Les Belles

Who gives up marriage to a king

Initially I enjoyed the show especially the FL younger sister who can melt butter with her smile. The ML to me was just too much over the top. I had a hard time warming up to him that I wanted the 2nd ML to win. The story fails because it’s totally unbelievable the a commoner who struggled her whole life would give up marriage to a crown prince for a ML who initially made her life miserable.

Marrying a future King would create unbound opportunities for the sister she claims she loves. I’m sorry but not everyone marry’s for love, some marry for a better future. I stop watching this show and I have no regrets moving on to real fantasy with flying warriors with swords. It would be more believable than what I just watched.

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Not so bad, but not that great

Just finished this and would say I mostly enjoyed. It's one of those, didn't LOVE it, but didnt hate it either.
My favorite relationship was between the ML and the Prince Heng Yang - I thought I was gonna hate it cause they started down the love-triangle path - but so not where it ended up. Instead - once of the best ending/breakups with FL and Heng Yang - writers - take note, this is how it should be. And then the bromance with Hang Yang and the ML was just the best! Only regret is that they didnt find a good woman for Heng Yang in the end.
I wanted to like the main couple - all the elements were there - mostly. There was some good chemistry - but the battering/bickering got a bit old after a while - they literally couldn't have a single conversation without it turning into fight. Everything became a game of win or lose - either about admitting something first, getting caught in a scheme or giving in - and this is just about ego and pride (more so for the FL than the ML - I dont think she ever apologized for anything she did wrong). Would also add - while sufficient kissing scenes - FL actress needs to work on her kissing skills - I say this for ALOT of these dramas - this is an interactive action - lips should be moving. At one point she goes to kiss him on the cheek and she doesnt even pucker her lips - it was basically a face plant on his cheek - it's just weird. That being said - the kisses between Prince Shang Yi and Yang Ling were en worse - soooo awkward!
I so wanted to like the FL (and I mostly did) - she was feisty and clever and straightforward (mostly - for some reason she loses this when it comes to the Heng Yang - will get this later). But she was also prideful, narcissistic, never owns her mistakes and kind of mean to the ML when she didnt need to be.
Now - I see debate on the relationship between the FL and Heng Yang here in the comments - was she using him or not. The answer is, most definitely yes. She even says so - it was all about having him protect her from Fan Qing. The problem becomes - as in most of her schemes - she is so myopically focused on her scheme she doesnt see the impact on the people around her and she really doesnt care about how they feel about it - she is just focused on the result and not the process. Hence - she doesnt see the whole problem coming down the pike with Heng Yang that others see from a mile away. Then when the problem does arrive - it was uncharacteristic of her to not just take it head on and she gets all wishy-washy about for a bit. Luckily, she finally does and it is one of the best breakups in a cdrama.
Now once you get past all this first half silliness and everyone is sorted - it was fun to watch them all plot together to take down he bad guys

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great show for fun vibes and light hearted plot

I want to say this is def a light and fun show. It is not to be compared to more cinematic /dramatic shows because I can say if we were to rate it off that logic it would fall a bit short. HOWEVER, this show was a flush as I loved everything from the music to the romance to the plot.

The drama, on a high level is relatively one dimensional. There are people in power that are helping the enemy kingdom for the usual reasons of money, power, and jealousy. However, with this more basic backdrop of espionage, the romance and silliness shines through. None of the “good” side characters has to tragically die or sacrifice for the betterment of the main leads.

Luo Ling Yu’s personality was great – she was sassy and determined. What might seem cunning and underhanded to someone on the outside is actually her acting out of loyalty to her parents *and* her sister but most importantly, she was also acting for herself. Lu Yun thinks less of her at first due to their poorly timed first interactions, but he is also similar to her in his own pursuit of the truth about his father. He seems aloof to others but it was a persona he crafted to better serve his goals. He is stellarly loyal to those he trusts and cares for. He wasn’t the cliche playboy, but he also wasn’t the cliche straight lace either so watching him fall in love with Luo Ling Yu for who she was fully was mighty fun to watch. Their romance just felt sooo seamless and natural. They bantered off each other fantastically from start to finish. I love that they were able to morph their banter from “rival” to “romantic”.

Luo Ling Yu’s attempts at catching Lu Yun were hilarious. I love that she came off a *tad* too eager but her logic was sound because Lu Yun really was paying more attention to her than any woman ever before – but only because he thought she was the enemy lol.

His exasperation with her antics was the perfect level. He was attracted to her physically and mentally, but refused to accept it by insisting she is tricking him. This makes their love much sweeter as he doesn’t actually hate her to begin with, but doesn’t know how to deal with these unprecedented feelings.

OF COURSE, as she accepts that he was stringing her along and trying to re-direct, he figures out he is in love with her. Tragically timed on his part but the plot made it work. How? By having him now have to equally chase after her. So now the power dynamic has flipped between them but because of their banter, it also works to equalize them. They both equally love each other even if her attempts were more for money at first.

I love that because of the pacing of the show, we get them being in love/romantic with each other for the last ≥ 20% of the show which is honestly generous. Most shows like to only give us the last 5% or give fake us out with a secondary break-up.

The last portion of the show is set up as a them vs the world rather than vs each other.

Side character wise, I love what they did with Chen Xiu and Prince Heng Yang. Chen Xiu likes Lu Yun because of his kindness during her childhood but also because of what he represented to her while she was stuck with her terrible parents. Seeing her grow into her own self and befriend Luo Ling Yu was great. Prince Heng Yang was also a great “second lead” 1. him and Lu Yun’s banter as friends was *fantastic* 2. because he truly cares for Luo Ling Yu but just not quiet the same as Lu Yun. He loves her because she is fierce but he put more meaning into some of her actions than their original intention while Lu Yun could see her fully. I’m so happy with how Prince Heng Yang bows out of trying to win her over and does not fall into the crazy jealous trope (probably bc Fan Qing Chen has enough crazy jealousy for 10 people). But not only do I like how he bows out, I also like how he engages with Lu Yun *afterwards*. He still sees him as a brother but he still teases him about stealing her away. I like it because I do think he loves/cares for her so I would hate for him to just suddenly not care about her. I think she plays this role of showing him what life could be when you let others in which he wasn’t a stone cold man either, but he was more solider/war oriented before her. That said, I like to imagine his love slowly morphing into a healthy friendship love and that he finds another woman to hold dear because he honestly was a hot guy personality wise.

Prince Chang Yi and Zhou Yang Ling’s side romance was cute. Pretty straightforward once the identities are revealed but I liked that it wasn’t superfluously complicated. The emperor when they asked for an annulled engement was hilarious. I actually liked the emperors’ normal-ness overall. Usually they are just horrible or stupid but he wasn’t lol.

I will share a few “nits” that I had with the show. 1. Fan Qing Chen is such a one dimensional creep. As a woman, I know these men exist but it would have been nice if they explored a bit more on why he was obsessed with her. Especially because we get that flash back at the end which had me like “wait a minute, he has a bit more of a reason than she’s pretty?” and I can’t help but wonder if there was other things she did for him in the past. 2. I could explain the “sudden” setting switch to war when the espionage was linked to a war solider and ambush but the snowy mountain felt realllly abrupt. They were in these dessert looking lands and then look snow. I know they did it for the drama of the avalanche but they could have switched it up with a sand storm or smth lol 3. Speaking of the snow, we have ALL this angst and stress over Lu Yun being hurt, only for us to time jump a month. I thought he was in coma or something but he’s just fine??? I mean could we have a least seen him wake up in her arms or in the bed then do the time jump? It was a weird choice.

Overall, this is a feel good romantic comedy and 100% delivers on that experience. I highly recommend it especially if you are getting a bit tired of the more “classic” historical dramas and death of the secondary leads.

### Original Thoughts & Ideas
- To what end are we expected to live for ourselves versus for others. What does “freedom” look like? Is it loyalty to family? Is it loyalty to society? Or loyalty to one’s own desires? Maybe a bit of all three?

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Push and pull

I can't say the series is bad. Because I watched it. There were many parts I didn't like, but since I watched it until the end, I gave points for the effort.
I liked the cast. I liked the shooting. I liked the image. I liked the costumes.
As for what I didn't like; First of all, I didn't like that the story wasn't deep. Maybe the script and the director were lame. I don't know about that, but there was no strong story and no plot based on it. As far as I understand, it's the story of a daughter whose parents died taking shelter with a relative and from there being given to a nobleman in return for money, so to speak, our daughter's objection to this, and since there was no result, she goes to her family homeland, or rather escapes there and obtains the family property. It's a bit complicated, but they try to tell it, but it's very superficial. On top of that, there's the mystery of the country's border struggles with another country and the involvement of the person to whom our daughter was sold in marriage in this struggle. But none of these are told in depth. There are superficial glosses. For example; Our daughter escapes very easily from where she was married off. No subject is mentioned about the family that married her off there for money. It is glossed over. She has nothing to do with it, only her aunt being in that family, her standing out in the family she joined with a huff, her being granted rights not granted to any other family member, her being given a special place. I had previously written this as a separate criticism, but in response to the claim that our daughter performed the best dance in an area where the king was also present, the dance had no characteristics, beauty or aesthetics, the director could not see this, and the actor did not attach importance to this, in other words, he did not work. While the dancer on the other side worked harder and performed a harmonious dance, the lead actor could not give a good image even with shows where he was suspended from a rope and dragged on the ground because his dance had no aesthetics. The director is at fault here. Since you say the dance is very good, you should have prepared the actor for this role. I have nothing against the actor. Because the actor played his game well. But the dance was not for me. Afterwards, the prince's man, who is shown as an enemy country agent, and a minister are caught very easily. It remains superficial. The person who is wanted to marry our daughter, who was thought to be dead but received many stab wounds in the show, escapes from there, and then he escapes, and becomes the minister, even the commander-in-chief of the enemy country by giving gunpowder to it. I found it very exaggerated. Are you making everyone who delivers you a material a minister, a commander-in-chief? Irrelevant. This personality also fights against his own country, gets the title of general. He is an obsessive personality and as a result, he explodes the gunpowder. It harms the leading male and female actors. The male lead is left alone because he died as a result of this gunpowder explosion. I don't know when he is found, and he steps into marriage with our daughter unharmed. It is again very superficial. However, it is not known what happened to the other obsessive lover, the enemy general, in the same explosion. It is not told. It is not shown. At the same time, no clue is given as to how this person is obsessed with this girl. The subject is glossed over. In other words, our series is very superficial, glossed over, and was edited and shot without much attention to the issues or details. That's why it's a snack-sized series that you can watch with great gusto. Because I liked the actors, and there wasn't anyone who showed a very sharp performance from the group of actors. Everyone gave a flat performance. The ones that caught my eye were Charles Lin in the role of the Prince, Jerome Deng in the role of Fan Chen, who was very successful in the obsessive role. I say well done. The man's obsession passed on to me. Li Jia Xin in the role of Chen Xiu. I also appreciated this actor for his hard work. Even though he had a small role and scene. Even though he was in the second or even third role, he worked on his scenes, came prepared, and I liked his dancing. I say well done for working. This girl made her role stand out, which was small. Bravo.
There were a couple of love and affection events in our series. The director gave them as push and pull. The last episode was specifically dedicated to these, so I didn't watch a love story from beginning to end, it was just an image of two lovers who had this kind of push-pull attitude towards each other from beginning to end.

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Una boccata d'aria fresca ma...

Scenografia: 8 Sceneggiatura:5 Regia: 6
Les Belles (in mandarino 《怎敌她千娇百媚), titolo originalo "Come posso competere con la sua bellezza fascinosa", è basato su una sceneggiatura originale interna alla produzione stessa.
La protagonista è Luo Ling Yu, una nobile figlia di un Prefetto caduto in guerra che scappa dai parenti avidi che la "vendono"in matrimonio ad un mercante imperiale, si rifugia presso dei parenti, dove incontra Lu Yun, il terzo figlio della famiglia Lu, iniziando una spumeggiante storia tra malintesi e pregiudizi.
L'opera è molto breve e leggera, da qui il mio titolo, perfetta come pausa dalla visione di lavori più impegnativi, accostatevi però al lavoro senza pretese.
Pur essendo a sfondo storico le dinamiche sono molto moderne, i lignaggi diversi non impediscono matrimoni imperiali, le donne possono recarsi in guerra dai loro fidanzati (non ufficiali) ed essere ospitati negli accampamenti, donne che prendono l'iniziativa fisica, interazioni molto maliziose e provocanti e dialoghi piuttosto spinti per l'epoca. Il ritmo è sostenuto, la serie è molto breve per essere una serie cinese, solo 26 episodi che sospetto dovessero essere di più perché ci sono dei passaggi molto bruschi e qualche "falla" a livello logico , come se fosse accaduto qualcosa per giustificare una mancata reazione dei personaggi (esempio principe vs attendente di Lu Yun).
É un'opera semplice, senza pretese, e priva di colpi di scena o recitazioni incisive o intense.
Tuttavia apprezzo che sia dalla parte delle donne, nessuna donna è servile e vive per un uomo (da qui il titolo Les Belles, in senso figurato) , ognuno prova a tracciare per se percorsi diversi, specialmente la resiliente e brillante protagonista, che è decisa a scegliersi un marito e a conquistarlo, è decisa poi a farcela da sola e a trovare strade nuove per raggiungere i propri obiettivi, è audace, intrepida, non si abbatte e trova sempre nuove soluzioni ai problemi.
Mi è piaciuta molto la dinamica pregiudiziale al principio tra i due e l'inversione dei ruoli, questo battibeccare in perfetto stile "tenzone" tra i due protagonisti. Ho apprezzato che le protagoniste in quest'opera siano le donne.
La protagonista è un po' antipatica perché smorfiosetta nei primi episodi però apprezzo che non sia servile e confusa sui propri sentimenti.
Avrebbe potuto essere un'opera da 8 tuttavia alcune falle logiche, buchi di trama, inserimento di elementi drammatici e di intrigo non ben congegnati, interpretazioni leggere e regia con poche soluzioni la penalizzano portando l'opera alla sufficienza.

Regia: non ho visto molte soluzioni di ripresa, la regista ha sicuramente un occhio per l’ “eye candy”, valorizzando la bellezza di Lin Yun e Fang Yilun con inquadrature che amplificano la loro presenza estetica.
La regia è incalzante, più comica che romantica, con scene rapide e vivaci e utilizzo di stacchi che personalmente a me non hanno fatto impazzire perché erano troppo veloci e interrompevano il ritmo della scena corrente.
La regia calibra i momenti di “political intrigue” e sequenze comiche o slapstick, mantenendo sempre un tono leggero.
Coreografie dinamiche: i combattimenti sono eccessivamente coreografici, quasi barocchi, calcati e troppo scenici, forse l'intento è di divertire e intrattenere ma personalmente ho trovato la cosa molto poco coinvolgente perché mi sapeva di eccessivamente finto.
Tempi comici: le gag sono ben piazzate, la regia mantiene la comicità senza accelerare troppo o diventare ripetitiva .

Sceneggiatura: Dialoghi spesso incentrati sul futuro e la condizione delle donne portano avanti dei messaggi positivi, spunto di riflessione sin da principio. La storia è semplice ma quando prova a diventare un po' più complessa e articolata ci sono delle falle e delle risoluzioni improvvise che sembrano quasi improvvisate. Dal 20 in poi la serie cambia tono diventando drammatica, col tema della guerra ma questo viene fatto con troppa leggerezza, senza intensità, e soluzioni un po' estreme che gli attori non hanno gestito bene a livello di interpretazione. Non si capisce poi come scoprono dettagli sul nemico alla fine (tipo chi guidava le truppe a Beichu, si sente urlare il nome quando lui scopre che ha rapito qualcuno e allora se lo sapevi perché non sorvegliavi?) . Una scrittura che risente moltissimo di manchevoli approfondimenti e di una linearità logica, di una coerenza che manca che sfugge subito ad un attento osservatore.
Troppi narrativi ripetuti e ridondanti rivelano una povertà di idee.

Interpretazione: purtroppo è uno dei punti deboli di questo lavoro, Alen Fang molto espressivo e bravissimo nelle scene di gelosia o in cui si va prendendo di lei, mostra qualche caduta dopo l'episodio 20, non mostrandosi sempre puntuale nella recitazione, inoltre hanno girato delle scene pietosissime dove aspettano a baciarsi perché sanno che deve irrompere qualcuno nella stanza, dando alla scena una resa da livello amatoriale, davvero basso. Stessa cosa nel frame finale, devono baciarsi chiudendo le porte e si avvicinano ma si vede che attendono la chiusura delle porte rimanendo per 3 secondi col collo piegato senza avvicinarsi perché non volevano in verità baciarsi o avevano ricevuto altre indicazioni, ma la scena andava rifatta in questo caso. Hanno rovinato un finale.
Premio un villain che è stato abbastanza bravo a rappresentare tormento e solitudine interiore. Il mio Voto per lui è 7.É stato quello più continuo seppur abbia poche scene.
Nonostante tutti questi difetti riscontrati la visione è stata leggera e piacevole , l'ho finito in pochi giorni e per la sua semplicità si presta al rewatch, perché non appesantisce ed evoca una sensazione di tepore e comfort che ho molto apprezzato.

Baci frequenti MA molto stitici, girati maluccio. La protagonista seppur sia molto bella era l'anello debole di dream of splendor e constato che anche qui non ha brillato, perfetta nelle parti smorfiose e spensierate, poco convincente quando doveva mostrare serietà e intensità. Il suo modo di baciare è davvero pessimo, penalizzando la chimica col protagonista.
Bravine le altre attrici non protagoniste, bravo ed espressivo Charles Lin, sebbene manchi ancora di quel quid che possa assicurargli un ruolo da protagonista.
I bambini , specie la sorella piccola, ha recitato maluccio ,seppur il personaggio sia adorabile e mai fastidioso.

Scenografia: è il punto forte di questo lavoro che investe moltissimo sull'estetica visiva, le riprese, i colori , tutto fa "respirare l'occhio", regalando un' aria spensierata, sognante e un'atmosfera morbida, ovattata.
Colori pastello delicati: predominano rosa cipria, azzurro sbiadito, verde menta, giallo pallido, tonalità morbide e armoniose che evocano un’atmosfera eterea.
Motivi floreali e farfalle: fiori, petali e farfalle svolazzanti arricchiscono lo sfondo, conferendo un senso di leggerezza e grazia che richiama le decorazioni naturali tipiche dell’Art Nouveau.
I panneggi ampi dei costumi, delle braccia aperte della protagonista, le linee curvilinee delle vesti richiamano il celebre "whiplash" dell’Art Nouveau, esaltando eleganza e flusso naturale .
I protagonisti sono spesso posti in posizioni non speculari ma bilanciate da elementi come lanterne, giardini,la loro asimmetria dona dinamicità pur mantenendo armonia visiva.
Gli abiti sono ispirati alla tradizione cinese antica (guzhuang), ma reinventati: drappeggi ampi, ricami raffinati, stoffe eteree. Sono romantiche, idealizzate, e prive delle rigidità storiche.
Palazzi, ponti, padiglioni , giardini, "gazebo" creano un’ambientazione nostalgica (quasi fiabesca), rievocando scenari di un epoca sospesa nel tempo.
A livello di colori ci sono chiari riferimenti all’Art Nouveau l’insieme di colori tenui, linee curve, motivi floreali, eleganza femminile e composizioni asimmetriche rimandano a uno stile grafico che mi ha ricordato Mucha, Toulouse‑Lautrec e Chéret . La tradizione cinese qui è stata “rivista” attraverso un’estetica nostalgica ricca di grazia.

Finale: positivo ma tirato troppo per le lunghe con un escamotage banalotto, qualche caduta sulla scena finale, in uno degli ultimi frame, attenzionate la chiusura delle porte della barca.... .
Premio moltissimo la brevità dell'opera, speriamo che nel futuro molte produzioni vi si adeguino quando non c'è una storia da raccontare, evitando lungaggini inutili o sottotrame inutilmente tragiche o imbarazzanti e chiusure frettolose regalando dopo 36 ore di visione, un misero finale di 30 secondi,
“Les Belles” pone l’accento sulle donne e sulla loro bellezza, non solo fisica ma anche quella dell’intelligenza, del carattere, e della grazia interiore. Consiglio la visione senza troppe aspettative.

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Un c-drama historique simple aux romances dynamiques...

Il s'agit d'un drame historique classique avec des personnages attachants et des antagonistes caricaturaux et aux intrigues simples et efficaces. Pour moi, c'est le drama de transition idéal parce qu'il n'est pas compliqué. La simplicité est restée attractive, malgré quelques épisodes inutiles sur la fin.

L'ensemble du casting est bon. Jelly Lin (Luo Ling Yu) refuse l'idée d'un mariage arrangé. C'est une femme intelligente et posée, ne serait-ce que pour sa débrouillardise. Elle croise le chemin de Lu Yun et d'une manière ou d'une autre, ils finissent par se rapprocher. Lu Yun est attachant et honnêtement doux (ses petites touches de jalousie sont craquantes). C'est un couple mignon avec une dynamique légère, mais c'est aussi un couple qui compte sur l'autre.

Cependant, le couple secondaire vole la vedette pour moi. Zhou Yang Ling (Zhao Qing) et Aman (Guo Jia Nam) m'ont fait sourire, rire et couiner. Zhou Yang Ling est une femme intelligente et indépendante. Aman est un homme qui ne cherche pas à l'enfermer, au contraire. Leur relation se construit gentiment de façon amusante et change lentement lorsque la vérité éclate. J'ai adoré ce couple qui possède une dynamique amusante et délicate.

J'ai adoré le soin apporté au personnage de Heng Yang (Charles Lin) qui n'est pas qu'un rival romantique de seconde zone. Au contraire, il fait progresser l'histoire et surtout devient une personne sur laquelle on peut compter. Enfin, si les motivations de Fan Qing Chen (Jerome Deng) sont nazes, l'acteur a donné une bonne performance, créant un contraste intéressant entre ses pensées rudes et sa gestuelle élégante.

Comme dit plus haut, l'histoire n'est pas très compliquée. Elle est bien amenée et reste entraînante. Cependant, les derniers épisodes sont redondants dans les c-dramas historiques. Ils n'ont pour intérêt que de créer un nouvel élan dramatique. Pour finir, sur le titre, pour moi, il n'a pas été choisi avec soin. Sans donner un cours de français, l'adjectif "belle" convient d'être lié à un nom : les belles demoiselles, les belles fleurs, etc.

En bref, Les Belles est un c-drama historique de transition sympathique. Avec deux couples entraînants (dont un syndrome du couple secondaire), il est agréable de les voir tomber amoureux et évoluer, le tout avec une jolie photographie et une bande originale discrète.

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