Reviews

"Happiness is not a story, misfortune is"

Young love is a heady experience that eventually has to give way to maturity and communication or else the relationship is doomed to failure. Us and Them showed how love blossomed and faded, but never scattered away.

Jian Qing and Fang Xiao Xiao meet on a train headed to their hometown for Lunar New Year celebrations. The two hit it off and become friends. Both are struggling to make their dreams come true in Beijing. Xiao Xiao dates men older than her who are established because she wants to live in a nice house. After Jian Qing graduates from college, he works odd jobs selling games and porn. His dream is to create a video game but struggles with a lack of time and resources. After a second broken heart, Xiao Xiao moves into Qing’s cramped accommodations and the two eventually become lovers. Financial struggles begin to take a toll on the two as they attempt to make a living in Beijing.

By presenting the couple in the present (in black and white) and the past (in color) we learn how their expectations changed over time. Xiao Xiao went from wanting to live in a nice house to being content to live in a veritable dungeon with Qing. Qing doesn’t get that message and the pressure in his mind to measure up begins to build. Even as their fortunes change, Qing doesn’t comprehend what Xiao Xiao truly wanted. The older versions are able to look back on their younger selves and see the missteps and inevitabilities along the way.

The most heartbreaking element of the film for me, was Qing’s relationship with his father. His black and white problem-solving brain missed what his father tried to tell him. He diminished the sacrifices his father made for him, only realizing how his words cut when it was too late. Sometimes it is too late to say, “I’m sorry.”

Rene Liu created a gorgeous film with stunning snowy vistas, beautiful autumn walks, and claustrophobic living spaces. Jing Bo Ran and Zhou Dong Yu had a believable chemistry as young lovers and older, maybe wiser adults. Tian Zhuang Zhuang gave a touching performance as Qing’s dedicated father.

Us and Them conveyed through the obstacles Qing and Xiao Xiao faced that love isn’t always enough. Communication, trust, perseverance, and understanding are required to hang in for the long haul. All of these things are made even more difficult in poverty and when always on the move for shelter. The dumbest movie advice ever came from 1970’s Love Story, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” It’s just the opposite, love whether romantic or familial means saying you’re sorry and always working to do better. Or I suppose as this film declared, “If you see Kelly, tell her I’m sorry.” Us and Them was a bittersweet tale of love, heartache, and healing well worth giving a try.

17 September 2025

Patti Smyth may have said it best:


There’s a danger in loving somebody too much
And it’s sad when you know it’s your heart you can’t trust
There’s a reason why people don’t stay where they are
Baby, sometimes love just ain’t enough


Final note:
Don't skip the credits with real people giving ex-lovers messages. My fave..."Don't come back!" lol It also had a short epilogue.

Leia Mais

Hidden Motives, Crouching Fire

The Longest Day in Chang’an is a drama that can make you rave and rage. The production values were excellent, building a world that seemed real. For the most part the acting was also above average. What was rage worthy were all the characters from the ruling class that lied, cheated, stole, tortured, and murdered to move up or keep their vaunted positions. Completely out of touch with the people’s reality, the more they talked about the great Tang or serving the people, the more they ignored the truth, often seeking to find scapegoats for any problems that arose.

“Humans have always acted differently than their words”
The basic template was simple. Bad guys were in town to cause problems and the Crown Prince was about to be passed over for the Right Chancellor. Li Bi, a young prodigy, headed up the Peacekeepers Corp which had a database of information to draw from. The database picked death row inmate, Zhang Xiao Jing, to solve their problems. All he had to do was track down the bad guys and round them up before the Emperor’s giant lantern is lit at 2:00am on the night of the Lantern Fest and make the Crown Prince look good in the process. This being a drama filled with political intrigue, nothing was that simple when everyone was vying for position and trying to be on the winning side, especially when being on the losing side of power could mean death. Much of the action also occurred because of a military squad’s loyalty and near annihilation due to bad military management ten years prior.

“Kindness must be repaid, vengeance must be served”
Ex-soldier and ex-Sleuth Hound Commander, Zhang Xiao Jing , was a hardened warrior who was completely devoted to the surviving 9 from a disastrous military campaign and the daughter of their leader. He also held to the dream of what Chang’an could be for all people and would fight to protect the commoners with his last breath. Lei Jia Yin gave a strong, if not varied, performance as the super fighter who seemed to always be fighting large numbers or having to sacrifice to gain information. I was curious how a prisoner confined in a tiny cage for months would have had the stamina to run across Chang’an over and over all day and night as well as fighting almost non-stop.

“If I can’t save the present, I can’t save the future”
Jackson Yee as Li Bi, was more limited in his range as the leader of the Corps who found that despite his intelligence, he was often outplayed by people outside of and within the Peacekeepers. Rayzha Alimjan as Li Bi’s servant, Tan Qi, at least gave a strong female presence in a largely male cast. I was surprised and pleased to see Djimon Hounsou in the role of the Underworld Lord. Feng Jia Yi played the much older and retired on duty Emperor, with his white beard and eyebrows reminding me of Lo Lieh’s iconic character from Clan of the White Lotus. The most mesmerizing performance, however, was from Zhou Yi Wei as Long Bo. His every move was captivating in a nuanced and menacing performance that in lesser hands could have been ham-fisted.

“Numbers are the truth”
How many times did someone pull out mint to chew on? I stopped counting at 17 times. How many times was Zhang accused of being the perpetrator of a crime? Around 1,756, 230. The Emperor has indigestion. Dang that Zhan Xiao Jing! How many times did someone promise protection and then renege on it? The odds were not good for the person being promised. Pinky swears didn’t count for anything in Chang’an. How many characters did I wish would erupt into flames, but didn’t? Around 10. “A good man will be rewarded” or blamed by the bad man who will then be rewarded in his place. How many times were the good guys captured? Let me pull out my calculator.

“Truth doesn’t matter as much”
What Longest Day in Chang’an did well was world building. The excellent sets, teeming streets of extras, and costumes that looked worse for wear as the day went on, transported me back in time. The multi-layered narrative, intriguing characters, and well-choreographed action scenes were engrossing. Again, Zhou’s Long Bo was captivating and Zhang’s dogged determination was admirable if not exhausting. Where it didn’t work as well was when it became bogged down in the details and desire to give small history lessons. By giving many minor characters important screen time it side-lined others. Certain elements also became redundant. And a character that was talked about often, the Crown Prince, had relatively little screen time making it hard to tell if all the hearsay stories about him were true. Whereas, the despicable Right Chancellor's every loathsome move was shown. Despite focusing on numerous characters, the big reveal at the end was rather anti-climactic as the “mastermind” divulged pages of exposition regarding his evil plan in order for it to make sense and even then left a golden clue dangling.

“Human beings need to hold onto some kind of dream. That is what will drive them forward.”
Zhang and his buddy Wen, both knew Chang’an was not an ideal place, but both hoped it could be. There were people who fought to protect the citizens, even a Catholic priest who could do parkour! The suffering was largely due to the corrupt political system. The royalty and officials constantly looked for a way to destroy their rivals and rise in power with little thought for anyone else. Commoners, soldiers and servants were expendable and interchangeable. Even the terrorists who desired to set the system on fire had no compassion for those who struggled to make a life and living in Chang’an. The Longest Day in Chang’an was gripping and well worth the time even when I was ready for the day to end.

17 January 2024

Leia Mais

Nice premise lacks on execution with a forced "happy end"

I do like low budget productions in general, but in this case, they skimped on the runtime which makes the series feel rushed in the end. If it were me, I would have omitted the "happy end". It makes no sense to meet a guy who looks exactly the same and for all intents "feels" like the ghost which would have been impossible.

Acting was ok, giving us a bit of fluff and good vibes with a dark undertone. Of course the actors are also handsome, that may be a bonus point for some viewers. I have not much else to say besides, it's an ok show for what it is, even when I think the ending is "lame". So binge-watch it, if you are interested, but I would stop when the ghost is disappearing because that should be the real end.

Leia Mais

My heart is for Li Yi Tong and Wang Yan Lin in this!

To be honest, I’ve watched this show because of Li Yi Tong in it. And I was really glad that she was paired with Wang Yan Lin in which both actually are compliment to each other in a good way. Love watching them here!

I first watched Li Yi Tong’s 4 dramas in Amazon Prime Video UK (Royal Nirvana, Bloody Romance, Blossom in Heart or Begonia Rouge; and Just to See you or Fate). Since then, I have been following her works from England and trying to look for dramas starred by Li Yi Tong via any channels. No doubt, she is adorably beautiful and remarkably talented, especially when you see her shifting character from Huang Rong in Legend of the Condor Heroes, Appledog in Go Go Squid 2 and Hai Tang in Begonia Rouge to Wan Mei in Bloody Romance and all out acting as Lu Wenxi in Royal Nirvana. She’s just brilliant!

I never really understand how come many people in China have criticised Li Yi Tong look which may be forgettable on screen. But you can see here in this show that she is simply beautiful inside and outside, smart and naturally brilliant in acting for actress who never went to acting school. Her acting is definitely much better than many of Chinese actresses who are published to be more beautiful or popular than her. And plus, she has been the leading role in all her dramas and most of her dramas have steady good rating. You basically can throw any characters on her really and she would just execute them professionally beautiful. Her best qualities are indeed shown in “When We Write Love Story”. You would see how good she (partnered with Wang Yan Lin) actually was in doing impromptu acts and developing exciting real-life storyline about love (compared with the other actresses in the show).

This show truly highlights how lovely Li Yi Tong is as a person. She and Wang Yan Lin are definitely more fun to watch. They are adorable hilarious but sweet and cleverly romantic. Their love story here is more down to earth but yet make us laugh and cry with them. It’s a good balance of romance that was not cheesy and not over the top like the others. I do think more and more people outside the Chinese mainland including me have recognised Li Yi Tong as a great actress. It’s just ashamed that we sometimes find mixed-up profiles, photos and publications of her wherein often were mistakenly portrayed as complete different person which is Li Yi Tong, the ex singer of SNH48 who is apparently a mediocre actress. So, no wonder there has been biased recognition about her popularity. But so what popularity! It goes without saying that Li Yi Tong who is newly starred as the Fu Rou in Court Lady, is one of the best Chinese actress in China nowadays. Most of her dramas, movies and TV shows are worth to watch! So, must watch this one too :-)

Leia Mais

Ow

The plot was really the best, I loved it a lot, this has been the content I was looking for but never found until today. I highly recommend it. The acting was amazing and just drew me in unbelievably quick. The scenes were chefs kiss. The music played nicely with the movie but wasn't really there for me. I really liked every detail about it.

I didn't really dislike anything, it could have been longer and could have touched up on a lot of things yet it just skimmed through it. Either way I think it was for the best, because it just makes you want more. I'm really searching through and seeing if there's anymore of this and I've seen there is. If you like fighting, visuals, bright characters, excitement, then this is for you. The build up of the characters weren't there but it truly did show funny aspects. I wish there was just character growth actually, it really just throughs you in there to understand. Maybe its because you or I was supposed to watch the earlier ones, I don't know but It was pretty great. If you've seen K.O its like that but different. There is also awh moments in it which I enjoyed.

Leia Mais

I also shared my thoughts about this series on twitter; that's my first thoughts after watching the last episode, I cried so much that until now my heart aches knowing these fictional characters deserves better; it aches me how they broke me; this might contain spoilers too

I watched the last episode earlier & knowing the words they say hits differently, I cried with all of their flashbacks together, I cried when XHT felt all his yearning for YXG; I cried as I thought about YXG deserves better;
I don't know if I can accept this conclusion without feeling upset.

Since the first half of the series, we are aware of YXG's story and it was sad; We all knew he grew up without parents, strived hard to achieve a better future, worked hard to make himself stand despite his living condition and when he finally found XHT who made him realized that one can love him & felt truly cared when YXG finally accepted himself it went to tragedy.

I rooted for their happiness, I rooted for their bright future together; I get the gist of the series of making the days count with the people you care & love but I don't get it why YXG didn’t deserve a good end, he deserves a good conclusion, after all, he's been through a lot of hardships in his life yet they took that happiness away from him, they took that development away from us

What I also cried about was, the one who’s fulfilling YXG’s dreams of going to the national university & achieving a good status in life is XHT; it saddens me to see him striving hard knowing his purpose is not with him anymore; making himself busy, meeting other people just to forget YXG; and all those years, XHT always carry YXG memories with him, it broke me into pieces because YXG is the first and last love of XHT.
Just like those stars at YXG’s rooftop, where he always looked at whenever he's sad or happy;
YXG also became a star that shines brightly there, shining upon XHT, twinkling at the night.

Maybe in another universe, YXG & XHT have a better ending; still living together, working things out as a couple, as a family; being kind & in love to each other; maybe in another universe, they still hold each other’s hand & smile as they both face the future positively. Maybe in another universe...

The last episode was supposed to XHT's reflection with all those memories he shared with YXG, maybe it was supposed to be an episode where XHT is coming to the conclusion of accepting what happened to YXG, accepting his weakness, accepting after all these years, XHT still carried YXG in him.

Tho the whole series left me with a bittersweet feeling; I would say that this series was done in high quality, with the way they directed, the soundtrack, the dialogues but yes, that conclusion still upsets me because both main characters didn't deserve to suffer, now whenever I listen to the OST, I will always felt that cry; this series introduced me to the wonderful cast who worked hard to bring us the best chemistry. I’m wishing Wayne, Chunchih, Wilson & Thomas the best in their careers.
I won't forget them, I won't forget the love between YXG & XHT, I will remember this series.


Somewhere in a parallel universe, there's a Yu Xi Gu and a Xiang Hao Ting smiling and holding each other's hand, facing the future together.

Leia Mais

heartbreaking, yet beautiful

This has to be one of the most underrated films of 2022.

The director, Tanada Yuki, did a fantastic job portraying the ups and downs of life through gorgeous scenery and profound dialogue. At times, the pacing felt a bit slow, and some of the scenes seemed to drag slightly, but it did an effective job of creating an emotional experience for the viewer. This film touches on issues of mental illness, various forms of familial and relationship abuse, and toxic work culture. Certain scenes contained heart-wrenching and quite graphic depictions of self-harm and abuse, so be forewarned. The slower paced scenes ultimately allowed the viewer to reflect on the serious issues presented in this film. This movie is relatively short, and the plot isn't that complicated, but everything about it is impactful.

What makes this film amazing is the acting. Nagano Mei truly become the character of Shiino Tomoyo. I could feel her anguish, frustration, and helplessness through the screen. Her character felt like an anchor for the viewer to hold onto. Her reactions felt very real, in the face of tremendous heartbreak and anger. All the characters had fantastic line delivery, but Nagano definitely owned this movie.

Even though this film is incredibly sad, there are elements of humor sprinkled throughout. It felt very real, as life is filled with beauty, tragedy, and comedy. I can't emphasize enough how gorgeous this film is. It's definitely an emotional roller coaster, so prepare tissues!

Leia Mais

I appreciate this movie

The film is very similar in theme to another Korean film, Suddenly Last Summer, which is repulsion and attraction. But here, the director of such excellent and award-winning films as Night Flight and No Regret, this theme is upgraded almost to the maximum. Two young men have an intimate relationship during their military service and release their sexual energy. Youn Young has now left the army and is not so sure of his orientation and no longer wants to be in the presence of Gi Tae-ho, who has to stay in the army and is very uneasy about losing Young-a. A psychological drama ensues, the plot of which I will not describe, but I want to highlight above all the good work of both actors, they reached almost to the bottom, not only by being naked, but also by rolling in disgusting mud. Life is often cruel and when we lose someone, how often does it make us act desperate, and for that I appreciate the film.

Leia Mais

First Arc Stronger Than Second

Picked this up on a whim as a lot of the cast was familiar to me and I wanted to see an ancient crime solving drama. The storyline seemed to hold up for the first arc. Unfortunately, the second one was much weaker and the ending was sort of left on its own.

Pros: I enjoyed very much the chemistry between the FL and the SML and this had to be one of the stronger second male lead syndromes from a show that I probably had in a very long time if ever. I would have to say the ML had a good heart, but for the entire first arc was a spoiled manchild that you just wanted to throw away. The storyline was pretty good. I liked the strange cases that they all had to solve and how that little yamen became like a little family and they all took care of each other. The FL had a very rough childhood and didn't remember a lot of it, but she was very strong and very smart and relied on herself a lot sometimes a little too much because she had no fighting skills and would get herself into situations that she needed others help, but because she was stubborn, she wouldn't ask until unfortunately it was either too late or someone had to run in and rescue her.

This was another show which focused on women essentially being nothing more than window dressing, but with an FL that was strong and capable, and willing to do anything and everything it took to regain her freedom, even when it seemed impossible. I really liked that about her a lot. The other characters (other than the leads; even LW grew on you towards the second arc) that I enjoyed were the rest of the yamen crew, 2nd and 3rd Qi brothers, LS (kid couldn't read the room to save his life but was funny), JMC though tragic as her life was.

Cons: I have to mention the FL in the cons as well because I feel that she was miscast in this role. The actress herself is 32 years old and she's supposed to play someone who's 18 and a virgin. Most of it was very unbelievable. It was obvious that she was very intelligent and could get herself and other people out of situations that an 18-year-old usually would not be able to. I had seen the actress previously in a modern SWAT military type thing and she did a great job there. Here I felt that she was emotionless even when she smiled or cried, her face didn't move that much and when she was angry, other than raising her voice, it didn’t translate. I think that it could've been handled better.

I also didn't feel any romantic connection between her and the ML even after everything was explained and done and we understood why she couldn't be with SML or vice versa but the whiplash of her emotions from SML to ML was instant almost and was very unbelievable. They had enough episodes to make it better and flesh it out in a way that would make sense for the audience.

Most of this was in the second arc, which was very weak, especially where all of the antagonists were concerned I didn't feel like any of the antagonists were believable or people you could legitimately hate as antagonists, other than the obsessed creep QY. On top of that, said obsessed creep wasn't even given a proper death. He just fell into fire; you could call it symbolic, considering that he was the one who killed her parents through fire, but I felt he needed to suffer more. What he did throughout the entire show was just too disgusting to have him end so quickly. Furthermore, the other two antagonists were given ridiculously light sentences. Just because LW showed that her father could be reformed. Meanwhile, her father was essentially responsible for the deaths of over 250 people and multiple communities starving. Furthermore, the ML was punished for trying to save people. It did not make any sense to me. The end was almost deflated, felt a lot like the directors just threw their hands in the air and said "let's just end it however and call it a day" which was sad and the entire second arc brought the score down for me.

Would I recommend it? Honestly, if you want something simple to watch without investing emotions into it, this is a good show.

Leia Mais

A special which was not special at all...

Oh, MDL woke up and put this page on... But when you have already seen all the episodes, this episode does nothing except killing Ken off... Of course he must be killed off, because the thai police is so incompetent they can't catch him... And they are good in delivering cheesy lines. And having a ten minute discussion if the toilets should be painted green or not. Of course there must be a NC scene in said toilets, because a special without fanservice is not a special.

The only thing I can say is, watching this is a waste of time, it feels not special, it does nothing special, it's just watchable and boring and that's it. In this case I have not more to say because I already forgot everything else besides what I have already mentioned :)))

Leia Mais

Visione consigliata ad un pubblico dai 3 ai 9 anni...

Step By Step Love è un rom com drama , categoria business romance con Zhao Zhi Wei e Lu Yang Yang fatto talmente male, sia a livello di sceneggiatura che recitazione (meno pessimo tra tutti è il man lead) da risultare una perdita di tempo, forse perché girato a basso budget.
Racconta la storia del freddo presidente dell'azienda Lu Chen Yang, orfano con sete di vendetta nei riguardi della Yihua, un'azienda concorrente. Alla fine assume la nipote della proprietaria dell'azienda nemica, la designer Bu Ran, e se ne innamorerà (ma dovrete attendere tipo 20 ep perché questo accada).
La trama di per sé potrebbe anche risultare interessante ma la storia è realizzata in maniera talmente approssimativa e prevedibile , con recitazioni molto stentate, dialoghi poverissimi e cambi di rotta improvvisi da chiedermi come la gente abbia potuto valutarla così generosamente. E allora mi viene da pensare che la cosa riguarda solo i baci un po' più spinti di un episodio sul finale. Io l'ho iniziata perché mi ricordava "well intended love" ma a confronto quella è una serie da oscar.
Al di là di una storia noiosa realizzata troppo male per risultare credibile ( architetti che presentano progetti nel 2023 a mano come disegni di bambini di prima elementare, che usano il metro a nastro invece del laser che si usa per progettare spazi, sangue arancione, ragazze di 27 anni che agiscono come bimbe e non hanno mai frequentato nessuno, idem uomini di 30, antagonisti che per dichiararsi usano obbligo o verità, case ristrutturate senza niente di speciale o notevole da meritare encomi, orfanotrofi con 8 bambini ospiti .... , conversazioni in inglese che feriscono le orecchie con pronunce improbabili che affermano invece di negare) , i personaggi sono caratterizzati davvero male, la FL sembra iniziare a bomba e alla fine è solo una ragazzina abbastanza brava nel proprio lavoro, sempre imbronciata e priva di qualsiasi altra espressione, non si capisce davvero perché il ML dovrebbe innamorarsi di lei (solo perché progetta bene?).
L'antagonista sembrava sarebbe diventato un antagonista anche nel privato professionale e invece è un ragazzino senza alcuna intraprendenza amorosa o personale che fa caffè e si lamenta, non aggiunge davvero niente alla storia, neanche il suo modo di corteggiare fa rimpiangere o dispiacere la sua "disfatta". Prima premessa tradita.
Il padre della FL, inizia bene, tanto che si sperava in qualche colpo di scena o che potesse davvero ribaltare la situazione invece svela già dopo 8 ep le sue carte e si eclissa per diventare figura di sfondo, inutile anche lui.
Le donne qui, a parte FL e madre, direttrice orfanotrofio, sono descritte TUTTE come delle megere arriviste, non hanno nessuna complessità o storia che giustifichi la cattiveria, vogliono solo dei soldi o un uomo ricco (che tristezza).
Colpi di scena prevedibili, nessuna crescita per i personaggi: il ML ha 30 anni ma la maturità emotiva di un bimbo di 5, il suo modo di corteggiare è fare i dispetti , la FL non ha davvero una e una sola caratteristica per cui dovrebbe piacere o interessare a qualcuno e non riesce a tirarsi fuori da sola dai guai nemmeno una volta. La salvano puntualmente i suoi spasimanti, lei non brilla né per intelligenza, né per astuzia né per intraprendenza. Cambi di rotta improvvise, storie e colpi di scena create sul momento...nemmeno qualche bacio più spinto può salvare questa tragedia.
Musiche gradevoli ma neanche Hans Zimmermann avrebbe potuto dare intensità ad un lavoro così improvvisato, mal congegnato e maldestramente reso.
PASSATE AVANTI!

Leia Mais

hidden gem?

While I realise that this is a GMM series so it can't really be a hidden gem because it was WILDLY popular at the time it aired, this series to me was first not really that appealing.

In fact I disliked the first episode so much I dropped it for a year and I didn't think I would be coming back to it. But here we are!
Disclaimer: I did watch most of the episodes at 1.5x speed.

I quite enjoyed the story, although there were some plots that weren't necessary for my enjoyment imo. Some of the scenes dragged on and on and some good editing could've helped the episodes flow better. Most of my complaints are minor and bearable if you know thai BL. Plus it also hugely improves watching everything in at least 1.25x speed and only slowing it down for the emotional scenes. Speaking of which: the emotional scenes are amazing! The acting from both couples was great and tugged at my heart strings.

I really liked the cast as well! Shoutout to Louis <3 !

All in all, I'm glad I watched it but it's not mindblowing and I won't be rewatching it.

Leia Mais

Enchanting and mentally stimulating artwork, great in every aspect

The first drama I've watched (and rewatched) from the first to the last second, intro and outro included. Excellent direction, pacing and balance between suspence and distension, care for details, lights, settings, camera frames...

The plot is apparently simple: after discovering his ex is missing, an underdog (blogger with passion for investigations nicknamed Da Hui Hui) starts to suspect she was killed by a renowned ceramic artist and a rising young prof (Zeng Jie) with "tending to perfection" as his Leitmotiv. DHH befriends a policeman (Li De) who believes "only in evidence" and initially doubts his "logic behind truth" (which is also the name of DHH's blog-channel) but is intrigued by his sense for details and deduction methods based on clues, assumptions, leads and circumstantial reasoning. Their explicative dialogues are intermittently inserted in action scenes regarding mainly the life and the personality of the artist DHH intends to "debunk" and DHH's flashbacks regarding his ex. Gradually, DHH discovers that behind the well-cured image of a sophisticated artist "tending to perfection", self-confident and socially respectable person, ZJ is an insecure person, womanizer, social climber and money-grabber in an unhappy marriage with a rich woman who helps him to maintain the respectable image in public, but belittles him in private, triggering his terror of poverty and aggressivity. The life of this couple (and in particular the life of ZJ) is meticulously scrutinized and displayed through numerous flashbacks, containing incredible findings, twists and clues, steadily complicating the story, like drops of rain gradually enlarging the crater and flowing further on.

Fluid elements are omnipresent and aesthetically excellently employed: the rain scenes, the ocean light effects in DHH living room/studio, close shots of intoxicating liquids being poured in glasses... conveying the sense of slippery, of danger, of a vague dream and making us doubt of what we see. To pay his tuition, ZJ painted countless copies of Monet's "Sunrise, impression" - ofc. the choice of this painting wasn't casual: its unique haziness inhences the sensation that the reality we see is just a blury vision of what impressed us the most.

All scenes are perfectly lighted and staged, cured in details, often set as theatrical stages with all actors performing great. But there's ONE...

UNFORGETTABLE scene: ZJ's monologue, brilliantly delivered by Wang Duo, in the shed where he painted Monet's reproductions. Young and poor ZJ gets drunk for the first time. He has just won his first important award and heard that his hard-working father was celebrating it with his colleagues in a distant place where he worked. He buys a bottle of cheapest booze, returns to the shed, gets stoned seeing the sea from the painting pouring down and talking to himself, disjointly commenting who knows what (the painting, his poverty, his parents' unreasonable ambition?), creating the following couplets: "Harmony blending light with dust/ Dust blinding my vision /Vision blurred by arrogance". That's the moment in which we realize ZJ is a true artist, he is not just posing as one. Vulnerable, desperate and drunkly aware that recognition seeking will be his curse. A rare moment in which he is truly himself, not pretending. Smth truly memorable, a must watch scene.

The choice of music is not extensive but is good, in particular the melanchonic song in English.

Ofc., there were certain "blemish flaws" even in such a "tending to perfection" drama. The story covered a good part of ZJ's life but left certain "tiny holes" (why his parents were so ambitious, expecting from him to sacrifice everything and everybody, even them, for success? his inspirations and creativity remained blurred, as well as his relation with the older rich lady in a moment of his crucial characterial transformation...). The ending report of trial verdicts was totally unnecessary. Besides, one in particular, containing a HUGE legal error, got on my nerves. Hand-made reproductions of famous paintings ARE NOT ILLEGAL as long as the original work is in the public domain (and all Impressionists' works are sufficiently old to be in public domain), and can be legally copied, even for sale (ofc. as copies not as originals, selling them as originals would be a fraud). So, the sentence inflicted to the painting village was not only unnecessary but silly, laughable! Whoever added those sentences misinforming about the legality of this line of work should be fired if not sent to serve exactly the same punishment.

Leia Mais