One Million Stars Falling from the Sky (2002)

Adattamento diverso dal remake coreano, più vecchio e un po' meno apprezzabile

Ho iniziato questa serie quasi per caso, avendo letto poco o nulla della trama. Alla fine dei primi due episodi la sensazione di déjà vu che mi seguiva fin dall'inizio ha improvvisamente acquisito un senso: avevo già visto il remake coreano, intitolato "The smile has left you eyes" qualche anno fa.
Ora, la differenza nella conformazione dei drama giapponesi e di quelli coreani è davvero abissale, e qui si nota tutta. Personalmente, però, sono due tipologie di cui riesco sempre ad apprezzare gli aspetti positivi.
Nel confronto tra queste due versioni in particolare, ho preferito di un poco quella coreana. A penalizzare l'adattamento giapponese, principalmente, due motivi:
- è un po' datato, i 15 anni di differenza sono più che palesi e per quanto anche una serie vecchia possa essere molto meritevole, i limiti tecnologici legati alle riprese e tutto il resto sono lì da vedere, su questo non ci piove.
- ha osato di più, forse troppo. Non mi riferisco solo alle numerose avventure di lui (anche quando ormai dovrebbe essere preso dalla protagonista), ma soprattutto alla storia che li lega e che emerge verso la fine.

La conclusione di fatto è la stessa per entrambi, ma la versione coreana ha saputo essere un po' meno pesante, già che la serie porta avanti una storia sufficientemente drammatica di suo. A meno di essere intenzionati a guardarle entrambe, consiglio di optare per il remake coreano del 2018.

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I've read some people calling this drama "life-altering". Perhaps it is so. A million stars falling from the sky is a journey into the darkest depth of the human heart. What you see there is not at all pretty: it's disquieting, clouded and unsettling.

I consider Eriko Kitagawa one of the best drama scriptwriters. She has the ability to pick up an ordinary event and make it into an unpredictable twist, all with a subtle calm pace which makes you restless. This plot is made of little hints: a word, a glance, a brief scene. There's no abundance of words, each line carries its meaning into the silence that follows.
And the actors get inside their roles brilliantly, creating around them an aura of mystery which makes you grope in the dark as to who did what and why.

The cinematography is scanty and sober, totally devoid of gloss. With the exception of the very effective close-up shots of the characters and the use of the light, it doesn't rely on beauty. Oh, the actors are beautiful all right. Kimura Takuya and Fukatsu Eri in particular are wonderfully intense, together as well as individually and play their part so well I was left speechless more than once.
The same scantiness applies to the music. Used with economy and without much variety, it manages to create the right expectations at exactly the right moment.

When all this is said and done, I am left with only one question: did I personally like this drama? The answer is: no. Did I fall in love with any of the characters? No. They intrigued me, fascinated me even, but I didn't like any of them, and felt somehow totally detached, despite the high-voltage chemistry between the leads.
I marathoned through the drama in 2 days, which is proof of its being a very well built thriller. Once started, you want to know. However, because I felt neither identification, nor true compassion or love for these people, it's as if I had read a very interesting and brilliantly written essay on human nature but was happy to see it end. The ending came to me as the only possible solution: a destination this journey was destined to land to.

Therefore, I recommend this drama to only a few people. Forget brightness, sunny love, suspend judgment and value this for its intrinsic quality and you will appreciate it. If you're not ready for a trip down dark lane, I suggest you stay well away from it.
I am certainly not going to repeat the experience.

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