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8
A Way Back Into Love
Twelve Letters is a masterclass in evocative visual storytelling. My heart already began to ache in the opening scenes. In 1991, an exhausted girl staggers through the dark alleys of Meiwan Town to a bright red mailbox, sending a letter to herself. In 2026 Beixing City, Yu Nian’s confused father waits obstinately in the bitter cold beside an identical red mailbox. The image of this helpless old man clinging to fading memories, awaiting a letter from the past, imprinted itself on my heart. When he goes missing, Yu Nian discovers a mysterious letter and joins forces with Shen Cheng to find their parents. With the help of a ginger cat, a bright red postbox, and twelve letters, they race against time to connect the past with the future and help two people who belong together find their way back to into love.This immersive twelve-episode modern fantasy is drenched in a nostalgic, bittersweet palette that captures Meiwan Town’s yearning poverty, a constant sense of foreboding, and the faint, deceptive allure of better times ahead.
Tang Yixun is a young man with limitless potential—as a debt collector. This aspiring thug possesses the rare ability to beat the daylights out of a debtor without impairing their ability to pay. On a job, he encounters Ye Haitang, a young girl with a deadbeat dad who dares to stand up to him. He is unaccountably moved by her magnificent fury and her lonely, futile bravado. They meet again in a different setting and become entangled in a misunderstanding involving a mysterious letter—the first of twelve that will weave a magical bond through time and space between two people destined for each other.
The most outstanding aspect of this drama is the acting. I already held Wang Yinglu and Zhou Yiran in high regard, but they astounded me here. Their casting is impeccable—both actors are age-appropriate and look so convincingly the part that they seem to have simply stepped into their roles. Haitang’s pain, rage, and vulnerability leaps off the screen in a raw, visceral way. I was shaken by the authenticity of Wang Yinglu’s portrayal, how she spat the bone-deep hatred and trauma of someone pushed beyond their limits. Zhou Yiran’s smoldering depiction of Yixun’s steadfastness and his quiet joy in her company is no less intense than her fiery outbursts. Together, they were radiant, complete, invincible; their future felt limitless—until the beautiful but cruel world they inhabited intruded and conspired against them.
Twelve Letters is a stirring, emotional journey about a bond that endures through time and long separation. It is, at its heart, Yixun and Haitang’s story; Yu Nian and Shen Cheng serve more as narrative guides. I must have teared up during nearly every scene of this heart-wrenching tale. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a more sickening character than Ye Yibo. The main narrative aspect that didn’t quite sit well with me was Yixun’s “noble idiocy,” especially when it was so clear Haitang was not better off without him.
As for the ending itself, I am in the minority that thinks it is just right. I can’t help but feel the writer crafted a story that was simply too sad to be told the way it was written. So I personally don’t fully buy into the fairytale. I will remember this story for a long time.
I rate it 8.5/10.
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There really is no need to go to the end of the world.
Despite the two big name stars, this movie about a survival romance in the Antartica is just not bad - it is not especially enjoyable or memorable. It was definitely visually stunning but that is not in and of itself enough - after all, it is a movie not a documentary on Antartica. I tried to like this but while there were some good moments, my overwhelming reaction was that it was boring and forgettable. The love story around an unlikely couple stranded together unexpectedly is not unique but it is a simple formula that often works. The basic problem is that aside from the extremely challenging environment, it must also be super boring to be stranded in Antartica. That is why I have great sympathy for what the two leads were up against. I truly don't think there are that many actors out there that could have been able to pull off this kind of role without ultimately boring the audience. I mean watching someone talk to penguins and seals is only entertaining (to kids) in cartoons. Mark Chao and Yang Zishan did have good chemistry and some of the scenes between them were quite moving. But overall their chemistry was not breathtaking the way it would need to be for this kind of performance that really revolves solely around two characters. Mark Chao's excessive face fur also may have hurt his performance. He is an actor with fantastic facial expressions but in some of the moments that truly mattered the fur really got in the way and his expressions were largely obscured. I suspect this is why he wasn't always convincing in conveying Fuchon's (Chao) love for and dedication to Ruyi (Yang). Indeed, while we can debate over whether he looks better with some face fur, this actor's most successful roles to date have been ones in which he has exposed more face.It was a also likely a critical mistake to have Ruyi (Yang) break her leg from the very beginning , rendering her pretty much immobile throughout. That left Fuchun a one man show for large chunks of the movie and also limits the scope of the interactions between the couple. While that may well be true to the book, in the movie they could have exercised some artistic license and had her break it later on. After all, Antartica is a very dangerous place with all that slippery ice... it could have ideally occured in the latter half of the movie without much changing the storyline or ending. There was a bit of a Chinese twist to the story at the end that helped at the margin but by then I was falling asleep. While I did like and empathize with the couple, this firmly sticks into the only if you are really bored (for example: stuck in Antartica) and need to pass some time category.
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Nincompoop warning: may cause indigestion.
I am posting this as a warning not to unwittingly get sucked into watching this show. I picked it up after the almost overwhelming number of (misleading) rave reviews about it. This is not another Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, it is in no way comparable on every possible level and it is not enjoyable to watch at all. The plot may well be somewhat interesting and my overall impression of the story line is that it is decent. I am willing to give all Chinese drama 10-12 episodes to engage me. With this one, sadly I could barely even bring myself to watch no 10. The main problem is the lead actress alienated me from the get go with her portrayal of Jinmi as a silly, naive, mischievous, noisy and thoroughly obnoxious young girl. It was not at all adorable or charming, just dumb and annoying. I could have ignored it if it was just one or two episodes but it went on endlessly and there was so, so much of it and none of it added to the storyline. It was quite obvious from the beginning that there is a love triangle in the plot. But she made the character so not lovable that it was just not credible that the two rather superb male leads would fall for such a complete and utter nincompoop. It made the unfolding story-line of two half-brothers who were very close but starting to fall out over their rivalry for this silly, shallow and irritating girl just seem not at all believable. I would however, have readily bought into the two of them fighting each other not to have to marry her she was so obnoxious!It is my pet peeve that Chinese drama likes to portray female characters in this most unflattering light. But one has to believe that the actress has some artistic input and this one really completely got it wrong by over-acting. Maybe it would have been ok if she "grew up" after one or two episodes and became actually likable. Very quickly,, I lost patience and had to fast forward or mute her every time she opened her mouth. In fact I put this actress whom I have never watched before on my NO list- I will not watch this super low talent actress again. I decided to abandon it after I started to hope she would quickly come to a tragic end and both princes would find happiness with someone (anyone) else.
Dramas nowadays avoid portraying these terrible female stereotypes. I guess if you don't understand the language and are just reading subtitles it could be less obnoxious. Thankfully MANY other hit C-dramas have started to significantly dial down these outdated female stereotypes or have eliminated them altogether. It is why shows like Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, Nirvana in Fire and Princess Weiyoung are in a different class altogether from Ashes of Love. However, the reviews I have seen are not pointing out how difficult this one is to get into and is unfairly putting this show in the same league of many much superior dramas. The story line itself sounds promising but exectution was terrible. Probably best to just read the book and pass on the show.
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How to make sows ears out of silk purses.
This drama has been adapted beyond recognition from a well loved hit novel to the rage and dismay of its many fans. Nothing makes my drama bestie more livid than how this favorite novel of hers has been ruined. This drama's only dubious glory is achieving the hitherto impossible - making sows ears out of silk purses! It is shocking how something so exceptionally good could have been so completely and utterly desecrated.This production is lead actor Zhang Zhixi's vanity project. Frustrated at being relegated to secondary roles, she secured the lead role by acquiring the script and proceeded to show the world why she does not deserve lead roles. Her portrayal of Yun Qianyue was so bizarrely schizophrenic annoying beyond words and just simply exhausting that I wished I would get amnesia to wipe her appalling performance from memory. If she were portraying a murder victim, I am quite sure the jury would return a verdict of justifiable homocide. The big missing scene was one where Rong Jing and the 4th Prince were fighting to see who could be the first to shove her off a cliff. Because unless their mothers dropped them on their heads when they were babies, no way are these two men falling for this bat-shit crazy imbecile.
This is actually a rather expensive production with a good director, nice sets and beautifully shot scenes. If only the silly harebrained actress had submitted to some direction and not insisted on her unfathomable interpretation of the story, this drama could have been as big of a hit as the novel was.
This drama must be the absolute worst of 2021 - it is so bad it is offensive. Don't waste your time on it. 1.0/10.
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