Devemos Nos Beijar Primeiro? (2018)

Fiquei o drama todo pensando: "este é realmente um drama diferente". A intenção foi até boa, a execução é que não foi. Neste K-drama tentaram inserir um pouco de tudo, mas nada teve êxito: comédia, romance ou drama.

Na primeira metade do drama eu pensei que seria uma comédia romântica onde os dois malucos que se completariam no decorrer da história compartilhando suas loucuras.

Se eu considerasse apenas os primeiros 10 episódios eu diria que o lance da comédia tinha funcionado. Uma mulher doida (Ahn Soon Jin) que já não tem mais gosto em viver e apenas sobrevive a cada dia mas que lá no fundo ainda deseja que alguém a ame e um cara estranho (Son Moo Han), que não quer se prender a ninguém mas que por alguma razão deseja estar perto da Soon Jin. No início estes personagens me pareceram um tanto pitorescos e interessantes.

Na segunda metade o drama muda para um melodrama difícil de aguentar. Aí apareceram as coisas que mais me irritam em um drama:
- Lenga lenga com desentendimentos descabidos que poderiam ser facilmente resolvidos com uma conversa,
- Pirraça insuportável de um dos protagonistas ou até mesmo dos dois,
- A clássica tentativa de afastamento do outro por motivos fúteis e desculpas sem sentido.

Como uma pessoa racional e pragmática não compreendo porque ficar escondendo os sentimentos ou evitando conversas que resolveriam facilmente certas questões. Enfim, entendo que isto rende episódios e por isto este drama não pareceu ter apenas 40, mas sim 100 episódios.

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A three-dimensional, grown-up love story, sensitively told and spiritedly acted

When people have lived for more than four decades, they are usually disillusioned in many ways. Hope for romance and love has given way to various, quite specific experiences... and these are inevitably paved with disappointment and suffering, too. However, it´s not necessarily too late for a new love. It might be different, though. More grounded. Honest. Upright. Less games. Sincere closeness and warmth become more important than romantic squabble. The time ahead is finite. And you no longer expect a fairy tale full of magic, but rather wish for true moments, a safe place to catch your breath and recharge your batteries. Reliability. Trust and emotional intimacy.

The protagonists in "Should we Kiss First" have all been through life for some time. The two main characters have had children and lost them again, have been married and divorced, lived more or less honest but empty lives. SHE has been a stewardess for 20 years and suffers from insomnia. HE is a co-founder of an advertising agency and has cancer. Neither of them want to be alone. Neither of them want a relationship. Hm. Difficult. Their best friends each want to pair them off ... and at last are successful. However - being in makjang KDrama Land - the past of the protagonists gets involved in the present and triggers a lot of turbulence.

"Should we Kiss First" focuses on two adults who (re)experience love in a way they never expected. Love is not primarily supple, sexy and redeeming, but presents itself as irrational, brittle, stubborn and complex. As such, it demands one thing unconditionally: complete surrender to this feeling, which remains in spite of adversities, yet does not solve any problems. However gives the necessary strength to face them.

Does this power come from the love you experience from someone? Or from the love that you give yourself? The beauty of this KDrama is placing the emphasis on the fact that it is your own radiance which makes a difference. The love we open up to and give in to makes the difference how we experience life, or what options we recognize and choose... It's about giving in to your feelings, letting them be (even if you rather not put up with it) and trusting them.

The story is told in different nuances - sometimes humorous, sometimes profound, sometimes tender, sometimes playful, sometimes harsh, even fists are flying at times. Enjoying the moment to the fullest and the pure love of life have just as much space as the desolate moments of emptiness, embarrassment, destructive anger and listless lethargy. The dialogues are carefully chosen down to the last detail. And then there are the subplots, that round the story off.

A three-dimensional, grown-up love story. Yes, once again a story about love, but not cheesy. Instead, the story is sensitively told, spiritedly acted and filled with a love for detail. On top of that, a story full of sometimes subtle, sometimes explicit wisdom. A KDrama that doesn't sugarcoat anything, yet feeds you with a satisfying sigh.

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