Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned.
Let me come clean from the get go - this kind of drama is not my cup of tea. I watch dramas to escape, not to get embroiled in messy social themes around the aftermath of the disintegration of marriage and terminally sick children, But Left Right is written and shot by Hu Jin of The Bad Kids Fame, one of my favorite suspense dramas. I just love his visual composition style and how mercilessly his camera eye lays bare the multitude complexity of human emotions. And in that aspect, Left Right hits the ball out of the park and that is without doubt this drama's best feature.The drama opens well with Fang Yinuo and Xiao Lu compatibly anticipating their first child with a mixture of happiness and small trepidation. They companionably joke about giving up spicy noodles, which Yinuo especially loves, for the duration of "their" pregnancy. Except Xiao Lu already wolfed down a bowl of spicy noodles before going home. Such a simple scene so brilliantly illustrates the manifold cracks in their relationship. She is overly controlling and demands that they suffer together. He is passive aggressive and rather than confront her, he goes around her. This dynamic is prevalent throughout their interactions. The dissolution of their marriage is inevitable and they both move on to become better partners in their next relationships. The drama peaks at that point and once the child gets sick, the narrative succumbs to melodramatic and increasingly unrealistic subplots with improbable twists and digresses into uninteresting and dislikable side characters. This would have been a much better drama with half the episodes. Towards the end all the excessive gouxue狗血(dog's blood) turned into goupi 狗屁(crap) to the point that I even stopped caring about the kid's fate.
This intense character drama with a melodramatic plot takes on too many heavy themes - the pressure of a newborn child, extended family conflicts, postpartum depression, the stigma of divorce, archaic child custody laws, inadequacies of the healthcare system, financial struggles, deadbeat dads and last but not least, women stripped down to their worst, meanest selves.
Ren Suxi's portrayal of Fang Yinuo is so evocative it pulls me into the scenes where I wrestle with the sweet temptation of punching her in the face. This woman is a nutcracker; there is no other way to put it. This cold fish with impossible standards is judgmental, selfish and unforgiving. She wallows in postpartum depression while enslaving her own mother and mother-in-law with her high standards and demands. But I have no sympathy when Yinuo lashes out at them because they are not likeable characters either. In fact, not likeable is the nicest way to describe practically all of the characters in this drama (besides the kid). Even though Yinuo meets her match in her new sister-in-law, I feel no sense of cosmic justice. By then my head hurt from the cacophony of high pitched, shrill and nasty bitching. Unyielding to the bitter end, Yinuo experiences very little growth and never quite owns up to her part in her failed marriage.
As for the men, beginning with Xiao Lu, they are all weak and useless characters. Xiao Lu is a people pleaser that lies to avoid conflict, which often exacerbates conflict. He enables his brother's weaknesses and his mother's vices because it is just too hard to fix them. Xiao Lu is as selfish as Yinuo in his own way and it is manifestly obvious that two such self absorbed people would never work out. They both become almost likeable when they are with other people but all too quickly it becomes obvious that Xie Tianhua and Dong Fan are so unrealistically written they'd be booted out of a Disney fairytale script. Nobody is that nice or understanding or tolerant. Tianhua in particular must be the doormat character of the century. Nie Yuan's acting in particular is clearly not on par with the rest of the main cast but I think the problem is poor character design more than anything else. Although Qin Hao's character is not as intense or as central as Ren Suxi's, I find his portrayal more believable and nuanced enough to make his Xiao Lu empathetic whereas Ren Suxi's portrayal is not empathetic to the bitter end. A small bit of humor could have humanised these characters and made them much more relatable. As for Su Jinwei and Lei Wen, their boring characterizations, uninspired portrayals and long winded filler sub-plots are the drama's weakest link.
This drama's message of atonement and redemption is drowned out by the deafening impression that heaven has no rage like love turned to hatred. In fact, just never piss off a woman. Whether she is your wife, your mother, your sister or your child, she will for sure make you suffer. Up to the point of Xiao Lu's mae culpa, the poor guy gets figuratively castrated by a vindictive, unforgiving woman that hates him to the bone even more than she loves her child. It made me so angry at Yinuo and angry at the drama for making me feel that way. Because in these matters, I am always, always biased towards the women. So how did I end up sympathizing with the men and not even caring about the child? I feel like I was tricked into watching a scorching indictment of women's worst traits. Despite this being such a technically and visually stunning and immersive production, this drama made me more angry than sad. I can only rate this 7.5/8.0
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This review may contain spoilers
My daughter has been encouraging me to see this movie for quite some time. I finally did so because she'd recently sent me a photo of herself with the love locks, very excited that she had been in the same spot as Matsujun (she lives in Japan). I know previous reviews most people liked it, even if somewhat reluctantly. I really liked it! No spoilers, but it is a sweet film and you will need some tissues. I am used to watching dramas, so the movies always seem so short to me. If you enjoy films with a romantic/soulmate theme, with a bit of a twist, you must watch this film. Was this review helpful to you?
I absolutely loved it though. The story was kind of cheesy, but overall i did love it. The cast and the acting was flawless. The music was alright and served its purpose just fine. As for rewatch value, i'm not much of a rewatcher, but i'd give it a 6. Overall, I think this drama is one people who love comedy mixed with drama in the setting of a hospital.
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This review may contain spoilers
left no lasting positive impression (watch suggestions)
Overall: I enjoyed the country/beach setting, but the bratty ML and cliched plot points were annoying. 9 episodes about 24 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40928c-impression-of-youth ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/impression-of-youth-episode-1-rfcqsvgnbk?lang=en_us ; and Apple TV+ https://tv.apple.com/show/impression-of-youth/umc.cmc.3q2hki0rbshbgwxs4s4rnnivzContent Warnings: past death, grief, high school/substitute teacher (not portrayed as creating a power imbalance but this dynamic inherently has one), non con kiss
Watch Suggestions (I don't have the energy to back thru the first few episodes, here are suggestions starting at ep 6 to focus on sweet/steamy parts)
- episode 6 start at 20 min
- episode 7 watch beginning to 4:40, 11:20-11:45, 15:10-17:30, 21:20-end
- episode 8 stop at 11:50
- episode 9 watch 23:20-end
What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- sibling relationship/suppportive, the older brother gave good advice in ep 9
- shirtless construction work
- countryside/beach setting
- intimacy, not afraid to shower together
Room For Improvement
- the pacing with the main relationship development went way too fast, it felt jarring
- too many flashbacks of recent events/repeated flashbacks/of a character who died
- used his friend like that to confirm his feelings
- normally a 4-5 year age gap (the teacher was graduating university so ~22, in episode 8 they confirmed the age of the high schooler so he was 18 when the series started) wouldn't bother me, but the high school student acted so young (pouty, moping, bratty, refused to communicate, even his brother said he was throwing a tantrum) and the fact that they made the older guy his teacher (even though it was a short substitute position, he was still his teacher) made me not invested in their relationship
- too much screentime taken up in flashback with his female friend in episode 7
- the 2 year time jump in the final episode, but at least it wasn't longer
- the ending with the main couple felt anticlimactic/incomplete
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Just okay
I watch many Thai dramas so I wasn’t expecting much maybe something cliche but this one was different. In the beginning you can feel the chemistry between the leads and you get excited about where things will lead but.........the good:. It most certainly started out on an interesting note. The pacing is pretty good, the situation‘s are good and interesting as well. The leads seem to have really good chemistry.
The bad: for a 16 episode romance drama, the mood was often somber. The the end of the series our leads are still going back and forth with their stance of commitment which was disappointing. Last but not least, the ending was less than enjoyable. It was vague and gives no closure. To sum it up, we have that famous until we meet again theme in the very last episode which ruined it for me.
I thing it’s okay to watch but definitely not a rewatch or one I’d recommend.
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The main characters interact great with each other and show good acting skills. They fight for there dreams from the beginning 'till the end and try to help each other and their friends as much as possible.
The other characters also have a great chemistry with everyone else. There are many different kind of persons so i think every viewer can find some character to compare themselves to. Even the more 'unlikeable' characters will grow to your heart for sure ;)
The storyline is sweet and shows how to chase after dreams and find friends and lovers. They also talk about relationships with familys eventhough they have a busy schedule training and helping their friends out. From narcisstic to shy characters, this drama has them all!
If i would have to choose some keywords for this show it would be: friendship, dream, past, trust and fun.
It also seems that they really worked hard to portrait the life of actual swimmers trying to become professional - they did a great job!
The music is one of the points i reaally loved in this drama too. Nice music and the main characters are singing some of the songs!^^
Totally recommend this drama, you won't waste your time for those 36 episodes:)
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Charming and well-written
I loved this series, mainly becaus of the stellar main pair of Tinn and Gun, played by Gemini Norawit and Fouth Nattawat to perfection as teens experiencing first love.The side characters are all well-written and acted, especially Tinn's mother, who is the school principal, and everyone has to love Mark Pakin as Tinn's best friend Tiw.
The story is wholly unoriginal, but it's the best realization of this type of plot.
The actors also sing all the music, which is always a plus., with Ford Arun being the standout, although Fourth & Gemini both have lovely voices too.
This is not a world where homophobia doesn't exist (although it only barely exists), and issues like parental concern over the future happiness of their gay children, or whether or not they did anything wrong, were all realistic and sensitively handled.
What prevented this from entering the top rank of BLs, however, is that although this contained one of the most breathtaking scenes in all of BL - the dance - you'll know it when you see it, and the progression of Tinn and Gun's relationship was magical, it peaked early and stagnated, leaving the second half at a lower energy level and at times quite dull. I don't need kissing in a high school story, but I know that I do not want an endless string of kiss fake-outs, which is cheap and started to feel homophobic.
The central dramatic conflict, that the music club's rules forbid Gun to date before a competition at the end of the year is contrived and the path to the context uninteresting, and the overreaction to a setback for the band was one of the only sour notes that felt out of character and lacked the authenticity of the rest of the series.
Fourth is so cute that there were a couple of time I cried a little just looking at him - that outfit at the prom was fatal. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of him and Gemini - they are both highly talented, and easily hold their own with more experienced actors here and even in Midnight Chicken.
I would rate the first four eps a 15/10, then declining to around a 7, hence the 8.5. The first few episodes were so good I thought this would displace all others and become my favorite of all time - but unfortunately it deflated a bit as it progressed. Still, I wouldn't hesistate to recommend this to anyone and everyone.
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I love ittt
Very very nice drama.Few to none nonsense.
Few to none illogical stuffs.
Almost followed the novel`s plot. Of course there were a few changes because of the censorship but nonetheless almost all important elements are there.
Nice effects, perfect choice of cast. I love the chemistry of Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan btww ahhaha. Those subtle glance and metaphor. Aside from those, the story itself is perfect. It makes you feel sorry for WeiYing but despite those, Wei Ying still have morals.
Masterpiece.
Worth watching.
Recommended
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Acting/Cast:
James (Shin)- He was lovable and sweet. He played a perfect Shin and had the audience loving his character and personality. This meant that when he got hurt, the audience was just as upset, wanting to comfort him, and hated Keng for hurting him. It takes a really good actor to play to the audiences emotions like that.
—Oat (Keng)- Again, it takes a really good actor to play to the audiences emotions like that. He made us like him in the first episode, but as we saw a change in his character, the audiences attitudes towards him changed with it. Then when he did what he did at the end of episode 2, we hated him deeply for hurting Shin. He’s such a powerful and believable actor. I hope to see him again in other dramas.
—Yacht (Bright)- The cool, fun and quirky side of him made the show much better. It’s even better when you know the personality of Bright and Yacht, are the same, which made him perfect for the role.
—Topicorn (Pramote)- Like Oat, I really do hope to see Topicorn in future dramas. He was really sweet, but loyal to his friends. Although he often seemed quite serious, you could tell he cared for Bright and Shin a lot.
Music: Good effects, and background sounds, but nothing that memorable.
Rewatch value: I think this is a show you only need to watch once or twice. I can’t see myself rewatching this for a while.
Overall: I gave it a 9, because although the casts were perfect, the show could have been longer, and I wish it had better opening music. Also, while I’m happy it stuck to the novel, I really wish the ending had been different. Other than that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a short, but hard hitting drama to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Waited 2 years and it was worth the wait (for me at least hahaha)
Honestly, I have been waiting for 2 years for this show, and all of a sudden it just airs! I was so happy to watch another Allen Ren drama.Plot:
The story plot is a normal undercover police drama you would watch. It is about an undercover police officer who tries to dismantle a drug ring from the inside. The plot was very consistent with Mu Qing slowly dismantling the drug ring by taking out each of the members in the "shi da jing gan". This slowly leads to his identity being exposed, but he isn't ready to give up! (not gonna explain more, but this is where I am now) :)
[SPOILER] We find out that Ou Kexin is not actually the real Ou Kexin, she is actually Mu Qing/Yuan Wen's ex-wife who did not actually die in the explosion, she just underwent face surgery and took on the role of Ou Kexin and is another undercover police in the drug ring in Yun Gang. [SPOILER]
Ending: They left us at a cliffhanger... I am soooo CONFUSED!!!!
Cast:
I really liked the cast, each played their character very well. Allen Ren who played Mu Qing/Yuan Wen was amazing as usual. His eye contact was totally everything, even though his contract states that he isn't doing any kissing scenes, his actions say enough, and it's worth it! Additionally, Allen ren had some really good fight scenes and he was able to express his emotions very well.
Ou Kexin, played by Janine Chang was also good, however, I think they overdubbed her a little too much. I thought her actual voice would've suited the drama much better. But overall, she was great and I loved seeing those two as a pair :)
The side characters either from the 84 team or the members in the drug ring all did a good job playing their roles. I thought that the "84 team" didn't get enough screen time (especially for Rong Yao to tell them who their undercover agents were like we completely didn't get to see that which I believed was important). Overall, the cast did amazing.
Music:
10/10 - music fit the mood throughout the drama
Rewatch Value:
8/10 - for police, action, and undercover-related dramas I believe that rewatching is not worth it because you already know what's going to happen, however, there are certain episodes I would go back and watch just for Allen Ren hahaha!
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One of the best costume dramas in 2023
For me, this is one of the best costume dramas in 2023. Below are my points of view about the drama:Pros:
* Great acting. Ma Tian Yu, Angelababy and other cast are all good choice for their roles. They portrayed their roles very well. Especially, Ma Tian Yu used to successfully play a similar complex character like Ji Rou Chen so he is perfect in playing his role in this drama.
* Great story, exciting plots, no dragging scenes with unnecessary characters or details.
* Wonderful chemistry between the two main leads, lovely and passionate romantic scenes.
Cons:
* Not a high budget invested drama so the CGI, costumes and cinematography are not as good as high budget dramas.
* The male lead, Ji Rou Chen, is an anti-routine character so the audience can easily misunderstand him as a bad character in the beginning. Patient and non-judgment/bias are needed to watch and enjoy this drama till the end.
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Spicy and Sweet
This drama was really the perfect mix of 18+ scenes and sweet ones as well. I loved the topics it discussed and how it was focused on sex from a female perspective, that was so nice to see! It was educating too but it still had a great story.I loved the two couples, the two female leads were very different from each other and it was so great to see them supporting each other through the relationships and everything. The two male leads were both walking green flags and also absolute eye-candies. ;)
I think the drama ended well although I definitely wouldn't mind if it got a second season.
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Beautiful, mature, romantic relationship; Amazing plot with great characters
This show is made really well. Every character (even minor ones that are on screen for less time) adds to the overall story. They all bring their A game and makes us love or hate them.One thing that I love, love about this show is how unpretentious the love story between LD and Zhuohua is. What I mean by this is, in most C-dramas, (not all) the romantic couple acts as if hugging, touching, or kissing is not normal. Even when they are together as a couple, they act all shocked when they "mistakenly" touch each other. Lol this always annoys me and feels pretentious for no reason.
In legend of zhuohua however, LD and Zhuohua interact like normal people who are attracted to each other. Like normal people who are in love and are dating. That carriage scene (when she fell on his lap) was so beautifully done. How zhuohua didn't try to "act" all shy and "modest" She just held unto her man and they kept talking. It was very natural. Their love and interactions is very natural. I hope more C-dramas follow this, and start realizing it's normal for couples that are dating, to touch. And stop with the over the top, fake "modesty".
The ML and FL are very supportive of eachother and communicate well. LD/Prince regeant could easily be overbearing since he's older, wiser, and he's only second to the Emperor. but this doesn't happen. I love how ML supports FL (Even when he knows she's wrong), he's letting her handle things in her own way, not contradicting her in public, or treating her as if she's a child with no sense. He's not being overbearing with the "I know what's best for you" trope/cliche most C-dramas are fond of doing.
lol I love the running joke of the great LD/Prince Regeant (ML) being a kept man out of wedlock.
I only give this a 9 because of the overly done makeup, and the annoying loud azz music over the character speaking at the end of the show.
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really like this cute drama
I like Kris Fan, I think he is a good actor for someone his age. Rain Lu is not beautiful in the traditional sense, but she is soooo cute in this drama. Xie Bing Bing and Fortuna Yu are also adorable. The drama is easy to watch and light hearted. ....I loved it.The only draw back is, the releases are way too slow, it took a long time to air. It also skipped a couple of weeks for The National Day of China. Many of my friends lost interest because of this reason.
I strongly encourage everyone to give this drama a chance.
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