Persona

Tragic realism

There's a genre in literature called magic realism and there's a genre in chinese dramaland best named as tragic realism. It appeals maybe to a very small slice of watchers in MDL but is quite appreciated by the mainland TV audience for good reasons. The rating is almost never above 8.0 in MDL because of the small number of watchers (amount of raters affect rating) but the drama quality is often very high. This is definitely the case with Persona. Other recent examples are The Hunt, Light Beyond The Reed, and Tender Light.

Persona starts out as a murder investigation. But it turns out the body is nowhere to be found, and may not even be the person whose DNA is found on the murder site. The police officer who has been after the suspected victim in another murder investigation for a whole year starts to unpack the case.

The main plot is not about the police, but the background and destinies of the four people, suspected murderers and victims, involved the case. We go through their lives and events leading to the current situation. As we get to the bottom of their stories, we get to understand them and sympathize with them although not necessarily approving their actions.

What I l particularly love in this drama is how close we get to the characters. The 4 main actors (Gao Ye, Cheng Jing Ke, Cheng Kai and Xue Hao Jing) are brilliant in their roles. It doesn't feel like they're acting, they are the persons they are portraying. The antagonist of the story is a narcissist and does everything that narcissists do. Yet there's nothing stereotypical in Cheng Kai's acting, we see none of the usual psycho mannerisms (which I personally am very tired of). This is so well written that we are don't have to be told "this person is a narcissist" - we understand all about this through his actions. "Don't tell, show" is one of the major laws in tragic realism.

There are some brief bright times in the lives of our main characters. The romance between Qin Hong and Kaifu, albeit a short one, is very sweet. I particularly liked Feng Bin as Kaifu. The proposal scene at the skating rink was quite memorable. Qin Hong and Danshun's girlfriend Zhang Yan meet at the middle of the drama. Zhang Yang has been lacking strength to stand up and protect her disabled daughter. But as the 2 women slowly open up to each other about their pasts, they also gain strength to take hold of their futures.

To sum up: Persona tells the story of 3 people who are basically good decent people and try to survive under difficult circumstances and conditions not of their own making. Fate throws unsurmountable obstacles in their way. Persona is sad, a tragedy, and will definitely make you cry. C-dramas representing tragic realism however avoid overly graphic violence (we understand what is happening but don't have to see it) which I appreciate.

Persona is a short drama, so it can easily be binged in a couple of days. The shortness is also why I give 8.5. instead of a higher rating (a higher rating would for me demand bigger proportions). But the lenght is perfect for the story and the pacing is good.

The music is not memorable, so nothing to comment there.

I'd highly recommend watching.

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It takes persistent of a good detective to solve a crime of passion. A good watch.

Persona is a crime drama that follows a persistent detective as they investigate and solve a crime involving a missing body. It is a short-series drama from Tencent, and it is a decent drama to watch.

It stars Gao Ye, Chen Jing Ke, and Zheng Kai. This is the first time I've seen Zheng Kai playing a bad guy. He did a convincing job at it. I hate crime dramas where women are being subjected to violent situations, and sometimes, society, the majority of the time, is not on the victim's side.

Gao Ye is a good actress with range; however, she is always being typecast into two major characters: a strong businesswoman or a victim, either physically or sexually abused.

Synopsis: A year after Qin Hong fled a murder case, her body is found missing at sea. With solid evidence and a confession, the case appears solved. Still, detective Liu Wang is haunted by the missing body and doubts whether Qin Hong is truly dead, suspecting there's more to the story.

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 8
2. Script: 8
3. Music/OST: 6
4. Production Quality: 5
5. Cinematography: 6
6. Rewatchable: 7

Overall Rating: 7

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