when i watched it, i felt like i was watching a totally different drama. The FL annoyed me in every single episodes and their relationship, was HIGHKEY toxic. She was too dominant was him and he, was weak.

They kept breaking up OVER SMALL THINGS and then make up. If that aint red flag i don’t know what is. Overall, i did not enjoy this drama. Don’t get me wrong, i love both actors but i just did not see what the hybe is about.

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