Sapir
Israel
This review may contain spoilers
**I might have included some spoilers!!**Story:
The story at first is about a man who's supposed to be the most handsome man in the world and a girl who likes him, sounds a very typical RomCom.
It didn't sound so interesting for me, but from episode 2 it was interesting,
Ma Tae had to learn each thing from each woman in order to start living on his own and to receive a "password".
I liked that it not only talked about romance but also about opening a bussiness of your own, and I even learned things that I can say "I learned for life" from those women he had to learn from,I liked the idea of learning each thing from each person.
I think that from episodes 1-10 it was a good drama but from then I really don't know what happend and it turned to be a really boring and -trying to be a complicated drama .
Acting/Cast/characters:
The cast for me wasn't that "strong" .It was a nice cast for people that love Jang Geun Suk or IU .
Their acting wasn't that good or that bad but avarage.
It had a good point of many character's personallities but I think that except of JGS's character each character was shallow and not improving.(He, for at least changed and learned things)
Bo Tong from the first beginning was shallow and liked Ma Tae only because of his look and in the ending they tried to tell us "no she didn't only because of that" .
David was cute but as it kept going on , it was a bit pathetic for me that he still tries.
I was rooting for him all along but somewhat I couldn't bare to watch his behaviour anymore.
Hong Yu Ra had a pocker face the whole drama and could only stare but not show any emotion well...
The other women were interesting (until girl no.5) after that they weren't necessary for the plot.
Music:
I won't remember the OST for the rest of my life but it had a nice-main song .
Romance: (I'm adding it because it's important for a drama)
Awefull!
The whole drama they show how much Bo Tong likes Ma Tae and how he doesn't even pay attantion to her, and to end this drama they made a stupid switch that he fell in love with her ,I really didn't like it at all, David deserved much more than that but at the end as I said I thought he was pathetic,
The others may had a romace parts in it but I don't see why I need to tell about them more.
I almost didn't even watch the ending...I thought that the ending of "trying to make everything too good" wasn't that right..
This review also sounds really bad, but it was a good drama at first.
But I liked the fashion of IU and Myung Mi etc. I liked some points of the tips we got . So sad it was ruined like that at the end...
I really wanted to give it a 7 but I'll give it a 6.5 although it's worth 6...but I remember the good parts in it so that's why I made it 6.5.
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Story: Started well but not so original. I've seen things like those beofor (rich boy -poor girl) but it looked interesting because it had the idea of that poor girl faking her identity and entering the rich family. I thought that the psychological part will take a bigger part in this drama (I almost even didn't see it) that's why I had hopes. As I said before, the story at first was pretty interesting because each episode ended in a cliffhanger so that I really wanted to see what's next. After that, it was dragged until the end, nothing has really changed from episode 1 until 20 in the plot. I think that they could make it a drama of 12 episodes.
Characters/Cast: I don't think that I can say that the whole cast was horrible but Soo Ae was terrible from the beggining. Her face was a pocker face most of the times (even when she had to show emotional expressions), I didn't see any change in her character. I was excepting that she will change, have guts with pretending to be another woman. But at the end she wasn't charismatic untill the drama ended, didn't pretend well, was always caught. she was REALLY annoying to a level that I was literally suffering watching her. I couldn't agree with her behaviour- I mean, this is for her future and life, she could make a better acting and not be such an angel and so unrealistic.(even Eun Ha was a better character than Yi Suk)
Min Ho - was a fine character, didn't find him very appealing, I thought that he wasn't interesting. I don't even know how they fell in love, their relationship was pathetic, I thought that this kind of drama and situations will make them be "madly in love" but they didn't have any deep conversation or just normal conversations. Seok Hoon- He was scary at first but I just grew to learn that he was just a flat character, they could have showen more of his past and intentions and the way he tried to control Yi suk was pathetic at the end, their "trying to be psychological converstations" were just empty and leaded nowhere.
Mi Yeon- She was flat as well, I could see only her bad sides. I could feel for her sometimes but she was only -jealous- or only -insane- Even the supporting characters weren't interesting enough to watch (althought I love Hoya and wanted to see more of his character)
Music: Don't remember it, and don't think that it has a memorable song.
Other points: -I think that for at least, if the drama has a typical story line, it should have good characters/good romance. but this one was disappointing, I didn't feel their love, didn't feel that they were fated, I wanted them to get deeper and deeper into their past, into their lives and althought that they are different, they were meant to each other, but.NO. -The ending was bad . I didn't think that the ending could be a happy one, since althought YI Suk was threatened to pretend to be another girl, she made a crime, and even if she gets punished, she can't live-happily - Also the others; the villian, the character, Soo Ae's family and friends-they didn't show about them and about the tragedy of loosing her. But what they showed was a sentence about "how we should live our life and it's meaning"It wasn't even RELATED to the episode/the whole story. If I wanted to think about life's propose I could have read a book, so I'm sorry but this one was a failure. The reason I gave it a 5 was because of the 10 first episodes .
Rewatch Value: Will just be a waste of time.
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This review may contain spoilers
…. A drama that portrays a love that is free of boundaries of age, gender and sex. This is about a pure love between souls. I've never seen this idea in my long record of drama watching, especially not in Saeguks. I will write about this more in this review.There was a discussion at the past about this drama, as it won an award for being the first Korean drama that the "best couple" award was for two women.
I decided to write a review about this amazing and impactful drama. I am not proud of my past reviews, as I think my English lacks a lot and I think I can't convey everything I want, and I'll focus mainly on few characters and relationships over other ideas, but I'll try very hard on this one, as this drama holds a special meaning to me.
* This review contains spoilers. but I will try to make it as less as I can. *
* I won't write a summary of the plot as I guess people can read It, and because I think this review will get long anyway so please forgive me.
There are almost no bad points in this drama. I will go and explain each good point I saw important to mention.
Music- I can't say the OST was the best I've heard, but the music was beautifully fitted in the scenes and dialogs. There is a use of traditional Korean music instruments which fits the historical period. I can say I would love to hear the instrumental tracks again.
Characters and relationships:
The main and the strong point of this show is without a doubt, the characters and their relationships.
Shin Yoon Bok- Moon Geun Young is my favorite actress and that is for a reason. Her acting is flawless and virtuosic. Each of her characters is realistic and human. I like that she's never "black" or "white" but a human that lacks a lot, but also has a lot. In this drama, it's no different. SYB is a girl that dresses as a man to hide her true identity and live, so that her past won't be revealed, And MGY does this perfectly. I've never seen a gender-bender like this. She acts and behaves like a guy from the very beginning until the very end. She's not "a woman in a man's cloths", but actually behaves as one. This could have been because she was forced into this, but on the other hand, she always saw herself like one. I'm not sure if this is kind of a message of the writers for questioning gender and sexuality issues, but I do believe there's something in it. I like every moment she was on screen; I could feel her love and passion for painting. As a person that paints and loves art, I was truly mesmerized by the beautiful paintings. She was very devoted, but at the same time also selfish. She was brave and daring.
Kim Hong Do- KHD is a famous painter in Joseon who arrives to the capital to solve a problem that arises in the royal painters' academy. He meets SYB there and becomes her teacher and guider. As a painter, he manages to "catch" the feeling of what he draws. If it was an animal or the enjoyment of the people. I loved how his character was so charismatic, how he was silly and serious at the same time, how he managed to understand things as a painter and as a human. how much he loved SYB. Of course, Park Shin Yang did a great job portraying each and each trait of this amazing teacher, and he delivers emotions so well, I was sometimes surprised how this is only an acting.
Now I have to write about their amazing relationship. Without a doubt, KHD loved SYB so much from the beginning. As a pupil, he understood her potential and couldn’t give up on her. As they got to know each other, they became friends. They painted together, travelled the city, learned from each other. I've never seen such a deep relationship on screen as I saw as those two had. He cared so much for her, he sacrificed himself for her so many times Even if it was his own life or his hand (=his life). All that, without realizing she's actually a woman, and the women he was searching for his whole life. Even after he found out about her, there wasn't a "big dramatic realization" as in other dramas, but it was naturally ok. I loved so much how they showed their natural and realistic dialogs, their understanding without words. It was amazing. This is exactly why I said that this drama was about love between souls. Even though KHD thought she was a man and questioned himself with his sexual attraction and age issues, he loved her so dearly and did so much for her. He honestly loved her soul. I was also impressed by the camera work- the close ups of the eyes and hands- they deliver a poetic sexual tension between them, so you couldn’t miss how much they fell in love for each other romantically also.
Another character, Jeong Hyang- The beautiful Gisaeng that falls in love with SYB. They both were artists. SYB fell in love for her from the beginning. "even though" she was a woman. And I would also dare to say there was definitely erotism between them, especially when JH played the Gayageum and SYB painted. Their bond was a deep bond also. As they shared the love and professionalism for their art, they understood each other's souls with poetry.
SYB in my opinion, loved them both at the same time. But at the end, I think SYB was romantically in love with her teacher, Jeong Hyang was a very important existence for her. She was attracted to her beauty and art, but also attracted to her soul. Even after JH found out SYB was a girl, they still loved each other. I think SYB always saw JH as a mirror to what she could have been if she could be a "real women", And JH was her ultimate muse. That's why I thought she was confused until the end, but was also a very confused as a character. She was forced to act as a boy, so fell in love with a gisaeng (or was attracted to her but too innocent to realize the difference), and at the same time, we can’t deny her feelings toward her teacher, her savior, her "person", as he always sacrificed himself, she admired him and respected his drawings, he comforted her so many times. And you could feel and see their deep feelings for each other in the looks. She cared for him and bought things for him as she always though of him. Until the vey end though, she was doubting her identity, she stayed in a man's cloths, but drew a portrait of herself as a woman.
The beautify of this show, is that the Gisaeng and the teacher, both loved SYB as who she was, no matter of her gender or age, and she loved them for the same reason.
I can't put into words how exciting were the moments of her and KDH were, my heart was pounding each time they stared at each other and talked.
I loved how the message of the show was delivered- love is between two souls, and it doesn’t matter what form they take.
I wonder also if it was a message for a transgender character. But I won't dig too deep into it, as I didn't see anything that was said about it.
The other characters, as much loved or as much hated, I preferred not to talk about in this review, (They weren’t as layered as the others I mentioned)
As I said before, the cinematography was amazing. They really went down into details with the close ups to convey the feelings, the beautiful paintings; how they showed each line and line. Wonderfully done. The flashbacks of the past were entwined in the episodes, and not as the "prologue" as in most Saeguks. The moment SYB imagines her parents while listening to the Gayageum's playing…was so beautiful and poetic.
Apparently, all the paintings in this show and the people were real people, so I found it so interesting, original and amazing how the writers made up a story for each episode and how they related each of the painting to the other and the general plot. It was amazing. And another strong point of the drama.
I was always telling myself "wow, this is so anarchistic of the drama to draw a painting like this". but it seems it was in real life! It made me think, what if people in other counties were way ahead of their time but weren't recognized because they weren't from "the west"? I was surprised to know that the painter's painting of the Gisaeng and the lives of the common people, which in the modern art history of the west were only from the 19's century, were already from the 18's in Korea!
There were only few bad points that made me give this drama a 9 and not a 10, those are very little comparing to the profound good things of the drama.
+ I felt there were some flaws in the writing of the political background-I felt many things were "just there" instead of actually explaining them; in the palace, from the royal family, there were only the king and his grandmother. They didn't say anything about the queen or the crown prince. Where were they all the time?
+ The other characters were sometimes one dimensioned, it was ok, as this drama's focus was on the 2 main characters, their relationship and the art, but I thought that they could have explain a bit more. Many people said this drama was slow but I can't agree at all, as I felt everything was necessary. It was to show development in the relationships, to develop the political background or their artistry way. Everything was in the right pace and with a meaning.
+ The one thing I cannot agree with, and that’s the reason I can't get over this drama and get it out of my head (and heart), is the ending. After I saw it and thought about it a lot, I became able to understand YSB's choice and "why she did it". I understand, but I can't agree with it. Usually, I'm fine with open ending or not exactly good ones, but in this one. It makes me so sad that the writes didn’t put an additional scene to make it a "bitter-sweet" end. Instead they chose to end this drama in a sad ending. So, if you plan to watch this drama, be aware and prepared.
This drama definitely worth the watch though, and I definitely don't regret that I watched it and learned so much about Korea's history and artists. I will definitely recommend this drama even for people who don't like romantically sad endings, but I want you to be prepared to have this heartbreak at the end.
9/10
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The story sounds pretty promising and original, a girl who can see scenes with her eyes and a man who lost his beloved sister in a bad accident and ever from that, seeks for revenge and answers.
In this point, I really liked the "fantasy" style of this drama, and it was a nice and fresh thing.
The drama all along was GOOD, not the best, it was written well at first, it was mysterious about those barcodes killing cases, and it was nice to see how those two (Oh Cho Rim and Moo Gak) met and solved the mysteries together.
It was really-comedic, light and interesting .
My problem was when those episodes turned to be dragged and follow the -drama story line-
Two people meet, fall in love-being offical and then the "the reason why we can't be together " . solving this reason and be together.
It had it's original points but still felt typical for me.
More than that, the story itself was dragged. after knowing the true crimminal, and after trying to find evidences, it was dragged with cheesy-romance moments and the story wasn't too filled.
I think that if this drama had 12-13 episodes it could have been better, with no dragging scences . For example the last two episodes felt really forced . (The drama has to be 16 episodes, so "let's try to fill it with things that aren't necessary".)
So besides that, the story was light, interesting at points, good action scenes, good filming, some mystery and intense moments ,but also dragged, especially from episode 9-10~
Acting:
Yoochun- Well, Yoochun is my favourite actor, so in this point he wasn't disappointing for me as well. He managed to show also serious sides of the character, funny moments (like the comedy skit that was hilarious and -out of character- for him) He's character wasn't boring, he was determinded, funny and serious at the same time, showing few sides of a character, I think it wasn't his best role but he was good for this role.
Shin Se Kyung- I don't like her, but she was just "fine" in this drama.
I don't think she acted well for her character- her crying scences didn't feel real, and also her laugh felt fake. I'm not saying that she was horrible all the time but when she had to show her feelings (whether sad or happy) she wasn't good.
Also her character was a really typical character with nothing new, she wasn't annoying nor unpleasant but just avarage.
Nam Gung Min- He was really good. I think that each character I saw from him was really impressive. This time I really could feel the anger inside me . How he acted with he's eyes, and the mimes of his face!
Also his character was interesting (I felt that we could have seen more from him, like he's childhood or some backround) but he portrayed his character as written very well!
I also liked that he could keep that character until the end.
Yoon Jin Seo-didn't see her as a main character but only as a supporting one, she was just fine, I mean that I didn't feel her really necessary (maybe only in the last case of the drama) but she was fine as a supporting- strict but also soft.
The other supporting characters- they were funny, all the police officers.
I think that in dramas they are shown as a really silly people, but they added to the comedy and to the series.
Music:
I didn't really feel the music, the songs were fine and fitted to the scenes, also the music in the "intense monents" was fitted and good.
Romance:
I have a bit problem with that. Those two were supposed to be fated to be with each other, but somehow I didn't really "feel" their love and their "bond".
There were some cute moments with them, but I'm not sure how much chemistry the main actors had, I had fun sometimes with the moments but most of the times it was too cheesy, drama like and too dragged to fill the series.
I think that in the last episodes it was the most unbearable to watch.
But they were a nice couple after all.
I liked that for at least we didn't have here "other male/female lead"
Rewatch Value:
Probably not, it wasn't the best but it was enjoyable. I'm giving it 7.5, because it was typical but also had it's good and original points.
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Story:
The story sounds nice, a girl who sees ghost and she and her partner go to help those ghosts and by the way save and solve some crime cases.
It was nice and interesting at first when she helped those dead people but after she helped them and the storyline went for the past it was less good for me.
Althought it was interesting all along for me, it didn't bore me until the last episodes so that was the good point.Also there were things that I was surprised by them.
Acting/Cast:
I know the actors as good actors so I didn't understand why they act so badly in here, a lot of times I found myself saying" what is it with the script, their chemistry isn't good and they can't express their feelings well" so I think the good point of the drama is Kim Jae Wook. Not only the actor who did a good job in this but also his character was the best in there, I didn't empathize with the main characters (Tae Cyeon and So Yi Hyun) and I found them a bit childish or not intersting, even annoying.
The good part of the characters were the supporting ones that gave a bright feeling to this, and their little stories were funny/more interesting than the main characters.
Music :
I didn't find it remarkable, the main song is like an every-drama song.
Romance:
The main issue of the drama wasn't romance which I like that fact, but the romance part that we saw didn't move me emotionaly , it felt awekward and showed the fact that they didn't have chemistry .I thought that Yi Hyun and Jae Wook had a better chemistry and they looked better with each other.
Rewatch Value:
I wouldn't watch it again, it wasn't a "good" drama and it wasn't made well, it was a nice drama to pass time.
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Story:
I had high expectations from this drama since it's top rated but I wasn't that impressed by it,
The plot itself isn't that original- The man who has a job that it's the only thing that interests him,saves the girl and fall in love with her, reminded me City Hunter a bit...
The story as it goes by, is very good, everything is built in layers very well, especially the flashbacks of the past and the stories of the character's parents were really interesting and kept me wondering, also with knowing each piece of information as the episodes continue is very good, and I can say that it was made very well.
Some points I really liked and some things I thought were really predictable.
Characters/Cast/Acting;
I was a bit afraid of PMY at first because I remember her acting not that well in other dramas I saw with her but she proved that she can act, the other actors were good also and JCO was also very good (especially when he had to shoew emotions)
About the characters,
Healer and YS were nice, not that interesting but bareble to watch, I liked the master, the hyung and the ahjumma, hyung was the only character I could understand his motives and personallity, all of the characters were too much "black/white" they weren't that complicated and that's what bothered me ,they were only bad or good, Also there were also many characters that were insignificant like the detective, I felt that he was mented to be only becuase one scene in the last episode.
That Elder felt like a character that was invented to be a reason and not because he was necessary.
Moon Ho didn't have purpose in the story almost at all, I understand that he was like "a leader" or to connect Healer and YS to their past but other than that he was just "there" ,I couldn't understand him-why did he go againts his brother in the first place and what exactly his personality?
The only thing I liked about him was that he wasn't in love with YS ..
I liked Bong Soo, he was very funny and I enjoyed the scenes when he was there.
Music:
The good thing about the music is Ahjumma! I liked all of the songs she sang.
The main soundtrack (like the opening theme) was refreshing but for the fights scenes it wasn't always in the right place,
The other songs were drama-like and I don't think I will remember those.
Romance:
The thing I liked about the romance here was that even if they met an obstacle, they made it through and not like in other dramas "we can't be together because of-"
I liked some of their moments (some of them felt too much cheesy)...
I didn't understand why they felt in love actually, I can somehow understand why Healer-Bong Soo fell in love with her but she didn't have a reason and sometimes it felt a litlle too fast ,
Rewatch Value:
Probably not but the drama itself was indeed a good drama, I think that if it will be a "first drama" to someone he will really like it, but the reason I didn't give it a 10 was because everything there was predictable for me, I knew from the very start what's going to happen and how it will end,
Another reason was the characters and that's all, overall was a good drama.
I think that I was kind of disappointed because it is ranked so high, so I had high expectations .
I did enjoy it in some episodes; I wanted to know what will happen but I didn't enjoy it to the point that I would say that Healer is one of the best I've seen because it's not, and I know that most of you won't agree with me.
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There are many kinds of familes and brothers`/sisters` relationships, so you can not accept this, or you can relate to your own family. BUT, the moment that the viewer realizes the greatness of this movie, is in my opinion, in the last 20 minutes. Well, I DID NOT EXPECT THAT.
You began to realize all of the things that happend in the movie, why they happend and at that moment, the cold Myeong -Eun, starts to change and except her condition and situation in life. Her character development was short, but was very on point.
The cast was great and the movie wasn't too long, so the` slow` pace fitted it. The music in the movie wasn't very memorable but it fitten the scenes and the movie was very realistic and down to earth.
I recommend this movie and I think that it raises many questions, such as what is an acceptance, and what is the meaning of a family, and actually -what is a family. There are many kinds of familes and this one was not an ordinary one, but it WAS a family. Don't be fooled by the rating and give it chance.
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