PPBongi

Wow, I was not expecting this! The series is hard to describe yet somehow made scrutable by the organic, unadorned human interactions. It is sequences of contradictions composed of oxymoronic concepts. Full of opposites yet seemingly archetypical. The story itself is dark, yet there are always whispers of light coming just around the corner or just over the horizon. There is unfathomable sadness yet always followed by a tactility of frivolity or irreverence, making us feel and see that life must be viewed in contextual terms. Protagonists share long periods of silence between just exposing individual pain that speak volumes of comfort and serenity simply in the way they look back at each other. I could go on, but you get the concept. It is a series that is so unique and one that, in a sense, is seminal, even if it may not feel so.

I did not watch this series; I experienced it. It is a rarity for me to feel characters. Not just the protagonist, but the antagonists as well. All were made relatable, even though I could not link with any of them. I was completely unfamiliar with their world and its culture, which I do not understand and have very little knowledge of. Yet, the story and the organic feel to the acting made it such that I could perceive and discern what the characters were going through. Being unwanted, lost, hopeless, unloved, living like outcasts, or not belonging, and ultimately the inner anxiety about facing the question of why are you even here were portrayed with such deep dimension and personal depth that it draws you in; it absorbs you. The story vividly portrays a setting that feels especially bleak and melancholic, yet it retains a subtle atmosphere that life is still worth living. Even at its lowest points, the narrative never descends into utter hopelessness.