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TeleriFerchNyfain
I found the opening scenes, the situation in the present, unnecessarily confusing, but it does set up the situation wanted - ie 2 groups (one NK & one SK) of soldiers sent 400+ years in the past, to the Joseon era, where they meet up with Admiral Yi Sun Sin before he entered the military. Action scenes fighting against Chinese invaders, and heart-warming brotherly bonding occur, as the soldiers try to convince the young Yi Sun Sin that he should give up ginseng smuggling to become the great military strategist he's meant to be. All this does not offer much innovation or new perspectives, but it's very well done and the plot had sufficient twists to make it interesting.
Kong Hyo Jin as the sole female in this film does add some interest overall - not love interest but perspective & comic relief. I'm sure that including her in the story explains the scenario at the beginning. She acts somewhat as a narrator, or at least a narrating presence - she observes rather than plays any active part but she's always interesting to watch.
All in all this did entertain me and even moved me. I thoroughly enjoyed the film.
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Hard topic done well
I found this drama highly realistic and truly informative about a problem most first world countries have - juvenile delinquency, and the inadequacies of the legal system to combat it. I myself retired from DSS which is social services in the US - and I had teens coming in for help with medical (pregnancy too often!) & living help. Kids who came thru the foster system & were flung out on their own at 18. Kids from bad or indifferent parents. Kids who were thrown out of their homes for not conforming to the morals or religions of their parents. Just heartbreaking.This drama had as the central character a woman that I did not like at all. She had no business being a juvenile judge in the SK system as portrayed, because of her constant 'I hate juvenile offenders' spiel. Nope, nada, not acceptable. However, her journey was imminently worth watching. She overcame her prejudices and gave fair & impartial judgements, trying her best to help these kids on a path away from crime towards being productive citizens, despite their parents and their home situations. I very much enjoyed the way she went after the truth, like a terrier, thru-out.
Now, I do have a huge problem with that first case. A young teen (13???) who is schizophrenic???? WTF???? That psychopathic older teen used and manipulated this vulnerable, MENTALLY ILL child, and he had no business being put in the penal system at all. He needed psychiatric care, pure and simple. However, this really highlights for me the big problem SK seems to have in regards to mental illness - somewhere reform is needed. Lord knows, the US has areas (huge ones) where a ton of reforms are needed, BTW. In fact I'd say it's possible that the SK legal system overall is more efficient than the one here in the US (not a huge achievement). But the way mental illnesses are ignored is just insane.
I did not like the way the chief judge was treated by the main character, BTW. At no point did she ask him when he found out about his son - which makes a big difference. She exhibited a very holier-than-thou attitude thru the entire drama in fact, which made me long for someone to slap her down. Her boss was going to have his career ruined, as he knew when he found out about his son - despite the fact he hadn't a clue the kid & his wife had disobeyed him. That's another problem with SK - the way mere proximity (as in a family member, or someone you know/work with) to a criminal, or to scandal, can wash over one and destroy YOUR career etc! The way the families of criminals, who often have been victims of said criminals themselves, are demonized! This is something shown really well in the drama Come Hug Me.
I really loved the ending case - it showed what her problems were, and wrapped them up well. I could have done without her ridiculous lecture to her superior, which really had no truth in it whatsoever (throwing 11 year olds in the penal system does not 'teach them' anything except how to be better criminals next time). Those kids needed actual counseling and the kinds of consequences that children need - ie education and a sense of responsibility. Their parents failed them woefully, and it's not the job of the justice department, nor the schools, to give kids this. Both those boys looked to be sociopathic from the start, which is not going to somehow 'go away' by throwing them in jail or juvenile detention. Anymore than schizophrenia will somehow disappear using the same method. However, the older judge did slap her down a peg at least, and both seemed to learn something from this experience.
All in all this was a very worthwhile watch. Acting, of course, was top-notch.
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