This review may contain spoilers
The best Korean drama EVER
This is my most favorite Korean drama ever. Every family's story, the community, the sea, everything is perfect. Every actor gave their best and they were totally like their character throughout the whole drama. The last episode will make you cry a lot.Just sit back, relax and let this drama heal you.
Was this review helpful to you?
It gets better the more you watch it
I wasn't sure to continue watching this after the first two episodes. But I'm glad that I finished the series. It keeps getting better every episode. Because the first few episodes don't determined the whole series. Since the story is not revolving on one character, but almost every character in the series. Main roles would keeps changing around, sometimes the main role would become support role, or the support role would become the main later in the series. Which gives us much better understanding of the relationship between every character. The ending gives me a very satisfying feeling that made me glad that I watched the series.So if you are one of those people like me who wasn't sure to continue watching this after first few episodes, I strongly suggest you to continue the series, you'll thank me later. I can confidently say this is the best series I've watched this year.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The warmth Blue brought along with it has filled the heart.
I started it after watching shorts of hyeon and young ju and Jeong joon. But fall in love with Eun Hui, Dong seok, In kwon, ho sik and Eun ki. Min ra, Seon Ah is not a exception in this line up.The way this showed the reality and the beauty of the life which we see everyday life along with the practical difficulty that the life throws at every human in different ways with no exaggeration is so beautiful.
The fact that each frame make your heart long for more is the best justice the actors made to the story with the way they protrayed. You will laugh, you will cry, You will travel and you will make the character yours is the real success this drama got.
The struggles showed are real so is the way the characters handled it. The fact that they showed some real struggles of people from the other walks with an underlying social issues like teen pregnancy, social judgementals based on what one see on surface, the intolerance of the differences among people is something worth applauses. Especially in the portions of hyeon and young ju's storyline. The fact that they matured overtime while accepting and making the others accept them is awesome. And the maturity young ju's friends showed is awesome. And the bond of young sisters is something special.
Overall, The best one I saw in recent times.
Was this review helpful to you?
The lives of people living in Jeju
It's the stories of people's lives. Mostly their struggles in life.It's about connections between people and growing up poor and struggling to make a living and relationships and families. There's a lot of sadness and illnesses and mental health issues. Things we all face.
But there's hope as well.
It's not a depressing show or anything like that. It's not one of those shows where it wallows in misery, pain, and depression. It shows people finding strength to overcome or live with such pain and move on with their lives. There's a realism to many of these stories and I definitely can relate to many of these stories myself.
The music reminds me of Il Postino.
The character that I most align with is Dong Seok. I can feel his anger and pain and what a terrible life he has lived. But with each story, there is hope and strength.
It's not a show that will have you crying every episode. Far from that. It shows many facets of human lives that each of us can relate to and shows what it is to be human.
I skipped several of the latter episodes centering on the kid.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
To tell you the truth, I almost dropped this show somewhere in the beginning. I forgot which part but I did thought of that. BUT... I am so glad that I didn't. I'm glad that I finished the whole show and I have to say I really love it. This show just gave me warmth. It was about friendship, love, family, and most importantly... accepting yourself.
The casting and acting were phenomenal. It was really outstanding. Script, music, everything was on point. It made me feel happy, it made me cry, it made me feel love, anxious... to cut the long story short, it was an emotional rollercoaster (but in a good way ?)
Honestly, am finding it hard to put my emotions into words since I just finished the show less than 5 minutes ago but I loved it. BRAVO!!!!
PS: It was really nice to see Woobin and Mina in one scene ehehehehe I consider those small moments a bonus for me ?
Was this review helpful to you?
A wonderful unfolding of layered characters.
I’m wrapped up in a comfort blanket eating too much 70% chocolate, a surfeit of endorphins and caffeine. Netflix has offered two outstanding slice of life dramas and aired them simultaneously. First, “My Liberation Notes” and now “Our Blues”. What more could be asked for? Whereas “My Liberation Notes” was essentially a story built around family, “Our Blues” centres around the members of a community and explores their individual lives and circumstances. Given the title, there is a hint that this drama will tackle the things in life that are difficult. But far from being sad it ultimately strikes an uplifting note.The stories on offer are not about huge life changing tragedy but the emotional hurdles that life puts up for us to jump over and the hoops we go through. Essentially this is a drama about the good heart that lies at the centre of ordinary human beings. Their generosity, warmth, caring and insecurities.
They are stories set within a community where there is no real privacy and no anonymity. Where caring and interference exist either side of a blurred boundary which is crossed and crossed again. They are essentially about the price individuals are wiling to pay for deeper connection and love, and the confused and contradictory emotions that are experienced when that love and resentment collide.
There is no judgement written into the narrative. Each character has depth, we can love them from one angle and criticise them from another.
Among a slew of excellent performances Lee Byung Hun as Lee Dong Seok was the standout. Even though the writing for the last three episodes concerning his relationship with his mother, did not work as well for me, his performance did not falter.
Next in line was Han Ji Min, who was painfully convincing as the conflicted and hurting Lee Young Ok. Also, Lee Jung Eun as Jung Eun Hee, the stalwart glue of the community. But to be honest there was barely a weak performance in a large cast. Perhaps Shin Min Ah failed to completely convince me as Min Seon Ah, but she came good in the end.
This is the sixth writer (Noh Hee Kyung) /director (KimKyu Tae) collaboration which started in 2008. They include “Live”, “That Winter, The Wind Blows” and “It’s Okay That’s Love”. The long experience of working together brings a sense of seamless harmony and easy expression to the end result. In a drama of so many parts there can sometimes be an unevenness of tone, but here the actors were helped to bring a consistent feel that unified the whole production.
One of the most challenging things to write is the slow unfolding of emotions for a character. Peeling back the disparate layers to find out what is underneath. To reveal the unexpected, that often surprises us. This writer has done a magnificent job of just that, particularly with the story of the twin sisters which explores deeply complex and conflicting emotions and reveals them beautifully.
The cinematography is simple and what I loved about this show was the relief from artificially beautified faces. People were shown in their ordinariness with limited makeup and occasionally, deliberately unflattering lighting. In terms of camerawork, it was Jeju Island itself that became the star of the show with all its natural beauty on display.
The music was a weak point for me, with too much use of hotel-lobby style background music that failed to do justice to the emotional depth of the action. Thankfully, there were times when silence carried the pathos and did justice to the acting.
This drama comes highly recommended.
What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
A good watch
Like a lot of people, I started this drama mainly because of Kim Woo bin’s return to Tv and I can say that I was not disappointed. The first three episodes might be a drag but trust me, it gets better.It is a very compelling drama that draws you to each character as every episode unfolds. The fact that it does not bore you with just one main character and gives you access to different characters with very intriguing stories.
I loved the chemistry and the bond between the characters, it definitely is a warm drama. Get your box of tissue ready cause you’re going to cry a lot while watching this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Wow
Every episode is just heartbreakingly beautiful. The little girl that plays Eun-gi is amazing. There was not one character where I felt they were acting! I know Kdramas are known for being among the best but this is on another level. Powerful and very realistic stories, I didn’t want it to end. I was so drawn in that it was easy to imagine I was there feeling everything along with them. The OST is wonderful especially ‘With you’ by Jimin and Ha Sung-woon poignant and feels provoking.10/10 will definitely watch again!
Was this review helpful to you?
A beautiful and powerful depiction of the ups and downs that life throws at us
This was a beautiful, poignant masterpiece. Set on a small town on Jeju Island, we follow the journeys of our 14 main characters through their roller coaster of emotions. We feel their highs and we also feel their lows. By no means are any of these characters perfect. They have their flaws and their fears that contribute to the problems that they face. They all have their own traumas haunting their lives, yet they try to carry on as best as they can, struggling through life, just as we do.Everything about this drama was amazingly done. The cast, the music, the writing, the cinematography, everything was beautifully incorporated and almost seamlessly transitioned. The only reason I took 0.5 off is because I don't know how much I would be willing to re-watch it. It's a beautiful, but heartbreaking, drama so I don't know if I want to go through this roller coaster of emotions again. But I definitely recommend it to everyone to watch.
P. S. A note, I did watch it on 1.5x speed just because everything is done slowly (but beautifully!) and my attention span really can't stand that so yeah... Happy watching!
Was this review helpful to you?
after every sunset there is a sunrise giving hopes
Just as the title says “OUR BLUES” is full of sad stories from people of Jeju islands who are not related by blood but closely knitted as family. This drama can be watched with the family and the best thing is there are no main characters, every person is the main character in the story and the people around them are supporting them. The drama was skillfully parted into 8 stories revolving on all the casts and their lives and not just reliant on one main character.There are problems in everyone's life but it is being solved in an effective way without making the viewers frustrated or bored. It is not preachy but still had a pinch of self-righteousness when it talked about teen pregnancy, unprotected sex, divorce, and disability. It's all very subtle, very light-hearted and the most emotional scenes are usually connected to all the supporting characters.
every actor was awesome, acting excellent until the child actor Eun Gi appeared. I also liked the new actor Jung Eun Hye playing Young Hee, the down syndrome sister. these two characters were like a surprise in the drama. they totally swept me off the floor by nailing their characters.
The thing which I learned from this drama is to live my life without regrets as we sometimes look back on the past and regret our decision. But we also forget the time when we made the decision and what kind of person we are now because of that decision.
Just like the characters who always think of their past and sometimes regret it for not trying enough. So let us accept our present and before we regret more forgive those who should be forgiven, accept those who care for you, and love those who love you
Still, wondering about it? Just try the three first episodes. If by the end of episode three you're still not immersed, it may not be for you. But if you're into heart-warming and funny stories, please give this one a go.
Was this review helpful to you?
This isn't the first time he's worked with screenwriter, No Hee-Kyung. Drama Korea: Drama: That Winter, The Wind Blows (2013) starring Zo In-Sung and Song Hye-Kyo, not only made many viewers mesmerize, they also won many awards from the 2013 SBS Drama Awards and 2013 (49th) BaekSang Arts Awards
The director and scenario writer are awesome, especially the cast. Scattered with award-winning actors/actresses, this Korean drama: Our Blues is a means of competing in acting. Starting from Lee Byung-Hun, a class A actor who often paces on the silver screen, to senior actresses such as Kim Hye-Ja's grandmother and Ko Du-Shim's grandmother who filled their profiles with strings of awards.
So what's lacking? Almost nothing. The audience is lulled by the beauty of Jeju Island, the blue sea, the magic of sunrise and sunset, kicking music, beautiful cinematography to a neat plot twist, makes me think Korean drama: Our Blues will win the BaekSang Arts Awards, a prestigious award for the South Korean art industry that has held since 1965.
Unfortunately, my hopes did not come true. Or not yet? Because the 2022 (49th) BaekSang Arts Awards takes place in May 2022, while the Korean drama: Our Blues airs April – June 2022.
Regardless, I love this drama. Still haven't moved on from the acting of the players. Like Cha Seung-Won (who has a series of awards too) plays the loser, Choi Han-Su. I can't believe it, he's the arrogant Woo Hwi-Cheol in the Korean drama: A Korean Odyssey.
I also come to understand why Shin Min-A is not side by side with her boyfriend, Kim Woo-Bin (are you still dating or not?) in this drama, because it really doesn't fit the scenario.
Oops, I forgot, there's a weakness in this drama, namely Kim Woo Bin's cute scenes are taken over time, hehehe.??
Shin Min-A, who has mental health problems, fits perfectly side by side with Lee Byung-Hun who plays a sloppy person who hates his mother but loves death for Min Seon-A (Shin Min-A).
Now the scene of Lee Byung-Hun who plays this traveling salesman makes me laugh. As well as shaking heads. Playing the temperamental Lee Dong-Seok, Lee Byung-Hun must act as a grumpy salesman, hater of his mother, as well as a sincere lover of Min Seon-A (Shin Min-A).
Sincere love stories indeed color Korean dramas: Our Blues, between lovers, between brothers and sisters, friends, and friends. Regardless of age, old and young strengthen each other. Sincere love that has been hit by many trials, and is woven back thanks to the threads of love that never disappear. Because the following quote is so true:
Whatever happens, think positively
The typhoon has passed over the sea
Today, we must cheer up
The next review can be read here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2022/08/review-our-blues-drama-korea-omnibus.html
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A comforting drama
Didn't bat an eye about this drama when it was airing, but then a month ago, I saw a short clip of Yeong Ok & Yeong Hui episode on facebook page and that gave me an instant interest.But, the episode that got me hook up and completely attached was during Yeong Ju-Hyeon & In Gwon-Hosik's story. Everything about this arc is perfect. The raw emotions of the fathers, the feared of disappointing a hard-working parents, how people learn to accept what has been done.
I also love how this drama emphasized two things; 1) that, no matter how close you are with someone, there is still a line that you shouldn't cross and to always think about other people's feeling because everyone has different ways to interpret things. What we consider as normal or harmless might unintentionally hurt our beloved ones. 2) proper communication is the most important thing in building & maintaining a good relationship. Sometimes you gotta be the big-hearted one and just let it go even though it hurt you. In other occasion, you have to make it clear that you dislike this & that, so there won't be any ill feelings that might ruin everything in the future.
Was this review helpful to you?
