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The writing falls short
I recently saw Kim Min Jae in Tempted, so I was thrilled to see that he was the lead in this show. I liked the show, there were a lot of really good things about it. The music was wonderful, as you'd expect it to be, and I was impressed that Kim Min Jae played most of the music himself (I can barely handle Chopsticks). The Moonlight Sonata/Happy Birthday scene was one of my favorites.The cinematography was very good - back lighting, warm color tones, and I especially loved the multiple times they filmed different scenes, showing the main leads at exactly the same distance apart. Also, the scenes where they superimposed the female lead between the male lead and the 2FL "will there be room for me between you?"
I was impressed by the costuming, the female lead wore a lot of classy, yet slightly edgy outfits. The people that were together in scenes were color coordinated so that no one person glaringly stuck out. I loved that they put the male lead in jeans a lot - they're in college for heaven's sake. I have to say that his plaid shirts were a little distracting, but oh well.
I felt that the acting was good, everyone played their parts well, but I'd have to say that the writing is what I had a problem with. The characters were somewhat flat and not fully fleshed out. Both the male lead and the female lead's expressions were pretty one-dimensional throughout. ALL of the characters had problems, which is necessary for the story, but, especially for the leads, I didn't see growth with them. They had issues from the beginning, and though he tried to keep communication somewhat open, there was so much not addressed between these two that I don't think you could actually call them a couple. They were precious when they were getting to know one another (and his smiles are worth the price of admission!), but once their relationship should have been further along, the scenes where they were together were almost painful for me to watch - they seemed so uncomfortable with one another. They both suffered from low self-esteem from things that had been said and done to them, but to never lean on one another just didn't make any sense.
The ending was sweet, and we got to see a bit more cuteness from our main couple, but it didn't make up for all the wasted time in the middle of the show.
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Do you like Brahms ?
The answer to the question is yes I love Brahms and I only continued watching the series because of the music .I am hardly ever critical of K Drama series but this one irritated me . In spite of the lovely story and important issues raised , I could not engage with the main characters all as stiff as poles , especially the character of Park Eun-bin . Whether she was directed to play like this the gauche , introvert , shy musician , she was so slow , so unexpressive , so lifeless , I found myself shouting at her , " answer , move , say something ... " and wanted to shake her by the shoulders to bring some life into her . She seemed to go through the series half comatose . Too many long pauses , too many languid looks , too many stiff standing pauses , very slow pace . Those do not help to make a good drama. I welcomed the positive ending of the romance but on many occasions I thought Kim min Jae as the talented pianist deserved better, as it must have been difficult to play opposite such a lifeless character. I did not feel these two had a lot of chemistry between them . I did not feel any passion , nor intensity of feeling . I am sad to say this .
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This review may contain spoilers
Lovely characters depiction.
This drama is a slow drama focusing on two people, our main leads, their personality, character and challenge: Can they make their love and couple work? The problem is that they are both timid, introverted, candid, nice persons but they can't easily talk their mind and feelings and they are not assertive. Usually in drama it is two opposite but complementary characters. This is where this drama is different.STORY:
I liked the story even if it is slow. It was nice to see two good and cute persons meeting, falling for each other and finding a way to be together as a couple. The two leads had a superb chemistry and it was refreshing to watch them like two teens growing a cute love despite the people around them who made things difficult for them as they are all entangled in complicated past and present stories.
But if finding each other despite adversity is charming, dating each other and being a couple is not so simple. These two quiet lovers face people who manipulate them, use them, bellitle them... Their personality does not help them and things turn sour as an improbable event combined to their inability to properly communicate makes one of them take a hard decision. They needed to know their true feelings and change their way of doing, renounce to some things, speak their heart, before they win the Love of their life.
I liked some messages of the drama:
- You can fall in love before you know it but to be a couple is hardwork and communication
- To be happy when the person you love is next to you is easy but to make this person happy to be with you is not so easy.
- To love people is not to blind them of a reality to protect them but to give them the courage to face it.
- Talk well, Love well: communicating is not only to say things within a couple. It is also what not to say. And when to do these.
- When you chose the wrong path, you can keep the good memories but you must have the courage to change direction
... usual messages in drama but nicely presented here.
ACTING / CHARACTERS:
- I only saw Park Eun Bin in Stove League. I did not notice she was pretty but in this drama she is very pretty. Despite being a bit introvert and candid, she has many qualities: she is courageous, competent, true to herself and her feelings, she can also acknowledge her mistake and take step to correct her life.
- First time seeing Kim Min Jae in a lead role: he was good. Very handsome and innocent looking, struggling with personal issues and trying to find the one to make him happy.
- Other characters were good but they mostly served as obstacle or support for the leads in hugely intricate relations.
MUSIC:
Lots of classical. They used the right amount so that it does not become annoying. The OST of the drama was ok but no real song to remember.
REWATCH
The two leads were so cute I really liked some scenes: the happy birthday scene, the trip together, lowest moment of their relationship... but I would not rewatch the whole thing.
OVERALL:
I enjoyed it even if I found the last part bit erratic and unclear in its ending message. I recommend it to the ones who like slow dramas with deep and complex characters related by complicated stories. Don't expect action. It is about people deep inside their heart.
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Do you like deus ex machina?
I really enjoyed the intensity of this show. The dept of the feeling that the different couple (or triplet) have for each other is well played and I’ve been able to feel everything with them. i found amazing the performance of Kim Seong-cheol. You can feel all his discomfort and shame and hope. When he enters the scene he fills the whole screen with his being. BUT. This show has a major but for me: it is worst than a spy movie. Each time that a character say something meaningful there is ALWAYS someone listening and it is ALWAYS the worst person possible. This is how the drama procede. People listen to conversation they are not supposed to and to and boom, drama. The writers try to justify this in various ways but it just happens too much. All the time, in every episodes. That is simply bad writing. Be better next time. Everything else was awesome for me.Was this review helpful to you?
Driest music-themed drama ever...
Do I Like Brahms? No. While the scarce music bits sprinkled throughout the drama were great, yet, this is one of the worst music themed drama. The relationships, despite being the main focus here, proved to be detrimental, leading to a catastrophic downfall of the entire drama. The amount of brain worms these characters were ingesting was unprecedented. This is a 16 episodes drama that was purely driven by the characters self-sabotaging themselves constantly in the most pitiful and mind-boggling manner imaginable. Even trashy soap operas can be more fun. Going back to the music, I couldn't feel the cast's passion while performing, under-delivering on the music part again. You better off close your eyes and imagine. Even then, I believe there was a total of 5 very short performances for a drama themed around music!! Honestly, you're better off to go watch some classical music on YouTube. This is the writer's first full feature drama and I'm not looking forward to see more of her works at all.Was this review helpful to you?
In love with Brahms
I fell in love with this drama from the first episode. Maybe because I'm so into the ML and his dimples. But his acting in this drama is superb. I do believe he's a pianist struggling with his mastery of the instrument. The love between the two leads is strong yet very sweet, it might be too sweet for some, but with these 2 charterers it's perfect. The musical score is beautiful and gives me chills at times. The plot is a bit predictable, but I feel with the well developed characters, it's good enough,Was this review helpful to you?
Sailing in the same boat but are on different floors .
At times you just get attracted to someone and start yearning for their company without your knowledge because you are surprised to have similarities or it might be due to few characteristics you find in them which you have always wished for to posses .The drama starts off really slow and then it starts unwinding all the knots one by one, the relationship's are quite complicated between people and we might find ourselves in the characters situation at times .Initially the leads find each other in the same situation and start finding solace in one another.After both the leads getting hurt by their loved ones and constantly trying hard to empty their feelings they lean on each other to pass through difficult times and eventually develop feelings for each other.
People who are heart broken for just loving someone unconditionally, people who are born talented but are not sure about how and where to utilize it , people who want to prove themselves to others or to themselves, people who want to be recognized not with the family name but with the fame of their own, People who struggle in a relationship just because the other person is unsure about their feelings, people who constantly work hard but are overShadowded by the talented people and people who chase their dreams until they succeed will definitely relate to the characters.
It definitely does'nt fall under my preference of genre but wanted to start only for KimMinJae and at first his looks and voice kept me going but later i was hooked to the story.
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Just how long can you endure?
This is a story of life's suffering because of not letting the past go and tried to patch it with newfound happiness without clearing everything first.At first, it was so peaceful and as everyone said, it's like healing your own heart and taught you how to be brave, facing the harsh life with hope but in the middle, it became so depressing and the new love became toxic because of self-pity, insecurities, and misunderstanding until they sort things out and found that deserve happiness.
It's the first time that I watch Kim Min Jae and I just want to applaud his fantastic acting. I can feel his loneliness, burdened, and that sad smile trying to cheer them up even if he was struggling inside. Bravo Kim Min Jae!
And Park Eun Bin is still amazing as always. What I'm bothered about was her hair, laying in front. I just want to put it on her back but overall she was great.
Great wrapup so I'm not complaining about the flaws. It's just that I feel bad for KMJ and he deserved to have more scenes how he sorts things out until he got that great ending.
Overall. If you want to watch this just go with the flow. It was an amazing drama. Do not hesitate to watch it. :)
Everyone will find their own happiness. Do not worry.. We are struggling right now, I know it's hard. Keep moving forward and learned from your mistakes in the past.
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Music for the heart
Sono super di parte con questo drama, e forse il voto non rispecchia pienamente alla qualità del prodotto, e sono più che consapevole di alcuni difetti della serie, ma quel voto rispecchia in pieno la montagna russa di emozioni che ho provato durante tutto il decorso delle puntate, ma soprattutto è la quantificazione della felicità che ho provato dopo aver concluso la visione dell'ultima puntata. Mi son completamente Innamorata di Kim Min Jae, sarà che in altri drama non è mai stato il main ma qui mi ha tolto il respiro, bello, gentile ma soprattutto umano, una delle rappresentazioni più belle che abbia mai visto. Park Eun Bin non ho avuto modo di vederla in altro ma qui mi è piaciuta, spero presto di vederla in altro per capire la profondità delle emozioni che sa portare sullo schermo. Ho amato il suo personaggio, una ragazza timida, riservata ma all'occorrenza ha saputo saper mettere un punto ferma nella sua vita decidendo, rifiutando ma soprattutto crescendo.Ho iniziato questo drama senza troppe aspettative, KMJ era protagonista e tanto mi è bastato per metterlo nella watchlist ma è stato amore a prima visione, mi sono innamorata della musica, non ingombrante ma complementare alla narrazione della storia, mi sono innamorata delle complesse relazioni tra i protagonisti e i supporter, mi sono innamorata di una ship che mi ha fatta emozione, esultare, piangere e che mi ha stampato un sorriso in faccia nonostante i vari contraccolpi subiti. Un drama non perfetto, certe volte si è perso in dinamiche non troppo favorevoli che ne hanno implicato la fluidità della narrazione (si è concentrato troppo sulla storia dei protagonisti secondari), un interesse troppo marcato per questioni tediose che hanno decisamente abbassato la qualità della storia (un interesse troppo approfondito riguardo questioni burocratiche e non del mondo accademico musicale), risultando in un rallentamento della storia. Ma per chi ama le storie slow, ma dove slow non è un eufemismo, dove tutto diventa un crescendo di emozioni, fino al culmine finale, ebbene questo è un Drama coi fiocchi.
Ho sorriso, ho pianto, e sicuramente questa è una di quelle storie che ricorderò con piacere e che con piacere rivedrò.
Tra le ost ricordo:
happy di Baekhyun;
kiss me di Taeyeon;
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama had a really promising start and it hooked me right away. But unfortunately somewhere along the middle half of the series, it lost it's magic for me.We can literally skip 8 episodes and feel like we didn't really miss much. This is probably just really bad writing. The female lead had little to no character growth for those episodes that are skippable. It felt like the writer just recycled a misunderstanding plot over and over again.
The side characters were also equally underdeveloped. I couldn't really connect or feel sympathetic to them. Again, probably due to messy writing.
Part of the reason I stuck with this until the end were the main actors. They were really great at their roles. Anybody with less than stellar performance and this series could be a drop for me. Park Eun Bin's interpretation of Song Ah is so realistic. She made me root for Song Ah's growth even if I don't personally relate to the character.
This had all the potential to be the best melo romance series but it kind of fell short.
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light hearted good watch
the drama doesnot have that much of a complex storyline. but each characters have so many layers to show. the FL was the first one to fall for in this drama and that is what i most liked about this drama. she is kind and so introverted but somehow she grabbed the courage to confess him,i loved the confessing scene. this drama might not be everyones cup of tea because to keep watching this drama you must love both the character and the actors portraying it. i loved everything about this drama and i felt like they could have showed the progress of the main leads love even more as they were practically adults,Was this review helpful to you?
