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Should be a psychological thriller
It’s a fun series, the actors have excellent chemistry, and the story flows well enough, despite the first few episodes being a bit stiff.The problem is that the narrative becomes somewhat repetitive and even forgettable, which is a shame because episode 7 is incredible.
And this shows that the series would be amazing if it were a suspense BL. The entire plotline of the obsessed fan who wants to destroy their relationship at all costs is simply perfect.
It would be a much more interesting and unique story within the BL universe. The series desperately needed a more original plot that actually explored these points better.
Because unfortunately, Gi Haneul's amnesia isn't strong enough to drive the narrative, and the series tries to fill that gap with excellent kiss scenes and a Yeo Sae Byeok desperate to win him back.
But something is missing, and that something is the madness, the mystery, and the flavor of a psychological thriller.
It's a good series to pass the time, but the script is shaky, the characters are a bit shallow, the motivations are poorly presented, and the technical aspects—direction, cinematography, and acting—though decent, aren't surprising.
A little more courage would have made this series catch fire.
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Power corrupts : an illustration. If there was any doubt, the very ending confirms it.A masterfully crafted political and spy thriller. And above all, a work of great literary quality : the author, Chung Seo-kyung, has written the screenplays for five films by Park Chan-wook. All the elements come together beautifully, keeping us hooked from start to finish. And we navigate grey areas, the ideal decision for these themes. Several times, our protagonists are faced with choices where only the lesser evil seems to be the solution, and all the suspense lies in how they find another way.
The two main characters already have a whole life behind them and strong personalities. It's nice to see people who are solid and know how to set their boundaries. Whether you agree with their decisions or not, you want to see what happens next, to see how they evolve. Some reversals border on grandiloquence, but we accept that. There's constant talk of reunification, given the number of spies in your country, it looks like it's already happened, guys.
"Do you like Proust, madam ?" The most beautiful question in the world. "Ah yes, the madeleine." The worst answer in the world.
Damn the chaebols.
Ps : Episode 3 shows an attack in Paris in 2008, which is pure fiction. Two attacks took place that year, but not here. (the work of pathetic fascists, by the way)
Ps2 : For those with a phobia of telephones, this series is a nightmare, as the phones never stop ringing and vibrating. It stressed me out.
Ps3 : In the last episode, at 41 minutes 29 seconds, the music is a quote from ‘Camille’, Georges Delerue's score for Godard's Contempt. My question is : why ?
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Clawing your way out of hell is something only a woman can do: dpmtfo
A cautionary tale that most women in this current generation, of those that live in the west and aren't under the constraints of poverty, don't have to learn the hard way.Women, anyone really, who have come to age in post war arenas have a grit that is admirable and something you don't often see unless you go to the outskirts of society or in rare cases where every circumstance has aligned to create a living hell. I see myself sitting here in my room, because I can't bring myself out to connect with the world, and am reminded of how lucky I am. But sometimes I find myself wishing for that struggle, would that make me stronger like her? Do you get the greater vivid 'human experience' if you go through such trials? If I grew up under such circumstances how would I have ended up? Like her i'm hungry to live, both in different meanings of the word.
In her is a desperateness and hunger that is insatiable and always will be. You will always be that child like she is always a hungry little girl. In the end that shadow follows you wherever you go. It doesn't have to trail behind you or outpace you ,like her's does, but maybe you can walk with it hand in hand.
I wanted to write about those that grew up in post war Europe and e&se Asia but I don't have the right knowledge for the topic. All I know is that this show depicts the desperateness, grit, and emotional trauma that a child of war experiences pretty well.
I must say that I got so pissed off about her husband cheating that I felt it for hours physically and had to write this in order to calm down... I'm not gonna go into that here because it's gonna make me so mad and I don't even know how I would dispel that anger. It felt like a orange giving off slight pressure inside my ribcage, it doesn't help that I found the actor handsome...lol.
While watching I steeled myself over thinking that her one true love would probably die tragically but instead their love suffered a worse fate I didn't foresee. Their relationship and how it ended? Did he die repenting? After seeing her strong everywhere else is she still a fool in love? (yes) Some questions don't need answers because the lack of makes it.
An acquaintance of my grandmother's did the same thing, she took her husband back to nurse him on his deathbed a decade or so after he cheated on her and left with his mistress. This is something women before us had to do similar things to in order to survive, keep a man in your life because you had no agency, but she did it out of 'love'. Now you don't need to stay with a man who disregards all of your experiences and efforts together, dump him... please.. Although it might not be a handsome yakuza who paid off your debts and swindled the man that abused you & it's probably some boy slouching in his gamer chair texting other women, if you need the push you should dump him... Your being, dignity, and agency matters more than that of a man...
To live as a woman is to suffer for no reason in order for men to live... Is that the case? Are you insatiable and hungry if you desire more?
I wanted to watch it again fully instead of skimming somewhat (i'm a massive 10x sec and then rewinder) and write something less surface level and deeper on feminism, the messages you get from the show, & clawing yourself out of hell but i'm still genuinely so pissed off that I can't bring myself to go through it completely. Maybe i'll comment..... I will...
Iv'e heard that to love your appearance as a woman you should think of it as the amalgamation of features that came from those in love before you, but sometimes 'love' is forced. I choose to instead believe that they come from the women that crawled out of hell to survive, like her, and those that never could...
extra:
-Really loved the detail of the shrine and it's state as she and her greediness grew and the reflection it shows to us. Is the deity hungry too? Does it desire more?
-'When one desire disappears it will be replaced with another, that's human nature' (or was the word greed?)
-Got curious and upset over the possible inaccuracies in dresses. Some looked a little too modern, 70s in the 50s etc. ,in certain parts.
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It plunges us into the action and then drags on with very little success. The show summed up in one sentence.The first three episodes could easily have been condensed into one. In fact, they treat us a little too much like idiots with this third episode, which shows us the same scenes again without adding anything new. And they do it again later, several times! What a strange, poorly executed narrative. We don't see things from a different angle, it's literally pointless. It ruins the series, frankly. If it's to tell so little, they might as well adopt a linear narrative, which would avoid these repetitions.
They confuse suspense with frustration.
No one wakes up in the morning wanting flashbacks. You can understand a story without knowing the characters' background spanning ten generations. You can establish their temperament or motivations more simply. In this sense, episode 6 becomes a completely useless hour. (Not to mention the murder of sex slaves... did we really need that ? The people who write this kind of stuff : poor sods, go away) Then episode 7 spends an hour showing us what we already know. Why not throw in a voiceover too, while we're at it ? Or even an interminable scene that turns out to be just a nightmare ? Oh yes, you dared... I don't congratulate you. No, none of that was good. I was seized by panic at the thought of suddenly hearing an audio commentary by Baz Luhrmann over-explaining everything. (He doesn't exist, he can't hurt me)
A series that promises a lot and delivers little. A few cool action scenes, sure. Kim Hye-jun and Geum Hannah outshine the rest of the cast by a long shot ! And leaving them out so much (at least half the time, if not more) really annoys me. When the men show up, we forget about the women. And their characters only exist in relation to this missing uncle... Yeah, right. Let's not dwell on it.
And the ending ? The most predictable thing in the world. Will season 2, if it ever happens, show us flashbacks from season 1 ? I challenge the writers to do that.
_Can we go back to this business about the camera in the bathroom ? Sorry ?!
_The Park Ji-bin working in a shop linked to a murderer universe is expanding.
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TW : domestic violence. Physical and psychological. And animal cruelty.The first episode is already tough going. The second episode brings tears of anger and despair. We unravel the mechanisms of control and silencing, particularly by the police and their invaluable assistance, or by those around us who prefer not to upset the status quo. Resisting makes things worse, enduring leads to the worst too, and fleeing is not an option for everyone, nor is it the ultimate solution. The perpetrators will never be satisfied, even if they kill their victims. The victims are not apathetic ; they simply have no solution. The series shows this without voyeurism or sensationalism. We cannot expect a victim to solve a structural problem on her own. That is the whole point of this series.
Nevertheless, I find the sudden change in personality of a key character a little unfortunate. His temperament could have been toned down a little. Apart from that, the script deals well with the venomous participation of certain women in patriarchal violence when it suits their interests. This is also one of the reasons for the maintenance of this system, even a necessity.
The only solution is collective action, without expecting anything from institutions, by making the perpetrators pay the social price, and abolishing all relationships of domination, such as marriage, family, exploitation (broadly speaking), etc. This is just my opinion ; the series does not provide an answer.
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"Does cinema imitate life ? Or does life imitate cinema ?" (episode 6)As a good Proustian, I would say that we waste our life by imagining that we can understand it, by imagining that we can attain a non-existent truth, and that art allows us to grasp perhaps a part of it, but it is already too late. And it won't change anything. We cling on anyway, wanting to find some meaning in this life. What's more, the series is about love, loss and grief, which is perfect for illustrating this, this time wasted searching for it, in vain.
In any case, I wasn't expecting such a sad story ! The older brother, Jun, poor guy, he does his best, but there comes a point when something breaks and can't be fixed. The sacrificial brother, alone even when surrounded by others, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, drifting through life like a breeze, acting as if he were about to die. "I knew nothing about my brother. He was never surprised by anything. He was never really happy. It was as if he had never had the will to live." It was this little brother who gave meaning to the futility of his existence, just as Proust's brother cared for him, just as Van Gogh's brother supported him. And one day, there is nothing left. He can no longer even live for others. When Moo-bi tells Ko Gyeom that this brother is not like the one he had described to her with such admiration, that's Proustian too. Robert de Saint Loup is a totally different person depending on who is talking about him or with him, the narrator's best friend, and yet he knew him so little. "I knew nothing about my brother", indeed.
Strangely enough, this series about the film industry says little about cinema, films or the industry itself. Well, actually, it does mention two deaths at work due to overwork, but then it moves on to other things. These things happen, after all... Still, it's frustrating to see this topic given so little attention in a series about a female director. Let's just say that's not really the subject of this K-drama ; it's more about the impact of grief on people's lives, those of Kim Moo-bi and Ko Gyeom.
Park Bo-Young, this actress, after seeing “Our Unwritten Seoul”, her voice alone is enough to bring me to tears. Terrible. What's more, her character still has to go through a rough patch. Poor thing. In the first episode, Choi Woo-sik/Ko Gyeom insists excessively, even though Park Bo-young/Moo-bi tells him several times to leave her alone. That's always annoying. But we appreciate that in the end, she's the one who initiates the first kiss, and the absence of music before, during and after, just the moment and the breathing.
In the same vein, it's nice to see the two brothers talking together about their feelings, how they feel. Let's normalise seeing men confide in each other about their emotions. Let's normalise seeing characters communicate in K-dramas, for real. In that sense, the confession scene in the car in the last episode is good to see, a truly sincere and attentive exchange.
Despite all this sadness, there are some cute and funny moments in store for us. The old, crafty director with his awful shoes is great, kind and inspiring. The little game played by the neighbours, who avoid each other but spy on each other at the same time, is just too adorable. And not creepy.
On the other hand, the other couple is exhausting to watch. He doesn't listen to his partner when she says she has a dream ; in fact, nobody cares ! They don't even ask her what it is. When she realises it, we understand that it was to become a screenwriter. And he, an unsuccessful composer, resents her, full of bitterness. Run away, madam ! You can't afford the luxury of 'fixing' him. Let it go ! His rich parents support him and he finds a way to wallow in his misery, to see himself as a victim, abandoned for no reason. Don't let yourself be dragged into the abyss by this kind of privileged person. He wears a jumper with “this is over” written on it : a sign.
He never put much effort into their relationship ; she did everything, she chose him, she supported him, and he just let her do it. But he never forgot to demand that she support him morally in his choices, even if it meant jeopardising her career. A mediocre bloke.
And yet, we discover that he is caring when his friend is in dire straits. The series may tell us more about him, as if something were going to redeem him... but no, stop that right now. It costs Son Ju-a much more to leave him, and we don't even hear about her ? Her point of view is to talk about him, never about her. She wanted the best for him and he felt suffocated, the selfish man. She finds him a job for his film, years after they broke up, she even comments on his songs on SoundCloud, she supports him all the time. A one-sided investment. He wants to get back together with her, but he remains the same, no change. Oh, that annoyed me. "We were a great couple" not really, no. Thank God they don't end up together. The threat hung over us the whole time.
Ultimately, both couples illustrate the idea presented at the very beginning : having a soft spot for small, defenceless things and the fear of being abandoned. And be abandoned.
"Aren't you tired of watching films all day ?" (episode 1)
"He says that from now on, the only film in his life is me." (final episode)
Ps : Park Bo-Young wears a sweatshirt with the French words "contre les coutumes, mais romantique et sensible. Nouvelle Vague" (against customs, but romantic and sensitive. French New Wave) written on it. And Choi Woo-sik wears one with the French word "ami" (friend) written on it. Quite a programme.
Ps 2 :Muvee's friend is a Gundam fan, a man of taste.
Ps 3 : Ko Gyeom, I'm warning you, if your four favourite films on Letterboxd are Kill Bill, Inception, Fight Club and Taxi Driver, things are going to go badly.
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Cute Uplifting Drama
Overall:Heartfelt youth drama about self-worth, identity, and relationships.
Themes:
Define your own value
Stay true to yourself (even when it hurts)
Beauty is subjective
Relationships:
Main couple: cute, funny, and emotional
Second couple: friends → lovers, very wholesome
Friend group: strong, supportive (loved them-- shows the ups and downs of friendship)
Mom–daughter: realistic and touching
Strengths:
Realistic relationships
Good communication
Balanced comedy + emotion
Weakness:
Wish I could know what happens to her older brother. (maybe I missed it)
Quotes:
"Don’t be afraid if you did nothing wrong."
If something feels off, trust yourself enough to look for the truth. (paraphrased)
Don’t get distracted while doing what matters. (paraphrased)
Make your decisions and stay true to yourself—even if it’s hard and painful. (paraphrased)
"Your value is something you define yourself."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Takeaway:
Soft, meaningful, relationship-driven drama > typical romance tropes
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Oh dear. They really loaded up the boat (I don't know if we say that in English) in the first episode. The husband is detestable ! you could say he is absolutely, totally, completely despicable in the extreme. The most believable part, however, is when he tells his wife, who has cancer, that she's going to die anyway, so why bother paying for hospital treatment ? People with disabilities and chronic illnesses are familiar with this kind of talk. It's becoming more popular again at the moment. They'd rather see us dead.Well !
In any case, it's brave to have shown how much the police don't give a damn about domestic violence. It's a change from the usual copaganda. As long as your husband doesn't kill you, no one cares. And if it does happen, well, we'll take note and that's it, too late. Those rotten cops.
Seeing Park Min-young in such difficult situations breaks my heart. She plays the role of the overly kind person so well, even when it's not in her best interest. The people who take advantage of her have the nerve to accuse her of being the one responsible. In moments like these, we always find ourselves accused of ruining the mood because we put our foot down once. No longer consenting to abuse becomes an act of aggression on the part of the victim towards their tormentor. It's horrible. But she sometimes turns the situation around by playing the fool, very -very- well. I love that lunch with the parents of her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend/fiancé/husband. And when she goes to the beach with Jy-hyeok, wearing her little adorable hat, she's the embodiment of the word cute.
Right. I'd be lying if I said the flashbacks didn't bore me to death. Too long, mates... 16 episodes, too, too long. Unnecessary. We already know the basics, there's no need to keep repeating how awful bad people are. Poor Su-min, deep down, I'd almost feel sorry for her if she weren't such a complete scumbag. But, stop. I may have skipped some scenes, a few times. My time is precious. (I try to convince myself)
In this genre, Jy-hyeok, with his single facial expression, when the woman he loves returns his love, he kicks her out because... there are six episodes left and what else is there to do ? Oh ! Damn, an ex-fiancée appears ! Sigh That ending was painful. Such a shame. Two-thirds of the series works very well, although it's a bit long-winded, and the last few episodes were completely pointless. Or how to ruin a good idea.
"Can I hold your hand ?" The sexiest question a person can ask the one they love.
"Bad people don't appreciate the good we do for them." A lesson we learn the hard way.
On the other hand, let's stop this hatred of glasses right now ! They suit us very well, OK ? We look perfect with our glasses. Nobody here is ugly, right ?
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Baek Ah-jin attacks the powerful and cruelly destroys them. First with her gaze, then with the means at her disposal. It's difficult to support her, even more difficult to hold it against her. Clearly, she never just defends herself ; it goes further than that.It is very interesting to see that in the first episode, the school lesson focuses on Xun Zi, a Chinese philosopher from the 3rd century BCE who believed that humans were fundamentally evil, selfish and destructive, and that strict education was necessary to force people onto the right path: that of Confucian obedience. Since humans are inherently evil, they dislike work but enjoy gain and pleasure. A brave fellow, or not. In any case, he predates Thomas Hobbes by 19 centuries. And we are more inclined to teach the Englishman's work than that of the Chinese philosopher. We can probably do without both of them and still believe in humanity.
Some of Ah-jin's vile schemes are pretty far-fetched. And painful for her as well as for us viewers. Each stage unfolds over two episodes, and you have to accept that you won't know all the elements needed for the trap to close, sometimes on a target, sometimes on the heroine, you never really know, which can be frustrating. (Episode 10 was terribly long)
Ultimately, I'm not sure what point they're trying to make here. Are they telling us that a strong sense of justice can backfire? That helping others can be dangerous? That women manipulate men for their own gain? I have no idea. Most of the time, people disturb Ah-jin as she goes about her quiet life. I don't understand how these men fall under the spell of someone so cold and indifferent, who, moreover, gives them no hope. But the slow (too slow) descent into hell of everyone around Baek Ah-jin/Kim Yoo-jung fascinated me. It's exciting to follow someone who appears infallible (or so we believe, for a while), with diabolical actions, taking on school bullies, exploitative parents, all-powerful employers, and a manipulative husband. Every aspect of a poor woman's life is scrutinised... You can never guess what the plot has in store. That's what makes the series so interesting: the surprise and the fact that you find yourself on the side of the victim who has become the tormentor.
Kim Yoo-jung knows how to skilfully play with the image she projects. Her caressing gaze, filled with opals, suddenly empties and comes back to life in the blink of an eye. She can be attentive one moment and cold the next, crushing people in her path. She takes no pleasure in attacking others ; it's just her nature, like a cornered animal fighting for survival.
This is an amoral K-drama, or at least one that tries to make us believe it is. There must be a moral to be found in all this, but I haven't figured out what it is yet. Baek Ah-jin reflects the violence of a world that hates her. The final scene of the penultimate episode illustrates this masterfully, drawing a parallel between a film shoot and a real execution. This brings us to the final phase, the top of the podium and, consequently, the fall. The media cycle continues.
What a surprising and fitting ending. Cruel survival. A sad victory that tastes like defeat.
"In a hell like this, hope is a luxury we cannot afford."
"Apologies are for when you've done something wrong."
PS: Yoon Joon-seo, truly the most terrifying of them all. To be honest, I don't understand how he managed to live so long, find a girlfriend, publish a visibly moving book, and feel nothing but emptiness. It's difficult to feel empathy for him and his mother, nonetheless. He got on my nerves the whole time.
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But here, it's all literal, which is embarrassing for everyone... Well done, brave small business owners, true fathers of families, we owe you everything. We love working for you. Thank you again for all the risks you take without any compensation, you are true saints on Earth. We live off you and live comfortably by sucking your blood, we have an easy life thanks to you, the heroes of modern times.
I gave up on episode 3. I'm sure the romance and plot twists are very well done, thanks to Minha Kim, who undoubtedly brings a deep sensitivity to her character. But I'd rather spend my time on something other than an ode to work and exploitation.
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The beginning clearly shows the trap set by the police and the justice system. Asking a "suspect" the same question over and over again until she contradicts herself. (We have nothing to say to the police, let's never forget that. And they always lie.) They decide that her reactions are not "normal". They convict her on the basis of evidence, evidence that they have carefully fabricated, because that is our role as good prosecutors and good police officers.They humiliate her by putting her in prison. They are all very pleased with their work. And terribly hurt when their convictions are contradicted by the facts.
You are deprived of your voice, your freedom, your privacy, you are lectured, your life is rewritten, you become a number to be humiliated.
At least Bach, Oscar Wilde, Jean Genet, Varlam Shalamov and François Villon wrote beautiful books there.
We also see how the lawyer uses the media to put pressure on the trial and restore some dignity to his client in the public eye. How he exposes the abuses of the police, who are always quick to crack down (their sole role) and never willing to listen to the victims.
The characters in this series are truly fascinating ! The one with the electronic tag who wants to do the right thing but is involved in repression, in particular, and finds room for manoeuvre. The prison guards and the uncomfortable inmates. Seeing their reactions, witnessing their exchanges, perhaps understanding them a little...
The slow pace serves the story well, illustrating the steamroller effect of the authorities on their subjects. And alongside this, we follow the resolution of the mysteries surrounding these people. The story always moves forward and never drags unnecessarily. It is brilliantly well written.
We don't know. We only saw death, not before. We don't know the circumstances surrounding the loss of this husband, about whom we know only a few fragments of his life. And the story continues, life goes on. Certain shots follow one another in a particularly meaningful way, illustrating the condition of the two prisoners, such as the door of one's isolation cell, where the camera lingers after it closes, followed by the gaze of the mother feeding her daughter, locked up in her home with an ankle bracelet. She takes her isolation with her.
The mother hears her daughter laughing with the friends who are looking after her for the day and chooses not to disturb them, leaving. The lift doors close behind her, the scene cuts, and the other woman in prison stands behind bars.
Kim Go-Eun is mind-blowing as an evil creature whose mind remains a complete mystery to us. We have no idea what's going to happen with her. Fascinating.
Jeon Do-Yeon also gives an admirable performance as the lost mother, plagued by doubts and guilt. Which she shouldn't normally feel, unless...
There are some tough moments in this series, but no scenes intended to shock. No, we are spared the images, and we don't need them. Generally speaking, I don't understand why anyone would want to show us horrible things. And here, as in Homebound, we get a true representation of COVID-19, dignified and accurate, terrible. Every time I see it in American films or series, it's to ridicule the victims and the people who were afraid, and it makes me incredibly angry, this disrespect from pedants. (I'm talking about you Ari Aster)
Naturally, as always with well-crafted thrillers, you're disappointed when you get to the bottom of it. Nothing can match all the machinations that have gone before.
PS : Lie detectors have never proved to be effective in what they claim to prove. On the other hand, with limited yes or no questions, you can make people say whatever you want. Practical. Like forensic psychology/psychiatry, you can prove whatever you want.
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The investigations get tangled up and the humour makes a lot of very borderline things acceptable. The further we go, the darker it gets. So, there you have it, a good investigative K-drama despite all these nasty tirades that I address with virulence, waving my finger at the sky.
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The staging of the first episode is stunningly beautiful. The moment with the fireworks... incredible. And of course, the extremely tense action scenes add to the visual dazzle. (Those Chinese streets with their ubiquitous red and green neon lights are strange.) There's plenty of humour with this hero who thinks he can rely on his comic book to predict the future, but things don't necessarily go as planned.
Each episode is a new story. It could be a doctor who's a bit useless because he has a phobia of blood. A bride in a comic book who won't let herself be relegated to a supporting role. (A shootout in a church, not even a parody of who we might imagine.) Or a guy who can teleport...
A Chinese drama with only 12 episodes is rare. Unfortunately, it runs out of steam very quickly. The first episode was the highlight. The humour and action more or less disappear as the series progresses. And the subplots turn out to be very simplistic.
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The money problem really serves as a plot device, and very quickly takes a back seat. And even though the series is quite entertaining, it never really develops its ideas. But it only lasts for eight episodes, so... The villains are not nearly as exciting as they think they are. This habit of kidnapping people becomes predictable. The last episode disappoints in this regard.
Lee Jun-ho and Kim Hye-jun are always a pleasure to see in their roles that combine action and humour. Maybe next time they'll do better ?
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