This review may contain spoilers
"The Notebook" level of sad, such a harsh slice of reality yet beautiful and masterfully done
Review
9/10 is my rating. This is "The Notebook" level of sad. "Marley and Me" and any other sad show you can think of that was super good, well written, engaging but really sad. There is nothing wrong with it. I just am not a fan of shows that are so real they are sad because they match the sad aspects of reality. I watch shows to escape the sad reality. So this show was masterfully done. The love story is heart warming. It is well acted. Well scripted. Everything about it is amazing. But I probably would not watch it again. Not because it wasn't good. But because one time on that emotional roller coaster was enough. I would recommend it with a warning label. If you are someone that doesn't like sad then maybe think seriously about watching this one.
Spoilers
This is "Notebook" level of sad. I loved her mother so much that I was super sad when she died at only 29. I mean, come on, 29. And then main girl is an orphan. And no one really wants her. That is horribly sad. Then, she grows up a little, still without really much of anything and clings to the one lifeline she has which is main guy. And they have this beautiful love story and you hope their lives will get off to a good start. But no. First his mother and grandmother are horribly abusive to her. And then he finally takes her out of that situation and they have their own place. Only they are starving. Then he is horribly abused and winds up disfigured from the ship captain who was jealous of him. And then they tragically lose their child. Yet they keep bouncing back and finding ways and through it all is their very strong love for each other and their kids. Then the kids grow up and are horrible to them. Say the most hurtful things. And then they finally have just a little bit and he has cancer and dies. And now she is all alone without him.
Real? Yes. So real. I grew up poor and can say that desperation and hopelessness are a thing. Losing a child? Lifetime devastation.
Scroll down for a unique synopsis
Synopsis
We don't often see Jeju Island in its earlier days, but this one is set on the island in the 1960's. Things were not the same for women back then particularly not impoverished women who lost their father at a young age, with a mother who remarried. So, Oh Ae-sun's (IU)'s life starts off difficult. Despite the challenging background young Ae-sun dreams of going to the mainland and becoming a literature major in college. A series of unfortunate event occur to Ae-sun starting with her haenyo (diver) mother, Jeon Gwang-rye (Yeom Hye-ran) dying at the young age of 29. And now she goes from being a child with only one parent to being an orphan. Her friend and fierce admirer, Yan Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum) has always been there for the spirited girl, feeding her fish from his families business as a show of love. Her dream is to become a scholar; his dream is her. Be prepared for a story that is not linear in anyway it flashes forward and back and from location to location. It is an emotional roller coaster. You might laugh and cry at the same time. It takes a deep dive into the life and the culture of that region at that time through the eyes of a young woman trying to forge a different path.
#WhenLifeGivesYouTangerines
9/10 is my rating. This is "The Notebook" level of sad. "Marley and Me" and any other sad show you can think of that was super good, well written, engaging but really sad. There is nothing wrong with it. I just am not a fan of shows that are so real they are sad because they match the sad aspects of reality. I watch shows to escape the sad reality. So this show was masterfully done. The love story is heart warming. It is well acted. Well scripted. Everything about it is amazing. But I probably would not watch it again. Not because it wasn't good. But because one time on that emotional roller coaster was enough. I would recommend it with a warning label. If you are someone that doesn't like sad then maybe think seriously about watching this one.
Spoilers
This is "Notebook" level of sad. I loved her mother so much that I was super sad when she died at only 29. I mean, come on, 29. And then main girl is an orphan. And no one really wants her. That is horribly sad. Then, she grows up a little, still without really much of anything and clings to the one lifeline she has which is main guy. And they have this beautiful love story and you hope their lives will get off to a good start. But no. First his mother and grandmother are horribly abusive to her. And then he finally takes her out of that situation and they have their own place. Only they are starving. Then he is horribly abused and winds up disfigured from the ship captain who was jealous of him. And then they tragically lose their child. Yet they keep bouncing back and finding ways and through it all is their very strong love for each other and their kids. Then the kids grow up and are horrible to them. Say the most hurtful things. And then they finally have just a little bit and he has cancer and dies. And now she is all alone without him.
Real? Yes. So real. I grew up poor and can say that desperation and hopelessness are a thing. Losing a child? Lifetime devastation.
Scroll down for a unique synopsis
Synopsis
We don't often see Jeju Island in its earlier days, but this one is set on the island in the 1960's. Things were not the same for women back then particularly not impoverished women who lost their father at a young age, with a mother who remarried. So, Oh Ae-sun's (IU)'s life starts off difficult. Despite the challenging background young Ae-sun dreams of going to the mainland and becoming a literature major in college. A series of unfortunate event occur to Ae-sun starting with her haenyo (diver) mother, Jeon Gwang-rye (Yeom Hye-ran) dying at the young age of 29. And now she goes from being a child with only one parent to being an orphan. Her friend and fierce admirer, Yan Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum) has always been there for the spirited girl, feeding her fish from his families business as a show of love. Her dream is to become a scholar; his dream is her. Be prepared for a story that is not linear in anyway it flashes forward and back and from location to location. It is an emotional roller coaster. You might laugh and cry at the same time. It takes a deep dive into the life and the culture of that region at that time through the eyes of a young woman trying to forge a different path.
#WhenLifeGivesYouTangerines
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