I am a big big fan of the korean movie ''The Classic". This movie made me fall in love with Son Ye Jin and Korean entertainment. So I was very curious to know what this remake is worth.

STORY:

I knew the story already and I thought it would a bit boring. But actually it was not. Because this remake made changes in several parts of the writing. It undermined some elements and emphasized others. Most importantly, it changed the general tone of the drama so the emotions you get from watching it are different from the original movie. The original movie was more a roller-coaster of emotions without caring too much about reality or even credibility sometimes. Everything was made for the viewer to smile, laugh, and cry with a story focusing youth, tragedy and fate in a poetic way with things unsaid and two meanings. This Thai version is also full of emotions but the story is more focused on youth, student's life and love, friendship, in a more realistic depiction of the events.

CAST/CHARACTERS:

Son Yeh Jin and Jo Seung Woo were the perfect couple for The classic. They are very talented actors and they portrayed their character perfectly specially in the dramatic scenes were they had to show their emotions. The main couple here are no less deserving. I thought the main actress delivered a great performance. Son Ye Jin always looked liked Son Ye Jin dressed differently. But in this version, I felt like the physical performance was better. The young actress here as a high school girl looked like one: a bit chubby and clumsy. As a student in 1973 she looked a refined student. As a student in 2004, she looked even more different, modern, skinnier and a bit taller. I could almost say it is the daughter of the actress playing the mother and not the same actress. The only thing I liked less was the scene in the restautant. She had curly hairs which suddenly made her look younger and sophisticated. Which I thought was not a great choice.

The actor playing the male lead in 1968 looked so young and even younger as a soldier. He was like a real schoolboy while Oh Jung Ha looked a goofy young man. He had a good chemistry with the main actress anyway. I thought he was bit lacking at times, in the emotional scenes like in the army truck or in the restaurant. Maybe because of less experience. He was convincing enough thought.

I especially liked the male lead in 2004 of this version. For me he corrected something the korean movie missed. Jo In Sung was not great as Oh Sang Min the guy leading the theater troupe. His acting was lacking and moreover his chemistry with Son Ye Jin was not great. Because of too few scenes and interactions to make their story more believable. In this Thai version, it was superb. The two main lead of 2004 looked very good together and they had an excellent chemistry. Thanks also to the writer who took time to develop original scenes for the both of them. I liked the scene of them under the rain and the one of her running with the umbrella alone but mirroring the run they made together. The two love stories here are more balanced.

The friend of the main lead in 1968 was a good but I felt like he few screen time. He was slightly different from the original movie. A bit less funny and less tragic also. Anyway he looked a real buddy.

The female friend of the main girl in 2004 was more of a friend than in the original movies. The writer took the time to show they are very close and in the end, they saved their friendship despite having chased the same guy. This was something nice to see.

MUSIC :

The OST of the original movie contributes to its tone: classcal music / korean songs / Swing / Rock blues ... this OST is a treasury in itself. Here they used some thai version of the Korean songs and some tunes. There are also Thai songs. Overall it matched well with the movie and helped created its own identity.

REWATCH:

I will gladly rewatch this movie for its modern tone is more accessible compared to the original movie. For the orginal movie, you need to be ready to cry a lot more.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:

This is a very good remake and it is very entertaning from start to end. For people who have not watched the korean version, I am confident that they will like it a smuch as the ones who liked the korean version when it was released. It has a cute and realistic way of telling two love stories at two periods of time. The actors look young but they were very good in their role. I highly recommend this movie as it is one of the asian movies I really enjoyed this year.

Read More

Not as good as expected

WHAT I LIKED:

- Seri : I liked her personality. An independent woman and entrepreneur who is able to distance herself from a crazy family but she is dragged back to them following unexpected events. I thought she was great as a south korean woman lost in NK and she has to establish connections with the villagers, with Captain Ri and his close soldier friends. She was funny doing it but also smiling, smart and open minded. Back in South Korea she acted a bit like a heiress trying any tactics to woo the man she likes to the point she sacrificed herself to save him.

- Ri Jung Hyuk : He as a good character. In the north : a good soldier, good leader of his men and someone with dedication and integrity but after meeting Seri he starts to do weird things and tries to save her and send her back to SK. In the South he was a bit too cold and focused on his mission and supervising his men. He should have enjoyed himself a little bit more like his men did and moreover, he should have decided to man up and do what a grown man would do with a grown up woman like Seri who was only waiting for that.

- Goo Seung Jun: I disliked him at first as a thug with no respect for his men but he slowly revealed an interesting backstory and a good side after meeting Seo Dan to the point he sacrificed himself to save her and redeem himself like that good thing he just met was too good for him. In his next life he met her again but cheated on her with an air stewardess. What an idiot.

- Seo Dan: Same here. Starting from a deluded obsessed fiancée, she revealed herself to be a girl who only craves for real love and she finds a man she can feel close to. Too bad it did not turn so well for them but I was glad she ended with full of hopes of good things to come.

- The bunch of soldiers who forms the squad of Captain Ri: All with funny personalities. They brought a lot of smile.

- The satirical tone used in depicting North Korea and South Korea in an unrealistic, fun and warm way.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

- The romance between Seri and Jung Hyuk: I had the feeling that if the story itself is cute but the way it is depicted was too much. They tried to force the romance using repetitive musics, tools, flash backs... It made the romance romantic like a dreamed one and it is nice but I believe more practical and fun depiction when in Seoul would have been better.

- The main villain: In NK his motives are clear and his bad deeds are measurable and he ends up sentenced to jail. And then he is not a rational villain anymore as his only motivation is to harm Captain Ri by chasing Seri back in SK and hurt her. I thought that was a wrong character development as he became a weak and crazy illogical person.

MUSIC: OK

REWATCH: No. Not even some scenes. Many scenes look cute and romantic and others have good action but they look too disconnected or the ensemble form a drama not entertaining enough for me to rewatch it.

OVERALL: I enjoyed the drama like a patchwork of good things but overall and thinking back about it, I don't think it is a great drama or a great story you can keep in your memory or in the hard disk of your computer.

Read More

Not what I expected but still entertaining

THE TONE :

I expected a dark comedy. Instead, it was slapstick comedy almost burlesque with many characters and situations exagerated and caricatures of what we usually see in Korean dramas. But it worked for me. Because the drama assumed its tone and made me believe in the characters. I liked the good guys and hated the evil ones. And starting from ep10, when the corpses started to pile, it became even more fun.

THE STORY:

Two axis of narration:

1st: the ML is trying to retrieve a treasure from a vault and he has to get rid of a bunch of weirdoes blocking his path as they are residents of the place where the vault is. They go through different phases which bring them together. I Like how it was developed, the deception, the suspicion, the manipulation, until they learn to trust each other and collaborate to solve their problems.

2nd: the ML is involved in a fight against a conglomerate which does not stop at killing people to achieve its goals. They find the ML on their path and they would do anything to get rid of him. This part was fun because ML mostly kicks their a$$es. It's a comedy first so there is no terrible or long angst.

THE CHARACTERS:

I liked:

- Vincenzo Cassano: Handsome, suave, elegant, but also a man with mafia's principles and totally ruthless when needed. He is smart, thoughtful, rarely outsmarted. He has a great ability to anticipate and keep his cool when facing the evil ones.
- Hong Cha Young: I really had difficulties with her personality, her temper and her antics. But she slowly grew on me. I finally liked her for who she is: a courageous woman and a fun and great sidekick for the ML.
- Jang Han Seo: I had pity for him. He looked lost, a coward, pathetic, trying to find a way... and finally, some kind of redemption. I will not lie, Kwak Dong Yeon is one of my favorite underestimated actors.
- Jo Young Joon: VC's friend from the beginning. The guy is interesting, surprising. he goes from high to low in his relationship with VC.
- Tak Hong Shick: One of the hidden talent among the residents with a nice set of skills.
- Seo Mi Ri: Looks kooky but also another hidden talent. I liked her part.
- I liked most of the residents.

I hated:
- Choi Myung Hee : She had no authority, no real power, no real backer, no nothing. Only her big mouth to mock people and yell at them. She looked like the clerk who wants to please the boss for the paycheck and plays super diligent by having people killed like they are numbers. Her demise was super satisfactory.

- Jang Jun Woo/The Great Evil: Ok Taec Yeon had to play two faces of a same guy and they were too different from each other for me to take him seriously. One was too silly and the other one was too much of a nutcase. When he finally showed himself, he was just a complete psycho acting with outburst of anger. Could not top VC like that...

- Han Seung Hyuk: How can a president of a company accept the criminal behavior of his client? He totally had the ending he deserved.

MUSIC:
OK. nothing special to mention for me.

REWATCH VALUE:
The drama was fun to watch but I don't think I will rewatch entirely as I think it suffers from a flaw : the main villain is too weak compared to the main guy. He is basically a complete nutcase from the very beginning and never evolves. He is just venting his anger trying to get rid of people who make him angry . He meets a huge roadblock named VC and this is the end of him. It would have been better with a fair competition but I guess it would have required a darker tone that the drama did not intend to have.

OVERALL: 9/10 . A good drama! 20eps *120 minutes look long but you are rarely bored. Recommended for its many fun, quirky and savage moments.

Read More