The Suspicious Housekeeper (2013)

Non si scarta nulla, neanche i padri che hanno sbagliato

Il vero punto di forza di questa serie, secondo la mia opinione, è il messaggio che viene continuamente suggerito, cioè, la famiglia, i figli, i genitori, per quanto fragili, cattivi, incoerenti e incomprensibili sono sempre un VALORE IMMENSO DA DIFENDERE a spada tratta.
C'è poi una denuncia molto chiara contro l'adulterio, fonte di distruzione della vita della coppia e della famiglia.
Altro punto di forza è la recitazione impressionante dei quattro giovani attori protagonisti della serie: solo per loro, merita di essere guardata.
Il punto debole è la sceneggiatura e come sono tratteggiati alcuni personaggi (la suocera della protagonista, il detective, il cattivo di turno, la protagonista stessa, il papà e la zia materna dei 4 fratelli, il papà del moroso della protagonista) o in Corea veramente esistono persone così "strane" o gli sceneggiatori avrebbero dovuto curare meglio la descrizione di caratteri e sviluppo delle personalità.
Per chi ama il giallo mescolato al rosa è sicuramente da vedere.

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Profound, idiosyncratic mixture of different genres, coherently combined to form a new whole

The story is surprisingly exciting and complex, with an inscrutable main character and her mysterious past. Basically it's a thriller. At the same time, however, the story also offers plenty of food for thought and/or empathy about modern educational concepts. In any case, the story falls outside the scope of the usual KDrama stuff. On the side, one also gains some impressions of life in the middle class, of the difficulties of single parents (although men have it a bit better than women), of bullying at schools or of abusive parents-in-law.

A central storyline revolves around the now: the employment of Park Bok-nyeo in a family with a single father and 4 children who are dealing with their traumatic recent past - the suicide of the mother/wife. The second central plot line works in the background and deals with Bok-Nyeo's own traumatizing past, which shapes her behavior to this day. It is inevitable that both strands eventually become entangled.

Choi Ji-woo marvelously represents the housekeeper Park Bok-neyo. She fulfills her tasks calmly, patiently and disciplined. Always clearly demarcated without ever pulling a face (in 20 episodes)! (Ok, maybe once...) However she can hide well behind her role as a housekeeper and like that escape her own inner emptiness, as she herself is emotionally broken and limited in her ability to relate. Her own traumatic past is now catching up with her and threatens to turn her current life upside down again. But she is older by now, more mature and thus she tries to face her fate emotionally strengthened and resolutely and prepared to get over it to some extent. In the process eventually she offers a variety of psychologically and pedagogically valuable interventions in the everyday life of all family members. It's not all cliché, but offers touching, funny and very serious moments.

So this is not a love story. "Suspicious Housekeeper" offers an idiosyncratic mixture of different genres that are coherently combined to form a new whole with a surprisingly profound entertainment value. All actors, up to the 4 kids, contribute to the living impression of the overall work of art.

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