Fluffy, weird, full of non-sequiturs but still fab ML and FL
Though the series got less and less spooky as it went on, I still enjoyed it all until the last episode which was OTT dripping with sentimentality, even for me. The script did not do justice to the FL's potential but she was excellent performing what she got. The ML had more opportunities to shine and that he did! A pleasure to watch just him in fact. Other members of the cast were fine too even though none of them really had a chance to develop some kind of arc.A trip to Singapore in the middle for some strange reason had me wondering about how the film was funded, but there you go, the film industry worldwide, and K is no exception, take their handouts wherever and whenever.
There were some good truly suspenseful episode endings till about halfway through. My imagination ran riot wondering how things would resolve. I'm sure other viewers felt the same. A shame KDramas no longer get made as they are viewed, I think we could all help out the poor beleaguered writers.
In the end, it's the writing, not the directing, acting or photography, that prevents what ends up as a good series from being a great one. I get that KDramas are having to churn out a lot of content these days and I have no idea how the writers manage to do what they do. But something needs to be done to help them bring their work to fuller fruition.
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Kim Tae Ri as always at her superb best
Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born (2024)A stunning production, which I gather did not garner much enthusiasm as the time it was released. Which is a pity because, for someone like me who knew nothing about pansori storytelling or gukgeuk theatre, it was a real eye-opener – the theatrical productions and auditions from this Korean arts tradition were a joy to watch. Whether the writing between the lines is Sapphic or not.
The cast, with Kim Tae-Ri in the lead, were also stellar. The vocal acrobatics of all actor/singers (whether voiced-over or not I do not know, but it didn’t seem to matter in any case, so why am I raising the issue…) were staggering in stark contrast to the simple folk tales and heroic events enacted in the theatre productions.
Kim Tae Ri, as ever, stood head and shoulders above everyone for the depth, intelligence and sensitivity of her acting, whether as a young woman fighting multiple challenges in order to become a gukgeuk actor, or as that actor on stage. Her vocal modulation technique in particular was remarkable. I never tire of watching her in the ambitious parts she always manages to choose.
My only quibble would be the tendency at times towards lengthy melodramatic moments, especially between members of the gukgeuk troupe. But that may be my 21st century European perspective which could arguably be viewed as inappropriate for a series set in Korea in the 1950s (excellent set and costumes btw). However, perhaps the script could nonetheless have taken the contemporary sensitivities of the target viewership into account?
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so disappointing
As a huge fan of ZLH – I'd happily watch him reading the back of a packet of cornflakes for an hour or two – but even his presence and energetic attempt at providing this drama with a degree of pizzazz will not make me want to watch further than the first three episodes. I'm sorry, but the ridiculous pace, the clichéd filming, the poverty of character development meant that this drama offers nothing for this viewer to latch on to. I admit to not having watched a 'Republican' drama before, and reading some of the reviews below, I gather it is a genre that has its own specificities, tropes etc. Even so, the drama's inability to credit viewers with a brain, a critical eye, and dramatic sensibility means, for me at any rate, that this drama is a flop. I truly wish I could say otherwise. This is one of the very few dramas that have not wanted to see through to the end before I made up my mind.Was this review helpful to you?
