any_anka
Sensual, moving, gripping
Some movies in their attempt to be artistic become confusing, weirdly-paced and an overall chore to go through. Then there are productions that serve its entertainment purpose, but feel like fast-food for your brain. And just as fast-food, while you enjoy them, you don't really feel nourished in the end.The Handmaiden succeeds at blending the artistic with the popular incredibly skillfully. This movie is visually stunning, sensual and hypnotising while - at the same time - provides some of the best plot twists one could wish for.
Technically, it's pretty much flawless, with great camera work, amazing shots and editing. But in its craftsmanship it still remains full of soul and emotion, being one of my all time favourite love stories.
I respect Park Chan Wook as a director a lot. The man made some of the best movies in the history of Korean cinema. This - to me - is his best work.
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Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan
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Cultural shock
I don't throw around the word "masterpiece" a lot, but if there's one, it's this drama. Back in the day I remember I was watching, and enjoying, a certain American show about politics. Then I came about watching Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan and I could never look at that other show the same. The intrigues and politics within the imperial harem made the other work feel like it was targeted at school kids.Now, I don't mean to trash that other show. it was objectively good in its own right. But the reaction I had to Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan was akin to a cultural shock. The script, the dialogues, the thoughts of characters, their motivations and actions were so intelligent in my eyes, I couldn't get over the fact that at the end of the day, it was just a piece of entertainment.
The show has an impressive number of 76 episodes, but there's not a dull moment. The epic story spanning over the years had me gripped, worried, angry, scared, cheering for love and in constant awe. The pacing is phenomenal, the acting really good, the writing is perfection.
I love that the show is not simply set in historical setting, but characters are acting according to times and their position within the society. Some historical dramas feel like they're simply using historical aesthetics for telling modern stories. Not in here. The main character is an extremely intelligent, well-educated woman, but she knows what is the appropriate behaviour expected of her.
Which leads me to my other point. This is a show about women, featuring a lot of great female characters. Some of whom are incredibly strong and formidable. But the way it's done is not through girl bossification, cardboard stick figure character portrayal, who's just as smart as dumb are her opponents. This is a story of truly wise women, who use their power smartly. And as this drama shows, not always is the loudest person the most formidable enemy and the most dangerous ones are the ones you don't see coming. Consort Hua and what happens to her being the case in point (I love her character to the bits, by the way).
This drama is a 10/10. Absolutely fantastic.
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Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru
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Feel-good overload of cuteness
This show is the quickest way to cavities and diabetes. It's sweetness overload. It's cute, it's quirky, it's bubbly. It's anything you could ask for in a feel-good show, which this drama certainly was for me.Both main characters are likeable and, despite their overexaggerated affect, don't feel disingenuous. It's pretty easy to cheer for Ayaka's efforts to win Hiroko-sempai's heart and to feel for Hiroko's internal struggle. It's also really entertaining to witness all of it. I have to command Hiroko, though. If I were in her position, I'd give in halfway through the story, if not sooner.
The show successfully avoids forced angst, artificial drama and unnecessary distractions. It's compact format makes it easy to binge, while completely immersing yourself in this lovely story.
What I appreciated was the absence of some plot devices that I noticed appear often in WLW dramas (maybe that's just my luck and not a genre trope, I don't know), such as toxicity and borderline bullying/aggression between protagonists or cheating on spouses/boyfriends.
Here, everything remains sweet and pure, and that's exactly how I enjoyed it!
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Fantastic directing and great acting in a sensitive take on a delicate subject
What a wonderful watch. I loved how the story was revealed to the audience, from the first meeting of our protagonists, the relationship of Lok with Yan-Yan, to finally his second meeting with Yip Nam, and the struggles they went through. It was such an interesting way to tell their story, I completely didn't expect how it would unfold when I started watching.I also think that the film provided us with enough information about both protagonists to understand their actions, including Lok's final decision or Yip Nam's lack of professionalism when she got involved with him in the first place. I liked that both FL and ML shared the same theme of their mothers affecting how they navigate relationships and love (I appreciated that Lok wasn't just reduced to being a person suffering from schizophrenia, but we got to hear of more of his life experiences influencing how he behaves).
The acting was great. Both main actors did a wonderful job, and both made me cry with their respective break-down scenes. The directing was beautiful. I loved all the far distance, wide angle shots, which - for me - emphasized the feeling of derealisation, but also switching from "Lok's perspective" to the "real world" perspective. I also enjoyed how a lot of scenes were filmed from the perspective of standing outside a window or hiding behind a shelf (as if someone was constantly there with Lok, following and observing him).
The movie treats the subject of mental illness with sensitivity and depth. I appreciated we got to see how Lok navigates his life (e.g. relying on the cellphone to see if a person talking to him is really there) and feel the insecurity he might feel, not knowing if things around him are real. The relapse scene at his apartment was really painful to watch. Yet at the same time, it was so well- filmed and acted that I was enjoying its every moment. The sequence when Yan-Yan and Yip Nam are both holding onto Lok and "fighting over" him was excellent in every detail!
Finally, a separate praise goes to the love scenes. The chemistry between Lok and Yip Nam was palpable, especially in that scene on a crowded train.
Highly recommended!
This was cross-posted with Viki.
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Masterfully acted by the female lead and visually stunning
This show at times felt like a thriller, at times like a Korean take on Sex and the City, at times like an indie production. It especially got me when it went all poetic and symbolic about FL's inner metamorphosis and conveyed it with imagery (even if as simple as showing her crossing the street on a red light for the first time in her life as symbolic of her committing an act of transgression towards cheating, but also towards a more free, self-oriented life).Beautifully filmed and masterfully acted by the female lead. In fact, this was the best piece of acting performed by an actress I've ever watched on a kdrama. Other actors also did a good job (kudos especially to the men playing FL's husband, her newly found lover and the lady portraying the female manager at the bank). However, Kim Seo Hyung is just in a class of her own.
She can convey different types of emotions with just a subtle change in her expression. Sure, I appreciate the actors that go all out too, but I feel real mastery shines through when you're able to hit the right emotions, without overstating them. Kim perfected this craft.
This drama has a lot of layers. It functions partially as an unconventional cautionary tale. Showing how easy it is to fall off tracks, committing one transgression after another, even if they're motivated by compassion, kindness, or understandable feelings of wanting to be respected, loved, appreciated, or simply... alive.
It also shows you that even the most appealing form of escapism at the end of the day is still that: escapism (even if you call it an "oasis"). If you don't deal with the source of your problems or emptiness in your life, shopping or a younger lover can only do this much.
It's also a story of a woman who is a bit... strange: very smart and yet super gullible, disillusioned with life and yet hopeful, committing illegal acts yet almost too kind for this world. This duality makes her a really bizarre but admittedly interesting character.
Finally, it can also be read as a social commentary on how people obsessively value material possessions and care about status, labels, and appearances. If there is one shared theme for every character's story in this drama, it is money.
For me, I absolutely enjoyed every aspect of this show.
The main romance portrayed in this drama is happening between FL and a man younger than her by, I would assume, at least 15 years. It quickly turns into a very weird dynamic, and money is a big part of it. Also, it's an adulterous relationship, to put it bluntly. In that respect, it's no grand love story.
And yet I found myself catching my breath in anticipation when these two appeared on screen, especially at the beginning of their romance. There was something very sensual and almost spiritual about their encounters.
I loved the scene when Yi Hwa and her soon-to-be lover are both walking down the street on its two opposite sides, stealing glances at one another. While they do so, FL does this movement of caressing the wet branches of nearby bushes with her fingers while walking. It's all very sensual.
The beginnings of their romance are filmed in a stunning way. The imagery, coupled with music and the actors' performances make it seem like these two are pulled towards each other by some magnetic force.
If I were to complain about anything, I'd say that the side characters' stories got a rather rushed development towards the end of the drama. Ep. 10 definitely felt like the creators tried to give everyone a life changing event, even if at the risk of it looking unnatural.
Still, I really enjoyed this drama. At times, I almost felt entranced by the acting, soundtrack, and cinematography. Other times, I was pausing the video out of anxiety of what was going to happen. And sometimes, I just felt genuinely sad for the characters (especially Ga Eul whom I'd grown to really like).
This was cross-posted with Viki.
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Poetry on screen
Knowing The On1y One was directed by Patrick Liu, a man behind one of my favourite Taiwanese productions “Your Name Engraved Herein” I had high expectations. Despite it being described as yet another story about step-siblings falling in love – a trope that at this point I am already quite fed up with, to be honest.First few minutes of the show featuring Sheng Wang’s off-screen narration about coming back to his home-town after living abroad, coupled with bird eye's view shots of Guandu Bridge and first glimpse into Liu Dong Qing’s expressive facial acting, I already had an inkling my expectations would be met. However, even then I had no idea just how much I’d fall in love with this drama.
The On1y One is a beautiful, nuanced slice-of-lice, coming of age tale, telling a story of two teenagers, Jang Tian and Sheng Wang who both carry a heavy emotional baggage, being scarred in their life by a loss of a loved one, loneliness and abandonment. You could say it’s a story of two lonely souls, who found a new warm home within each other. The progression of their relationship is portrayed in a very natural manner.
I’m someone who tends to ruin romance stories for myself by asking questions like “Why is this character even in love with another protagonist?”. Here, I never even once had to question or wonder why two main protagonists would get close to each other and feel drawn to one another.
The drama takes time to show how slowly, step by step, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian are breaking down each other’s walls and opening up to the other person. It’s all done with the use of beautiful imagery, excellent acting from Liu Dong Qin and Benjamin Tsang (both gave exceptional performances!) and lyrical writing that makes use of metaphors and symbolism. If anyone says “there is nothing happening in this drama”, I’d be calling them out on probably not watching it carefully enough.
The story is set in a high-school environment, most precisely in an accelerated class of exceptional students. Studying, preparing for exams, cracking test papers and testing methods are all part of the drama, adding to the realistic, nostalgia-imbued, melancholic vibe of the show. References to works of literature or science phenomena are also often used as tools for creating metaphors and drawing parallelisms between what’s learnt at school and what’s experienced in real life.
Main protagonists are joined by a set of vibrant, likeable side characters, who also contribute to a more realistic and immersive experience.
I’ve watched quite a few of BL dramas in my life, The On1y One took number one spot in my personal ranking of those (and a place among my all-time-favourite Asian dramas in general) when I was just halfway-through it. It’s still occupying that spot a month after I watched the last episode.
It does has its flaws. Some side plots were clearly not as carefully crafted as the main story and pacing was sometimes off, with too much screen time devoted to side characters’ stories towards the ending of the show (with very little of those stories explored in the first half of it). Because of that, I was sometimes getting impatient while anxiously waiting for the resolution of what was happening between two main leads, being aware of the upcoming ending.
Still, those flaws were not able to ruin my overall experience, hence my final rating is 9.5.
I am looking forward to and hoping for the second season and more development to the beautiful relationship Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian built so far. However, if that second season were to never happen, I'd still absolutely adore this series.
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