Reviews

Being a single mother in South Korea can be quite hopeless, that´s where this story is coming from

Yes, you should watch it.

As the title suggests, "Mother" deals with the archetypal theme of 'motherhood'. When is a mother a (good) mother? Once a mother = always a mother? Who can become a mother? Who has to be, no matter what? ... So far "Mother" isn't necessarily specific to Korea in terms of its story. (Actually the original is Japanese). But "Mother" is also (and most importantly) about the stigma of single mothers - and for South Korea that is outstandingly detrimental. From this point of view, this KDrama becomes immediately socially critical: if the position of the single mother in South Korea weren't so hopeless, then the whole story wouldn't have developed the emotional drive that it has.

In this context, "Mother" also confronts the viewers with two other socially sensitive issues in their manifold entanglements: child abuse and vigilantism. It is a dramatic fact around the world on the subject of child abuse that dealing with domestic violence is legally difficult. If you go the official route, you can only intervene when it is already too late. In the case of "Mother", essentially almost all mothers featured are to some extend criminals before the law (of one kind or another).

The hearty fare in terms of its sensitive content is, however, in a digestible way illuminated with all the proven stylistic devices of KDrama. The subject is dark and exhausting, but there is still room for light, color, joy and heartwarming in the presentation. Despite all the traumatization, the abused child is primarily a ray of hope (isn´t poetic freedom just wonderful!). It's no surprise that up-and-coming actress Heo Yool was named "Best New Actress" at the 2018 BaekSang Arts Awards... Her play ist simply amazing! (And not just hers...)

"Mother" aired on South Korean television during weekdays at 9:30 p.m. Regarding the scenes about child abuse, the age rating here has been set at 16, as opposed to the more usual 13 years. The KDrama "Mother" was released in 2018. It may be simple coincidence or even correlation: the KDrama just happened to present a burning topic of society at the time: In 2019 there was a change in law, which means that at least abortion now is legally possible for all women in the first 14 weeks without punishment.


-------------------- Side note: --- Orphanage and Single Motherhood in South Korea ---

If you are unmarried and happen to get pregnant, in South Korea you will have a hard time, still today. Exclusion, hostility, mobbing, unemployment, pressure from all sides are not uncommon.
If you are the child of a single mother, trauma of some sort is almost certain - mobbing, devaluation, child abuse, orphanage and/or adoption, you name it.

Noticeably, the 'orphanage' often plays a role for one of the protagonists in KDrama. That's not because it's such a stirring story hook, but because it's a current influence in the lives of many children (and now adults) of South Korean descent. Since the 1950s, the number of officially and unofficially adopted South Korean children, mainly from abroad, is estimated at 150,000 to 200,000. Another global leading position for South Korea... At first there were many war-orphans among them, otherwise there were also children from poor families. But since the 1980s, the main causes have been that the mothers are single parents. Desperate women - for whatever reason single with a child - often have no choice (to give themselves and the child a promising chance in life) than to give the child away - thus giving them a new chance with the option of being adopted to a solid family sooner or later...

For the children in the orphanage, the parents are not necessarily dead. However, their mothers gave up their parenthood at the door for a good reason: because society with its traditional value system does not accept a concept beyond ´traditional´ family. Single parents are not welcome. However, since abortions were also undesirable - i.e. forbidden for ages, unmarried pregnant women always found themselves in great distress... It was only in 2019 that the ban on abortions - that had been in force up to that point - was declared unconstitutional, so that pregnant women are now at least up to the 14th week without specifying abortion without punishment, in the case of rape up to the 24th week.

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THE BEST LEGAL COURTROOM DRAMA EVER!

Are you a fan of the American legal thriller TV series HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER? Then, LAW SCHOOL is definitely for you. Not a remake, but the premise of the drama and the primary set-up is inspired by the said English series.

Law School had been one of the most anticipated drama of the year 2021, that too a rare legal courtroom thriller drama. And everyone can see how it has paid off to everyone's expectations. Kim Myung Min, Kim Bum and Ryu Hye Young are indeed the reason all of us were damn sure about the quality drama it'll be. What a powerful cast to begin with!

The very first scene of the very first episode of this drama; that one single scene where the writer and the director decided to show the faces of the cast for every major character and proved what the class and standard of their drama will be. That was so lovely of a scene to witness and made me feel woah. The production actually succeeded in dragging us into the drama.

Law School has a straicase plot development which means, it's neither steady storyline or a combination of connecting plots; rather a series of related events where everything is revealed in a step by step manner leading to the main climax in the end. I loved the way every character in it catched up to a new event that they were completely unaware of, resonated it on the individual level utilizing law that they study, gave it a trail for good and finally let it go.

Law School has the typical urban thriller editing but they keep the intense mood up all the time by running the screenplay at the apt speed, hence making it interesting and not boring.

To be honest, the first 2 episodes felt a bit dull and confusing. They keep going forward and backward in time, multiple times which didn't allow me to catch up to what exactly was happening. But it caught momentum from the 3rd episode and got better since then. And from the 6th episode, it actually became very interesting and I enjoyed watching.

Character development is a thing that's been shown for only limited characters among a huge number of cast but that's fruitful given how they changed from facile and one dimensional beings to stronger individuals with the drama's progression. Notably, the screentime distribution is even for all the characters, the lead trio being the ones to get slightly more duration; one of the handful dramas where both male and female characters are equally emphasised and well balanced. A major credit to the writer for that.

Kim Myung Min being the arrogant and most lawful man (in the entire world), might make your blood boil to the point that you might wanna smash him down but before you realize, he shall capture your heart with his badguy charisma (I've actually fallen for him :P). DO NOT expect to see much romance between Kim Bum and Hye Young because the drama ain't about that though Kim Bum sometimes love to flirt with Hye Young as he kind of admires her a lot. On the other side, Hye Young who is unaware of her fluttering heart for Kim Bum, is always annoyed by Kim Bum and herself is so annoying, haha. Her character development is notable for she grows to being a righteous law person from a girl, not good at studies.

Let's talk about the legal aspects. I have always felt that not many people watch pure legal dramas unless it has a major part of romance and melodrama but if we are talking about a courtroom drama or movie, it has to be like Law School. Some people might wanna give up because they keep blabbering about the criminal codes, constitutional laws, articles and sections at a rate that you have to pause many times to understand and channelise the things but trust me, that's what happenes in a real courtroom. They have included and discussed a lot of clauses but they also made sure to make us understand them with examples and elaborations even during the trials. They've also wisely introduced the shortcomings in the existing law & order, thus implying a need of change in them. This work is hence highly commendable.

It's done pretty well even if you judge it as a thriller. They kept increasing our urge & curiosity to know who the actual culprit is. Unlike many thrillers, you might hesitate to predict and make theories about this drama because everything is simultaneous and transparent and which is why I thought the revelation of the culprit will come as a huge shock, but not gonna lie, it was disappointing. It turned out to be an already very bad guy so I wasn't like woah. But I doesn't matter because it's primarily a courtroom drama and evem after the revelation, it didn't become boring or anything rather more cases were added on the same episide as compensation which never felt like getting dragged at all.

The background sound editing and screenplay is nice. The direction is amazing as well that kept people going, especially for viewers like me who are into binging. But I think this drama is a huge disadvantage for those who watch ongoing. It's not frustrating as there's nothing to predict or think about and honestly you won't have to wait for a week eagerly to watch the next episode.

Law School is indeed one of the best thrillers of 2021 and overally among all the thrillers too and let me call it the BEST LEGAL COURTROOM KDRAMA EVER PRODUCED.

P. S. I sometimes got the DEAD POETS SOCIETY vibes because of the way Prof. Yang gathered his students and they even had a hideout in the copy room. HAHAHA

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Raging comedic banter, battle and romance. I highly recommend!

Cho Yeo Hwa (Lee Ha Nee), lives as a dutiful widow by day and by night she's running across rooftops fighting criminals for the poor secretly. One night, she got into a chaotic fight, she landed in the arms of a palace guard, Park Soo Ho (Lee Jong-won). Unbeknownst to both, there’s a secret in the past left to be unfold. As Yeo Hwa continues living her lifestyle, Soo Ho keeps running into her, wanting to know who she really is… will she be able to keep her disguise?

This drama is consistently entertaining! While I expected the show to be as fun as it was, I didn’t expect to be immediately connected with our characters and their motivations. I love Yeo Hwa, her mother-in-law and her quirky friend, too. That she's widowed due to a tragic past, controlled by her mother-in-law and almost 100% locked inside her house, it all sounds depressing, but the storytelling is so so fresh. Also it's interesting to see like how our male lead, Soo Ho with his role to serve justice but he's bind by a lot of rules, while he sees this mysterious person just do it each night.

The intro and the epilogue scenes are A+! Each episode is meaningful with steady pacing. Interesting twists happened here and there. There's a whole lot of wuxia-style fight scenes; flying to the roof, hitting people by acorns, and I enjoyed a lot. The action scenes are funny, also the little gestures, sound effect, visual effect, they're all worked together perfectly. The romance is fun, low-stake, and heart-fluttering! Every romantic scene counts. Not much complicated intrigue until the last few episodes, where it was resolved but falters flat. Though so, the whole experience of my watching is truly entertaining!

-Feb 2024, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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I think the biggest problem with this series is that it'll forever be compared to the movie. Don't do what I did and watch the movie then jump right into this series. If you've seen the movie, wait at least a couple of months before starting the series to give yourself a chance to forget most of it. Or better yet, watch the series first.

There's simply no comparison. The movie is just a better overall production, even counting the fact that movies tend to have a higher budget. It's best to think of them as being in two different universes-having similar characters, a similar setup, but completely different characterizations, different plot, different tone, different extrapolation. I suspect that a lot of people rate the series higher because it ends happily, where the movie is tragic. As a gay man, I totally understand the bias against LGBT movies with tragic endings; there's simply too many of them. But still, the movie's better.

But I'm not dismissing this series. The series comes into it's own about halfway when it spends time with new characters and explores themes of it's own.

Overall, you won't regret watching it. I wish I had time for a rewatch as my own comparisons to the movie spoiled the beginning for me. Looking forward to Season 2 instead!

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Which is the main couple?

The very first thing that I believe every watchers think of the same way, the main couple supposed to got more screentime. Due to lot of second couple scene (tbh, I skipped a lot), I started to confuse and feeling like Xu Qing You and Mo Ling Ze is not the main couple. What I like the most from this series is that was no dumb FL that appeared in most c-drama (well, XQY is dumb in another way, lol), the FL is fashionable here (I don't think she re-put on the same outfit) and for sure the mature relationship.

This series is not coming in the vibes I expected for, I don't really can relate it to the title. But, at least, it's 'so so' and still watchable for me. For the casting and acting skills, I don't think there're any problem, they looked great--well built chemistry and suit on all their own characters. Although I don't really remember the songs played in the drama, but I like that sexy opening song! :D lol.

The two essences of this story:
"What's the point of enduring in a toxic relationship?"
"We can't 'form' people, because they are ALIVE!"

P.S: I put the rewatchable value amounted at 5, but actually I'm not type of watcher who rewatching any, so it means it's 5:5 according on your own taste.

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This is a feminist movie. What kind of image does it conjure up for you?
I can tell you that this isn't a story about a confident, "girl crush" woman. Rather, it follows the story of an ordinary woman and the gender based microaggressions she faces.

This movie isn't an easy watch precisely because it's so real (similar to Misaeng). You could only hope that all of those events don't happen to the same person in real life though.

I knew about the general plot before watching the movie but it still really hit me hard. At the start, I thought it was really fast-paced because it just threw you into the movie. But as the movie progressed, I got used to it and was able to connect with it more.

However, I think reading the book would help you understand the movie better. There was a few scenes that didn't feel resolved in the movie, but I think were explored in the book.
I was also confused if Kim Ji Young's behavior was supposed to be more metaphorical or literal. After reading some reviews of the book, I think I understand what it's trying to say. There was one review in particular that said she didn't have a voice in this society so she had to adopt other personas / mimic other people in her life to say something.

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HIStory stories had quite some pressure on them after the release of Obsessed, so I was very curious how "season 2" would do. I expected to be either utterly disappointed or be full of high praise. Well, fortunately the second one is the case.

Story: Right or Wrong gives us a lovely storyline that does not actually start with a love line but a main "get to know the life of the characters" plotline. Soon though, it picks up the pace and gives you a lot more than you expected. The story gives you some drama, a lot of funny remarks or conversations (at least I sometimes found them quite funny) but mostly it gives you loveliness...RoW is lovely from beginning to end and when you start you don't wanna stop because the characters grow on you rather quickly. Also it gives us a little unusual storyline for BL series and movies, so that's something new and fresh.

Cast: The cast was a little bit awkward at first but after getting to know the characters better, you start loving them and the awkwardness disappears. The acting is good enough, for me to forget that they are actors and for me to want to know what they will act in next. Also the cast managed to give their own flavour to the characters.

Music: The music was great. I love the ending song!!

Rewatch: Oh yes, definitely. Probably right now ^.^

Overall: Overall the story did not disappoint at all and was interesting and refreshing especially for a BL series. The characters were lovely, the cast did a great job, the music is noticeable and nice to listen to and I definitely love this as much as Obsessed. Well, the expectations for the rest of HIStory 2 are rising...

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The epilogue or continuation to ep 36 and the ending to the series.

If you have watched 36 eps of Word of Honor, then do watch this as it wraps up the series and answers the questions you may have after ep 36. This small episode shows what happened to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu after we last saw them in the armory. We also get to see Gao Xiao Lian's family. A happy end to the series and for WKX and ZZS. Nice to see them be together and retire from jianghu to teach the future disciples of the rebuilt four season's manor.

Ep 36 leaves off with Gao Xiao Lian calling everyone to a meal and here we see Deng Kuan (her husband) come to collect their son for the meal with mother. We see the disciple practicing 18 steps of Qiuming that only WKX knows so he is learning from WKX. ZZS turns up to instruct him and then WKX shows up to disagree with his teaching methods as he tends to do. Deng Kuan then whisks away his confused son, saying that the two of them have been fighting like this their entire lives and says that they are now immortals. In 36 we are shown that Chengling has rebuilt the manor near the ice mountains. So, all of them live nearby. Great that their family of three is still together.

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This movie is so fun! Another thing that solidifies my love for Lee Sun Gyun. It is about an adult comic book artist looking for a writer. He needs to win a contest for the prize money. When they meet their relationship is antagonistic at best. But those sparks turn into something more.

As typical as this set up may sound, it's so well done and enjoyable to watch it doesn't matter. I've actually never seen a movie premise like this. Well that's not true. A few years back there was an American movie about a ghost writer helping an author to pen a book but it was done poorly and there is no comparison.

Remember that they are writing an adult comic. There are a lot of sexual references but it's done very tongue in cheek as the female writer is faking 99% of her sexual experience. Most of the graphic sexual images are in fact, in graphic (comic book) form.

Watching Jung Bae get wise to her act...I loved it! Dae Rim is such a character and Jung Bae finds her tough to take at first. But when he begins to draw...it's her face that appears on paper. As the two leads gravitate toward each other and their feelings grow...it's so cute!

Lee Sun Gyun and Choi Gang Hee make a great pair. Able to be comedic and have you believe when they are sincere.
I recommend this movie highly.

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It's a really good movie, but the movie was a bit depressing in the middle, but that's actually quite realistic in the world. Where there is not trust in both, the relationship won't maintain, relationship exist because of trust, "I believe in you", this is actually a powerful sentence that could made people a good day and feel not alone.

Just some of my thoughts, people in old times might have more courage than most of the people now. Back then, like this movie, they actually quite hard to connect to each other so they will express the true feeling to the person to make sure they see them again. Unlike now, I know I will see the person through social media or reality every day so I hide my feeling and waiting for her to find it out...

It is really a beautiful movie with a perfect song list.

And I was waiting for the ending that Mi-Soo and Hyun-Woo open back the bakery...

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I have never written a review before, but I was so impressed with this drama that I felt I had to. Please forgive me for my lack of eloquence. If only I was as talented as the screenwriter;')
I came into this drama for the cast alone, but I got much more than I was expecting.   If you are expecting a great romance, you may be disappointed. There are some romantic feelings, but it is not the main point. The quartet of flawed but likable individuals find friendship and support at a time when they all have a deep need for it. As a hardcore romantic, I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship and didn't feel any lack due to the barely there romance.  

The best things about this drama:
1) the acting- the casting could not have been more perfect. Each actor seemed fitted to the role, bringing out the best in their character.
2) the characters- perfectly imperfect, and quirky. Their interactions with each other made each episode special.
3) the witty banter- I applaud the writer. So very clever. This truly made the drama a joy to watch.
4) the music- brilliant!

Quartet may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, this is the best drama of the year.

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To help out those who are looking for a positive review of this drama, here I am writing my first drama review ever~
Hope I didn't give away too much here.
First of all, I wont call myself a saeguk fanatic, since I don't think I watch that much dramas of this genre, though I definitely do enjoy them and Korea's history.


Story:
Plot is interesting, satisfying amount of action and nerve-wrecking moments.
I definitely say that the content is like 80-90% political, with the remaining parts for romance, just to spice up and bring some colors to the political issues here.
I like how they focuses on the political history of Joseon with its neighboring countries instead of the usual domestic politics among the clans.
So I wont recommend it if you are looking for a more romantic saeguk drama like The Princess' Man or The Moon Embraces The Sun.


Acting/Cast:
I started this because of Seo In Guk, but that definitely isn't the main reason why i completed this.
- Seo In Guk
I do feel awkward at first seeing him acting in a historical drama, since this is his first.
I even thought that his voice isn't suited for a prince especially when he give out commands, which usually goes well with deeper voices.
But he improved over time, and before I knew it, I was too into his character, GwangHae, to even remember it's InGuk who's acting.
Definitely a good actor indeed.
- Shin Sung Rok
He's just PERFECT at playing the bad character. No words needed to describe it.
- Jo Yoon Hee
Not a fan of her acting. Keep feeling that there's something missing in the way she acts in some of her scenes.
- Others
I always feel that saeguk drama actors/actresses are the best. Most of them portray the characters clearly, which makes you hate or love them to the core.
Kim GyuRi's acting is worth mentioning, love the way she successfully acted the Kim GwiIn character that makes me dislike her, but at the same time feeling that she is pitiful and likable as well.


Music:
I'm addicted to it now, putting it on replay, so that should mean its nice ;)
I'm a huge ballad/emotional drama songs. They definitely have the good ones, the ones that when you listen to, you cant help but to replay scenes of the drama like an mv in your head. And it makes you emo afterwards (or maybe its just me XD)
Though I wish there are more songs instead of only 3 being repeated in 23 episodes.


Re-watch Value:
Since its hugely political, i don't think it is worth re-watching.
Unless one don't mind listening to the usual long political conversations in saeguk dramas :P
For InGuk fans out there like me, maybe it wont be so bad to re-watch it just to stare at how hot he is as a prince~~


Hope this helps :)

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Idiosyncratic SK interpretation of a sequel to 'Sleeping Beauty' from the Prince´s perspective :-)

I would like to see the KDrama "Yong Pal" as an idiosyncratic South Korean interpretation of a sequel to 'Sleeping Beauty' in the modern zeitgeist, which is told from the point of view of the prince - what had actually happened after the two had celebrated their wedding at the time? ..."Yong Pal" gives its own makjang-infused answer several centuries after the Brothers Grimm :-)

Obviously, the story also has a critical focus on recent health care topics. Basically, the Hanshin Hospital takes center stage. This belongs to a Jaebeol conglomerate. Yong Pal is employed here as a talented young intern. But Yong Pal also works illegally as a doctor. Provided the price is right, he treats those who need medical care below the official radar of the health care system. Yong Pal gets promoted as exclusive doctor for the discreet care of the VIPs, too. On the 12th floor, the very rich and most influential patients stay within a separate department of the Hanshin Hospital, where, in addition to plenty of luxury and discretion, only the best medical care is guaranteed. Towards the end, Yong Pal also works as a doctor in a simple, small, rural clinic. Thus, in the course of the KDrama the protagonist's field of activity (and challenges with ethics, or rather the lack of it) covers the broad spectrum and the current focal points of the topics in health care (i.e. in South Korea).

In the beginning, Yong Pal is clearly at the center of the story, captivating the audience. The focus shifts after he meets coma patient Han Yeo-jin and helps her to regain consciousness, strength and her rightful legacy as Jaebeol of the Hanshin Group. From then on, everything revolves more around Yeo-jin and her vendetta. This isn't less impressive, especially with Kim Tae-hee's intense acting. However it is different. The second part thus offers pure Korean-style Makjang: more drama is always possible. As a result, storytelling takes another lane. (Many viewers obviously don't seem to have been very happy with that. Makjang fans, however, will definitely get their money's worth.) The transition between the first and second parts is moderated by a transition, which is filled with the blossoming romance between the two protagonists. From then on, however, there is hardly any room for a love-life in the protagonist's bitter fight for inheritance and revenge, in which she is ready to take any means. (You may want to take that against the KDrama as well.)

All in all, "Yong Pal" is a moving story that is grippingly exciting at the beginning and furthermore tells of a makjang-charged revenge. Love story included. Due to the success of the series at the time of broadcasting, actually two more episodes were added.

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Kobayashi’s Seppuku (aka Harakiri) is without doubt one of the best Samurai films ever made and the deepest one I ever saw. It’s also a classic that survived the test of time.

This review will probably be my longest up to date. Bear with me because I have to put this film in its right temporal and spatial frameworks before talking about the film itself. If you’re not interested in history, you can skip the first two paragraphs and get to the film’s specific review.

I am history lover so it’s a given that I studied Japanese history way before I started watching Japanese classics and that knowledge in history helped me a lot when I started exploring the golden Japanese cinema. Seppuku is set at the beginning of the Edo era (17th century), an age of peace that lasted for more than 250 years in Japan where the Samurai class gradually lost the “warrior” side of their positions since there weren’t any wars to fight. As Tokugawa (the general who established his shogunate in Edo) gained complete control over Japan; many Samurai who fought the Sekigahara battle and others were left without clans to serve and were called “Ronin” meaning masterless Samurai. They were usually viewed as bandits whether intentionally or unintentionally, they lived in poverty but they didn’t lose their “samurai nobility” that’s still a higher rank than the peasants’ class. They also never gave up on their honorable ethics and beliefs.

In that era, many Ronin’s started to visit clans to request a “Seppuku” in their clans’ yard, meaning a ritual suicide where the Samurai has to literally disembowel himself using his Shinto (the Samurai in that era has a long Sword Katana and a smaller one Shinto that he always carry around with him, they’re considered as big part of his Samurai honor). The Harakiri (ritual suicide) is in fact an honorable death for a Samurai so it was dishonorable for clans to reject such a noble request from Ronins but they also didn’t want to let them kill themselves on their property so they either hired them as their clans’ Samurai (but that didn’t happen a lot since it’s an era of peace so the clans didn’t need many Samurai considering the fact that there’s no war) or they just gave them money and sent them away. As other Ronin heard about the story, they started to frequently visit clans in order to request a Seppuku but they never actually meant to kill themselves, they just wanted to take the money and leave. And that’s what’s called “Harakiri fraud” which is a cowardly, shameful act from a Samurai even if he’s a Ronin.


The history stops there although the clan that’s mentioned in this film (The Iyi clan) is a real clan that’s known as a very important figure in modern Japanese history. Now, let’s talk about the film itself; one clan (the Iyi clan) decided to stop these Harakiri frauds and made the Samurai who asked to commit seppuku kill himself so that other Ronin won’t dare show up in front of their clan. That’s how the story starts but through flashbacks, we get the overall story of that man, where he came from and why he came. His circumstances, his situation and his life were all told using flashbacks that were amazingly illustrated in order to produce spectacular turns of events.

Seppuku is a human Samurai film that deals with old Japanese codes of honor and ethical Samurai principles. Kobayashi wanted to introduce a somewhat anti-samurai film that deals with the shortcomings of some Samurai beliefs by using quotes such as “After all, this thing we call samurai honor is ultimately nothing but a façade” (said by Tsugumo Hanshiro) but then he comes back to insist on the codes of dignity. Unlike many Kurosawa films’ I saw where he always idolizes the Samurai figure. Don’t get me wrong, Kurosawa’s films are my favorites but what I meant to say is that Kobayashi and Kurosawa’s adaptations of Samurai stories are quite different even if they’re comparable, to each his own genius ideas of making masterpieces.

The film contained the sword fighting but it wasn’t the main focus of this film. The developments were surprising and quite intriguing to follow; in this film you get a taste of suspense, psychology, action, tragedy, revenge and even family. Although the film insists on the Samurai element more than anything else, it also focuses on family relationships, interactions and sacrifices as well as human and more specifically Samurai emotions.

If I keep talking then I won’t stop praising this film’s screenwriting by Shinobu Hashimoto and the original novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi. I appreciated every angle of the story and the way it revealed facts at the most unexpected time. This is not a film that’s set to kill a Samurai through a ritual suicide or show the audience how a Samurai disembowel himself; it’s a film that describes the human emotions and feelings behind that act. However, I do understand if some people found the development a bit slow. As for me, my eyes were glued to the big screen the whole time without a single move or sound. Yes, it had that kind of impact on me.

The acting, oh my! what on earth can I say about that acting? I am not biased or someone who talks with full subjectivity so when I say that Nakadai was marvelous in this, I am not talking with a fangirl’s emotions, I am speaking with full objectivity about a Japanese legend. For me or anyone who knows classic Japan, Nakadai Tatsuya is a legendary star in the Japanese cinema and one hell of a charismatic astounding actor who can grab your intention in a split of a second. Like many of his other roles, Nakadai was amazing in this; his portrayal of Tsugumo Hanshiro’s character was flawless. Enough said or I won’t stop talking about that man’s incredible acting skills.

Other actors were also amazing; I was moved by their acting skills. It’s the golden Japanese era of cinema so it’s a given that only high-class acting exists. The characters were very well written and their relationships were fascinating to follow, I was moved by many characters’ developments in Seppuku.

Now let me talk about that breathtaking cinematography. I like to focus on cinematography while watching films and even though this was produced in 1962 (black and white); I was charmed by the back sceneries and great settings. Kobayachi did an awesome job with those mesmerizing takes that I will never forget.

I have to mention the soundtrack which I believe it’s the best music composure I ever heard in any Japanese classic.

Watch this if:
-You like Japanese classics or want to discover them.
-You enjoy Samurai films but keep in mind that this isn’t an action film.
-You love films with human stories.
-You like Masaki Kobayashi because this is his finest work.
-You like Nakadai Tatsuya because this is one of his best performances.

Do not watch if:
-You dislike Japanese classics.
-You dislike Samurai films.

To end my super long review, I will mention that Harakiri is a crafted masterpiece by Kobayashi and an eternal gem of the Japanese classic cinema that’s bound to take you through a great journey of amazing events and astonishing acting skills.

I will leave you with two quotes by Tsugumo Hanshiro:
“What befalls others today may be your own fate tomorrow.”
“The suspicious mind conjures its own demons.”

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