Alwayswithgyu
This review may contain spoilers
A Much Needed Discussion on Depression & Mental Health
I was super excited for the release of this movie ever since I read the synopsis and watched the trailer. I had high expectations for this movie and went into it expecting that I would be crying in various scenes because of the topics it was covering. However, it did not live up to my expectations, but this did not mean that I did not like the movie. It was still an overall pleasant movie to watch. It covers heavy topics such as depression in the eyes of the person suffering from it and from society's eyes, as well as society's stigma on mental health. These are topics that I feel are not discussed enough in everyday conversations and films/television. It is an important topic that people need to be aware of, so I really liked that this movie's message was mostly about this topic through Ji Ze's story. The romance aspects are very cliche (to me) and predictable, but the main message/topic of depression is truly the highlight that viewers should focus on while watching the movie. Though the movie did not live up to my expectations (that I had from watching the trailers), I would recommend it!
SPOILERS AHEAD:
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Things I liked:
1. The message of the story- Depression is a very important thing to discuss because of mental health stigma and through Ji Ze's story, you can see why people with depression find it hard to open up to others about their situation.
2. The OST! - The three original soundtracks were just brilliant and devastatingly beautiful to listen to. They each probably played only once in the entire movie, but they were played at all the right moments to add to the emotional scenes. I can't even pick a favorite because each one is so amazing. There were also many moments when they just played the instrumental of an OST and it really added to the scene. I keep playing them on repeat.
3. Chemistry- The main couple was cute to watch and showed great chemistry together. It is a shame that their cute scenes are so short though. My favorite would be when Ji Ze and Xin Tang sang together :((
4. Acting- Loved loved Jang Ruo Nan's acting as Ji Ze! She was amazing at the crying scenes and made them look genuine since she wasn't afraid to ugly cry. She also did a great job at acting depressed without being too exaggerated. A truly rising star actress! Looking forward to her future works. The other cast also does a great job.
5. Plot- I liked how it showed why it was so troubling for Xin Tang to please Ji Ze and extend his lifeline because she suffers from depression. It was a nice way to connect the big picture (Xin Tang being bound) to Ji Ze's mental health situation and how they end up healing each other in a way (even though it is through love-which seems a bit cliche).
6. The Premise- I also thought it was UNIQUE to have the power of creating illusions to make people happy as a source of life for people like Xin Tang who aren't human. That kind of premise was the first I seen before this movie.
7. Visual Effects- I really liked the visual effects of the illusions that Xin Tang did for Ji Ze. They were really thoughtful and looked cool on screen, such as when he did the butterflies to stop her from her suicide attempt.
Things I did not like so much:
1. Storyline (Romance parts)- The message of the movie was very nicely done, but the plot and storyline were rather weak. It may be because it is a movie and not a drama, but the romance progressed super fast for me although it wasn't awkward to watch. It was just confusing when exactly the two of them started having real feelings for each other even though viewers can somewhat guess/infer how it happened. I would have liked it more if it was told more directly. There were also quite a cliche moments, such as how Ji Ze's treatment towards the end causes side effects of memory loss which led to Xin Tang having to make her remember him or he'll die. BUT some moments, although were cliche, were cute to watch: like how Xin Tang actually accidentally helped create an illusion that helped Ji Ze be happy (which counted as the first time he helped her).
2. Some Overdramatic Moments- Some scenes felt so overdramatic, such as many running scenes of either Ji Ze or Xin Tang. (Ex: Ji Ze running to Xin Tang in the hospital at the end)
3. Storyline (after the breakup)- It was a bit confusing how bad Ji Ze's depression got after breaking up with Xin Tang because it didn't seem like she liked him that much. So, it was hard to understand why her mental state completely collapsed after she left him.
4. The Ending- It was open-ended which was rather disappointing because I was hoping to see more of what happened to them after Ji Ze rushed into the hospital room. I don't like it when I have to guess if the characters lived and what kind of life they had after. I am happy though, that it was a high chance it was a happy ending.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Things I liked:
1. The message of the story- Depression is a very important thing to discuss because of mental health stigma and through Ji Ze's story, you can see why people with depression find it hard to open up to others about their situation.
2. The OST! - The three original soundtracks were just brilliant and devastatingly beautiful to listen to. They each probably played only once in the entire movie, but they were played at all the right moments to add to the emotional scenes. I can't even pick a favorite because each one is so amazing. There were also many moments when they just played the instrumental of an OST and it really added to the scene. I keep playing them on repeat.
3. Chemistry- The main couple was cute to watch and showed great chemistry together. It is a shame that their cute scenes are so short though. My favorite would be when Ji Ze and Xin Tang sang together :((
4. Acting- Loved loved Jang Ruo Nan's acting as Ji Ze! She was amazing at the crying scenes and made them look genuine since she wasn't afraid to ugly cry. She also did a great job at acting depressed without being too exaggerated. A truly rising star actress! Looking forward to her future works. The other cast also does a great job.
5. Plot- I liked how it showed why it was so troubling for Xin Tang to please Ji Ze and extend his lifeline because she suffers from depression. It was a nice way to connect the big picture (Xin Tang being bound) to Ji Ze's mental health situation and how they end up healing each other in a way (even though it is through love-which seems a bit cliche).
6. The Premise- I also thought it was UNIQUE to have the power of creating illusions to make people happy as a source of life for people like Xin Tang who aren't human. That kind of premise was the first I seen before this movie.
7. Visual Effects- I really liked the visual effects of the illusions that Xin Tang did for Ji Ze. They were really thoughtful and looked cool on screen, such as when he did the butterflies to stop her from her suicide attempt.
Things I did not like so much:
1. Storyline (Romance parts)- The message of the movie was very nicely done, but the plot and storyline were rather weak. It may be because it is a movie and not a drama, but the romance progressed super fast for me although it wasn't awkward to watch. It was just confusing when exactly the two of them started having real feelings for each other even though viewers can somewhat guess/infer how it happened. I would have liked it more if it was told more directly. There were also quite a cliche moments, such as how Ji Ze's treatment towards the end causes side effects of memory loss which led to Xin Tang having to make her remember him or he'll die. BUT some moments, although were cliche, were cute to watch: like how Xin Tang actually accidentally helped create an illusion that helped Ji Ze be happy (which counted as the first time he helped her).
2. Some Overdramatic Moments- Some scenes felt so overdramatic, such as many running scenes of either Ji Ze or Xin Tang. (Ex: Ji Ze running to Xin Tang in the hospital at the end)
3. Storyline (after the breakup)- It was a bit confusing how bad Ji Ze's depression got after breaking up with Xin Tang because it didn't seem like she liked him that much. So, it was hard to understand why her mental state completely collapsed after she left him.
4. The Ending- It was open-ended which was rather disappointing because I was hoping to see more of what happened to them after Ji Ze rushed into the hospital room. I don't like it when I have to guess if the characters lived and what kind of life they had after. I am happy though, that it was a high chance it was a happy ending.
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