This review may contain spoilers
PURE LOVE WITH SAD BEAUTY...
There is so much to write about this series. I must say that I still can't get over it. The story, the acting, the music used in the series... I don't know where to start. First of all, if I briefly describe it, I think I can say that it has a sad beauty. There is no element in the content of the series that I would say if it were not. On the contrary, I wish it was a series with longer episodes so that we could feel the characters more deeply. We can say that it is a very good job in terms of cinematography.This series was like a book or a poem, describing a deep love.
The fact that it was built on real events affected us emotionally. Yes, such people really existed. They loved and were loved despite the difficulties. They had dreams, hopes, loves. Most of them were ordinary people. Just like the characters in the series. Then there were evils, intolerance, cruelty, greed. People acting with these feelings have turned the lives of thousands of people into hell. In fact, the feelings and experiences of the people described are so universal. Even now, bad people who can't tolerate any other thought other than their own and disregard human life unfortunately still continue to exist, in many different ways in many different parts of the world.
Returning to the series, the way the main characters love each other is so ingrained that we have become one with them. The details of the script, the music and the great acting play a big part in this. The screenwriter especially wanted us to connect with them and empathize with them, and I think he wrote his screenplay accordingly. The actors also reflected the emotions very well. There is already an incredible attraction between the couple, which makes it easy to get into the story. In every scene where they looked at each other and held hands, I was excited with them, I felt those emotions.
By the end of the episode, we were all devastated. Because we were too attached to the characters. Myung Hee was such a strong, loving, kind hearted woman. It was the first time she had wanted something for herself. That girl was brave and passionate. She was not like the leading female characters in most of the series. She first held out her hand to Hee Tae, she kissed it first, she was the one who grabbed her hand and ran ahead as she was running away from the engagement ceremony with Hee Tae. Episode 11: "I'll be your family, let's get married." it was she who said it. She deserved to be happy, she. She breathed her last, alone, on the cold earth. I can't forget their last breaths. Imagine how lonely and scared he must have been. When I saw Myung Hee like that, I didn't just think about the people in Gwangju who actually experienced it. I thought of all the people in the world who are still experiencing this. Yes, at first I was very angry. I was so attached to the couple that I got used to the happy ending without realizing it.
Then I realized that the happy ending would probably go against the message the show wanted to give to the audience. This is the best way to understand the people who died and lost loved ones in Gwangju. We can think of this series as a homage to the memory of those who have died and to the pain of those left behind. If it had a happy ending, maybe we wouldn't be able to understand the feelings of all those people who died and stayed behind. In addition, the fact that it was so sad did not detract from the beauty of the series in my opinion.
We need to talk about the music. The music made is so in harmony with the feeling of the show. "Days in Memory" is already the song Hee Tae wrote for Myung Hee. We also heard Hee Tae muttering in the scene where the girl died. It was incredibly impressive. The lyrics and interpretation of "Words I Want To Say To You" made my heart ache. The scene where he was used in episode 11 was magnificent. "Winter of May" reflected the emotions of the characters exactly. I can't listen without crying. Then there is the need to mention other music used. The Rose, Annie's Song... They are both so meaningful. They have been carefully chosen, adding tremendous emotions to the scenes in which they are used.
Some words from The Rose:
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live
...
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose
And finally, in the last episode, the song playing in the restaurant while Hee Tae is looking for Myung Hee... My heart aches as I listen to it.
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Interesting, but could have benefited from character development
First, how depressing is this show?Human trafficking is a heavy topic for sure. And they wanted to focus on the victims and their families, so a large portion is devoted to telling their stories. The first child abduction story in particular goes in depth in showing how a family can fall apart after something like this, and is rather heartbreaking to watch.
That said, it IS a story about the police catching criminals and bringing them to justice, which is a good thing. And these police are remarkably successful. Their success snowballs and they catch criminal after criminal, saving victim after victim. They end up solving every case that’s introduced, even decades-old cold cases.
It doesn’t seem that realistic to me. All the outcomes seem a little too good; somehow everyone gets saved in the nick of time. Some victims, of course, have PTSD, but they are shown to be healing and/or their stories get dropped.
It bothered me a little that everything goes well, because real life isn’t like that. But at the same time, the show became much less stressful after I picked up on this pattern that things usually end up working out. It’s not all fun and games, for sure- I still cried a lot- and not everything is casualty-free. But considering its subject matter, it’s nowhere near as dark as it could be.
That aside, I was initially very interested in this show because it has a strong female lead with no romance. This means the story is actually about her as her own person (think about how rare this is in Cdramaland).
However, it ends up being not really about her at all. Deng Yan has her backstory, but it doesn’t factor too differently than any of the other cases; it’s just the biggest and most central one. There isn’t much focus on developing her character or showing her personal journey. She does seem a bit out of her depth at first, but there’s no real transition from that to being incredibly capable. At some point you just realize that she’s quite good at knowing what to do next and assigning responsibilities.
The other members of the team are all very likable, and we see them a lot, but we don’t actually get to know them that well. They’re just doing business. Chang Rui is listed as a lead, but he’s honestly just another team member- a very capable one who does some undercover work at the beginning, and gets maybe half an episode’s worth of character development, but by the middle of the show he’s already not that important.
There is no drama between team members. They’re coworkers who get along. There are some meaningful and supportive conversations between them, which I liked, but they are few. As mentioned before, no romance- which I found to be a good thing.
Although it was a conscious choice not to focus on the team’s personal stories, I think the show would have benefited from at least a little development. That would have given me something to emotionally invest in. We’re probably supposed to get an emotional hit from the victim stories, but I personally couldn’t feel too attached to any one, because there are so many. One story ends and it’s onto the next, rapid fire with little follow-up. It almost gets repetitive (they are very successful!), which might be why they stop showing the rescues after awhile. Instead, we are simply informed that so and so was found.
The other part of the plot is police solving crimes. It’s rather procedural, eg lots of interrogations at the police station, or team meetings showing their train of thought. I thought it was interesting but sometimes a little repetitive. For example, they use each captured perpetrator to find the next, and we hear over and over again the same arguments to make them talk. I agree the interrogations need these exchanges, but there are perhaps one too many layers in the web of criminals.
Eventually, the story settles down to just a few big fish. So there is a little more focus towards the end. The show does a good job hinting at the mastermind, keeping us in suspense before the reveal.
I’m not sure how many of the cases are based on true stories (all?)- maybe there are so many because, that way, more peoples’ stories are told. The lack of follow-up mirrors the police’s perspective in that, when one victim is recovered, it’s onto the next. The multitude of victims and criminals gives us an idea of the scope of the problem.
Still, from a narrative perspective, I would have preferred fewer stories and more in depth for each. I think it makes a better story when we can emotionally invest in characters who reappear throughout the show- whether those are the police or the victims- and follow their journeys all the way through. The Ranran case is the only one that achieves that in this show.
Acting-wise, I found Dilraba’s acting to be very natural here, I thought she did a good job. The other actors all did well too, for example the rest of the police team, the victims and their families that had to do so much crying, and especially the criminals who had to act all shifty and seedy. Imagine landing that kind of role!
Production-wise, this show seems nowhere near as polished as the dramas I’m used to. I guess it was rather low budget. I actually really liked all their clothing, very sensible. They don’t use background music that often, but it was nice when they did; I think the show would have benefited from more.
There was something weird with the sound mixing. Music would start and stop abruptly, and the sound effects, voices, background static, etc had inconsistent volume. An unverified online source said that this show uses on-set recorded sound, except for some dubbing they had to do to pass censorship. I wonder if censorship explains why everything goes so well for these police.
Overall, although this show didn't have me as emotionally invested as I would have liked, I still found it to be interesting and informative. It highlights an issue I wasn’t all that familiar with, and made me only slightly more scared to walk outside alone at night.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
I found the ending really disappointing.
They do catch the final criminal (still confused how they sniped him without killing him) and everyone makes it out alive. The only notable death in this show is Officer Yin, who dies somewhere in the second half. Chang Rui’s story, which I had almost forgotten about, gets a little wrapup. And they do finally find Ranran, working in the fields of a remote village.
However, they only really show us a brief glimpse of Ranran. After that we get a bunch of pretty propaganda words and random flashbacks. A quick montage shows us that some of the victims seem to be doing well.
Ranran’s story is the central case of the show, and the lack of further detail or follow-up is a glaring omission that probably leaves every viewer staring blankly at their screen with a “wtf” look on their face. I don’t know who thought this was a good idea. If you look online you can probably find somebody justifying it as bittersweet artistic or something. But after so much emotional investment in this case, such an ending definitely left me feeling empty and unsatisfied.
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I initially watched this without subs because the synopsis had peaked my interest and frankly I just didn't want to wait. Even without the subs, I was enticed fully from beginning to end. I found myself binge-watching about 6 episodes in the space of a few hours. This family drama was everything I never knew I needed in life. The story was not exactly anything new, I mean betrayal and lies are pretty much main themes in every thing these days, but there was just so much more to this story. I felt for the characters and found myself putting myself in their shoes. The whole Thai-Chinese tradition is intense if you ask me. You would need to watch to see what I mean. When I watched the drama with subs finally, everything was obviously put into more perspective, but the second time I was even more shocked at the many twists in the story.
My only negative is that there were some scenes centred around one of the characters that I really felt were not needed. At one point, I was just like 'why was that even a part of the story'. I came to the conclusion as the story unfolded, that it might have just been how the writer wanted for things to be unveiled. And in all honesty despite my ill feelings, it was actually a pretty crucial aspect.
Acting: the cast overall were fantastic. The older cast especially. I am a big fan of Thanapob Lee (Yi) and was not surprised at how good he was. He proved he has mad acting skills with this role. Of course, JJ Kritsanapoom (Pete), James Teeradon (Vegas) and Captain Chonlathorn (Earn) did great too. The newer faces (may recognise from Thai group 9by9) were fine in their respective roles. You could tell it was their first time acting but otherwise their flaws (e.g. facial expressions) weren't extremely noticeable. What I loved was the portrayal of the many different types of relationships between the younger cast in the drama. The actors and actresses really nailed those parts.
Music: the music was definitely appropriate for the mood of the drama. The choice of the various orchestral scores was a good one. Every time one particular one came on, I was on the edge of my seat.
Re-watch value: 10/10. Heck yeah I would re-watch this, even without subs might I add.
Overall, In Family we Trust is worth the watch. I am really glad I discovered it. Not only is it a roller-coaster ride of emotions, endless surprises await you.
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This movie while very simplistic takes on a concept I've never seen before. The main character is a guy who is plagued by his anxiety. Because of this, there may be a time where the viewer'd get annoyed, but the ending is completely satisfying. It's a love story that leaves you with nothing but happiness. It's super pure and super sweet.
It's a JAPANESE MOVIE. I want to say that about every Japanese anything. Because of this, the way the movie is shot and the elements of it will be weird to someone who is not accustomed to Japanese stuff. However if you like Japanese stuff, this is perfect for you.
Rewatch value?: For you crazy BL fans, 100%.
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This review may contain spoilers
Overly dramatic. Too much pull and push making it too dragging
Usually, I don't write reviews but was very dissatisfied with this version. I liked the original version more even though the ML was a jerk since the story developed better. I was expecting quite a bit with this version as I love the ML but was quite disappointed. The only thing I liked better is the begining and that it wasn't the medication that made him sleep with her instead they spent time together and got drunk. This version was too much drama for me. It wasn't as light as the Korean or Taiwanese version.I felt the middle part where he felt in love with her was lacking like too bleh/flat and he found out I like you cuz we are living together and you are my hommy wife (getting used to her making lunch and cleaning).
The ending was were got very draggy and I'm mostly disappointed with. More than 8 episodes deciding to get back together or not. Push and pull too much. I love you but hurts too much to get back together but they kiss (again and again), and it got like that for the last 6 episodes. I was like oh my gosh, get it over with already. She finds out everything he has done for her home, helping her mom and being Mr. W and the baby's room/diary but she still leaves on her trip. What was that for? No love there. Ok, he catches up to her at the airport and again, I love you but I'm leaving you. Gosh... No words.. until Ana texts her and tells her the truth about the divorce papers... Not realistic.. she was so stubborn and trying for the past 3 years without any remorse and decides at the end she can let go and explains it to the FL?? The original, she told grandma about it and she told the ML and they got the misunderstanding done. The other disappointment is no post recovered period in this version. They got back together and went directly to the wedding so no sweet moments together after such dramatic dragging 6-7episodes.
Overall, I didn't like it as much. I was excited and anticipated so much about this version but too dramatic for me. I had to fast forward some parts as I was getting too bored and uninterested. I wouldn't watch it again.
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THE BEST YOUTH DRAMA!!
I want to say that this is probably the BEST high school theme drama I've watch (please mind that this is purely my opinion). I just love everything about it from the acting, the chemistry, the cinematography, everything is just PERFECT.The plotline is just like any other high school theme drama generally but it has a different element that made it unique from the other drama I've watched before. More than focusing on their loveline (yes there is a loveline but in a high school type of way), it's mostly about friendship. its shows that the bond between friends does not just disappear over time.
I really love how the drama also teaches us that each of us is perfect just the way we are. We don't need to change ourselves just to please others.
TO ME ITS A MUST WATCH HIGH SCHOOL THEME DRAMA. I really recommend this drama to those who are searching for a good drama to watch and mostly to those who loves watching high school type of drama. I PROMISE YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
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To think I once didn't like Sato Ryuta *face-palm* and I blame it on the roles he played (the idiotic but kind secondary guy). He was excellent as the MC in this drama, I love how he goes from a judgemental, ignorant guy to a understanding friend. His twin brother, Ryoji, was gay, he died and his Canadian husband comes to Japan to meet his brother-in-law Yaichi and all the places Ryoji loved.
I confess I usually don't like the foreign actors in J-dramas since it seems like anyone who is foreign but speaks a little of Japanese can be an actor; meaning, terrible acting. But Baruto, as Mike Flanagan, was perfect, he portrayed perfectly the gentle giant (he is gigantic! I remember how Nakai loved to pat his belly in SMAP Bistro XD)
This is a very realistic slice of life, where there would be ignorant people who rejects homosexuality or just refuse to accept it. At the beginning, Yaichi was all "would be make a move on me?", or just calling him "my brother's friend" or not liking Mike near his daughter. Slowly, he begins to see that Mike was a nice guy who just happened to love men. Mike was never ashamed of who he was, and he taught his niece and his niece's friends that men can love men (and marry them) and same with girls. And the little girls were confused at first, but they quickly were "if you love someone, is wonderful you can marry that person, even if the both of you are guys" :D
I smiled, I cried, I loved it! Very recommended. I will read the manga as well (the author was in my "banned" list but this one is very different from what I thought).
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Even if This Love Disappears from the World Tonight
22 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
A movie about treasuring each day no matter what.
I hope I'm not too biased in writing this review just because I'm a fan of Micchi (Michieda Shunsuke) but I just think that this movie is really good. Even just from watching the trailer, it has greatly piqued my interest. At first, the plot reminded me of the series One Week Friends, where the girl also had amnesia, except her memories reset each week instead.**SPOILERS**
The start of the movie greatly hints on what eventually happens later in the movie, which is something that I didn't really like but I guess that's what made me want to continue watching it even more. And with how Toru and Maori's relationship started, you'd think it's a typical "fake dating" trope, but in my opinion, it wasn't, their chemistry didn't feel forced and it really looked like they enjoyed each other's company. It was painful still, because for Maori, she was meeting this stranger for the first time everyday and she always had to put up a front. The part that I really liked was from the point when Toru found out about her illness, because at this point, Toru had actually fallen in love with Maori and despite knowing that she forgets him everyday, he was determined to make her everyday fun. One of my favorite lines in this movie was when Toru was talking to his sister about Maori, when he said "When there are fun things written in her diary, it would be nice if when she reads it, she'd be able to look forward to everyday, even if just for a bit.", my heart hurt a bit when I heard him say that but at the same time, I felt so much respect for this character.
I think all the characters in this movie was well-written, I also liked Maori's friend, Izumi, who is always there to help her no matter what, and she also eventually supported Toru and Maori's relationship so much. She was truly one of the important characters in the movie as she also played an important role towards the end of the film. Although one thing that I didn't quite understand was the relationship between Toru and his family, but I do think that showing this was necessary especially for the ending of the movie.
Overall, I recommend this movie if you just wanna cry and feel all kinds of emotions. I will not forget the dread I felt when I finished watching this, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It made me think "Ah, this is why this movie was so popular". At first, everything would seem slow but it will just hit you like a truck towards the end so I think it's a movie worth watching lol it will make you think about a lot of things in life.
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Eventhough it is "realistic", the story still takes you in and is not boring.It is not like it is too exciting or something but somehow it is warm and calm so you just follow it peacefully.
The characters are pretty well thought and the actors all fit in perfectly. I always think the best acting is the one that you don't notice, so you can say everyone even supporting actors did perfect job.As a minus it has to be mentioned that the male characters were a little weak, but the actors somehow filled the void.
The opening theme along the insert songs are matching the concept very good as well.The intro of the drama is also well thought and along with the music it gives you hints about the characters.
To sum up, I do not think I will watch this drama again.Not because I did not like it but because the drama gave me something to think about and I do not think I'll forget it. Well it may not work the same for you though, so just consider this drama as a warm casual life drama, that will not addict you but probably pass your time.
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A heart-wrenching and bittersweet drama
Youth of May is a wonderfully made drama that will make your hear flutter but at the same time suffer. Its story is different from any other cliché and typical kdrama and the acting of each actor is top-notch.Despite it only being 12 episodes, it managed to capture the deep affection that the main leads had for each other and the struugles and cry for justice of the citizens of Gwangu during the month of May in the year 1980.
This drama will make you fall in love with the main lead's charming personality and look up to the female lead's hardworking and sefless personality. But this drama also shows that behind their strong and interesting character, lies their painful past and struggles in life. Watching this drama will make you realize that we shouldn't always carry our burden by ourselves, we should sometimes learn to say "no" to others and choose our happiness instead of living in regret. Aside from that, it also teaches us that those left behind shouldn't let sorrow take over nor drown in tears and get blown by the wind, but instead, they should courageously swim and fly high with the wind as they face their remaining years in life.
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If you like Amazing Race, you will like this :)
My hubby and I completed all 8 episodes today, with our faces smiling wide at the last episode.To give a short intro, the two celebs are Jasper Liu (Taiwanese) and Lee Seung Gi (S Korean). Both are them are literally like duck and chicken as they arent fluent with each other's languages, so they converse in a mix of Mandarin/Korean and English.
The premise of the show is for the two guys to travel to different places in Asia to meet some of their lucky fans. But, before they are able to meet the particular fan in one location, they have to undergo various missions to gather clues which will allow them to get to their fan's house. Sounds easy enough, but obviously, things arent easy at all...in fact, it is quite Amazing Race like :)
It is really interesting to see them start off awkwardly as fellow travellers, see them bonding thru thick and thin, bromance and rivalry, and then ending as travelling brothers and good friends towards the end of the show.
If you are into food, travel, stunning visuals and filmography which center around our Asian celeb travelers (first timers most times in the different locations), then you should watch this show. I especially love the segments where the show's missions require the two celebs to interact with the locals (and international tourists as well).
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I recommend this drama to anyone who is looking for something different. There isn't anything supernatural, there aren't any ikemen or suspense, but it draws you into the hearts and minds of the characters. It perfectly communicates the loneliness that can sometimes find you when you live in a big city.
If only I could find a Midnight Cafe here....hehe.
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This review may contain spoilers
Perfect blend of romance, medical, and military
I’ve been writing paragraphs after paragraphs every week, so I’m not even going to lie to myself. I’m really easy to please and this drama is a perfect 10 for me.Mi Ka and Xing Kelei are equal - smart, capable, and successful in their own fields. They have respect, trust, and communication in their relationship. They know the demands of each other’s jobs (a doctor and a special police officer) so they have never had a problem with the lack of time together. They always make up for it, apologize with no excuses, and have been very supporting and understanding of one another. I remember having a problem with one of the leads’ decision making, and the drama actually managed to address it and let them talk it out by the end of that specific episode. They are learning and growing (as a person) together. Definitely one of the healthiest relationships in recent dramas. Ma Sichun and Bai Jingting is quite an unexpected pairing so I’m glad they chose to work on this project and show their great acting and even greater chemistry.
The story has a lot of sweet, cute and comedic moments but it also has some heavy and serious ones. Fortunately, it never got boring nor frustrating because the things happened have been realistic, minus whenever they always get into life-threatening situations together (that's too much of a coincidence lmao). There is no exaggerated nor unnecessary drama for the sake of creating tension. All characters, both main and supporting, calmly deal with the problems and solve them through civilized means (ex. Mi Ka vs Xu Yanshan, Xing Keyao vs the Shen sisters) as soon as possible. No dragging out. I can’t even recall any confrontation wherein someone raised their voice.
Besides from the romance, all relationships have been pretty solid as well. The student-mentor relationship of the doctors and soldiers, the long-standing friendship of Mi Ka and Ruan Qiangxia, and the sibling relationship of Xing Kelei and Xing Keyao have all been highlighted in the drama.
The second couple’s storyline may have been dragged out but it got better eventually and not to mention, both are great as individuals. Ruan Qiangxia is another successful, smart, and sweet female lead. She knows how to reject and how to accept rejection. Shun Wenbo is quite dense when it comes to love, but when he gets decisive, he acts on it quickly. As Xia said, he is a very simple-minded person who wears his heart on his sleeve. I didn’t hate him like how some viewers did.
As for the third couple’s storyline, natural-flowing and subtle. If Mi Ka and Xing Kelei are growing together, then Xing Keyao and Shao Yuhan are already two grown adults. There is an unspoken understanding in their undefined relationship, as shown in their actions and conversations. Their scenes together are always a pleasure to watch.
Overall, a well-written and a well-acted drama brimming with chemistry, good characters and relationships. Bonus: the drama used their real voices and is not dubbed.
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