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Nonetheless, it was a pretty powerful story. The female lead, disabled and reclusive, finds solace from life in books. So much so, that she will tell the tales she's read as if she's actually lived them. Which, in her mind and with her imagination - i suppose you could say she did, in a way. This was definitely a comfort mechanism - given the fact that she hadn't been able to live and explore much in her life. And that's why some of the most powerful and memorable moments in the film were when she lived in the moment. When she realizes that she's living her own story right now. And she actively works to make them count and reminisce on them.
Other really powerful scenes are when the male lead introduces her to google maps so that she can explore the world, right at her fingertips. Not just from her imagination and words on the page, but in front of her eyes. I think this was also a form of therapy for him as well. He appears to feel trapped by circumstances and gives in readily with the whims of others for any sort of comfort. So helping the FL was very much helping himself in a way too.
This is, above all else, a slow-paced character-driven story focused on personal growth. These 3 components are the key factors in determining whether this film is for you or not.
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Classic indeed. They don't make them like this anymore.
I can easily see why this was a hit with western audiences at the time of it's release, and is considered a classic masterpiece. The story is very reminiscent of some favorite western fantasy films being released around the time (DragonHeart being a personal favorite of mine), as well as having all the characteristics of a Wuxia production.The story is simple but action-filled. The motivations for the conflicts went beyond greed - instead erring towards the desire for a better future and justice for the past. It allowed the characters to have ample depth. Even when you were wholeheartedly against them, you could understand where they were coming from. And the action sequences were gorgeously choreographed and told stories beyond just "this is the characters fighting." There were some things that were not explained, as they would in several modern wuxia dramas, but it didn't make the story hard to understand. I wish modern wuxias would do similar, so that we are not bogged down by explanations, world-building monologues, and character introductions all at once.
Even the ending was well-done. It was very true to the story being told. And the one unanswered question being left open like it was makes it a perfect ending for divided watchers.
It's a perfect starter wuxia. A classic if you will. That even long-standing fans may go back to for the actor performances and exquisite fighting sequences (which are numerous).
The only reason why this didn't get a 10 from me is because of the lack of one subplot that deserved a few more minutes of attention.
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A Fluffy Teen Romance Surrounded by Adult Pressures
I think this is a story that anybody who has grown up with strict parents can relate to. And it was acted so well that I found myself wanting to cry along with Guang - in part because of what he was going through, and in part because of my own memories with those emotions and fears.Thankfully, the romance served as a counterbalance and reprieve to these tough topics, rather than a further source of angst. And it felt natural and easy for them to get together.
The music also served this purpose and was quite enjoyable. But, there were only a couple of songs so after a while it didn’t really do much.
The second couple (and the individual characters of the couple) felt really underdeveloped. I dont think the main storyline should be cut at all, so perhaps they should’ve left the second couple out altogether, had them established from the beginning, or left us with mere teasing breadcrumbs. Because what we got just didn’t consistently hit the right notes. There were several other elements that felt underdeveloped and/or rushed as well.
Although an absolutely terrific story with a great cast, this really wasnt suited for just 8 20-minute episodes. And it’s to its detriment.
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Romance in the aftermath of a Korean "Dont Say Gay" education
This short film told its story perfectly in the time frame it had. You can easily understand all the dilemmas going through the main character's head about being closeted and the insecurities that her school had instilled in her for being a lesbian (not cool school, not cool - but also incredibly relevant given the Don't Say Gay bill getting traction in the United States). But it still gave us a cute, happy, and compelling romance to root for and smile at.However, I do still wish some things were more directly said between the characters to really feel as if everything is resolved. And there is definitely room story-wise to make a longer production.
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Understanding the characters is crucial to understanding the ending
I get the disappointment; honestly, I do. It was an ambitious short series. Its primary focus was definitely on character development and interactions, rather than the plot's events. But doing such a thing can be quite tricky, especially in shorter series. It was a task that required more screentime, fewer flashback montages, a little less character background for our MC, and/or adding flashbacks into certain events in which decisions were made. If this had the chance to be a full series, it could have been a masterpiece.There were several elements that kept reoccurring, thus implying significance - but were never explained, elaborated on, or answered. I believe this was mainly because they tried to develop Yeong Woo's background too much for what the screentime allowed.
But an explanation for the events leading up to the end are actually present in the story (spoiler potential explanations can be seen in one of my comment responses below) - they just require reading between the lines. Conversations, especially reoccurring ones, are CRUCIAL to understanding what happened (because the characters do not outright announce their decisions, nor do we see the moments in which those decisions are made - you need to know what they were thinking leading up to the decisions). For viewers who want to give this series a try, but to whom reading between the lines does not come naturally, a binge watch or re-watch may be beneficial.
But for anyone who doesn't mind a little more analysis when watching - I highly recommend this series. The actors do a great job showing the various nuances to their characters. And I believe the overarching message of dreams, hard work, and confidence is really relevant to viewers. Furthermore, ending analysis aside, its a light, short, and easy watch in which the main plot conflict doesn't feel as heavy as most series (something that I know personally can wear me out). Plus, such heavily character-driven stories, especially ones that ask you, as an audience, to understand the character in order to understand the plot, are not common to come by. It was refreshing.
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Good potential, great actors, disappointing execution.
The actors are very much responsible for carrying this series. The story had potential, but ultimately lacked in execution.Pros:
- Characters with cute quirks and interesting personalities: Looking at basic descriptions, you would've thought Play would've been the grumpy character that was hard to get along with, when in fact he was very cute. The fact that he's restless and violent in his sleep unless he is cuddling his bear was a great touch that had me laughing. Meanwhile, First showed great ability to pay attention to small details. I think if the script had been better flushed out, these are characters that are easy to fall in love with. And the side characters showed just about equal promise.
- It could've been a great look-inside and critique to the BL film industry. And the forced proximity trope is often very well liked by the romance fandom.
Cons:
- The length of scenes didn't show much logic. In fact, the scenes around the product placements were often longer than the plot-relevant scenes. They should've either implemented the products into the plot better, or found a better balance.
- The relationship seemed to develop more through skinship than actual communication.
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A Cute and Simple BL
A fitting contribution to the korean BL scene. It was short, sweet, and simple. And sometimes, that’s exactly what you need. It was an easy watch with several memorable scenes and intriguing characters. I loved how much character development our main character got in such a short period of time, while still feeling natural and organic. And the maturity that was shown throughout was much appreciated and welcome.I can’t help but wonder, however, what it would be like flushed out into a longer series or with a sequel. Either way, definitely recommended.
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Trailer Misdirection, Pearl is still Pearl
Sometimes trailers are misleading. It's something I frequently say whenever people tell me they know what's going to happen because they watched the trailer. I should've heeded my own words. Because this movie was a prime example. I watched the trailer and found myself legitimately mad. And it wasn't even because it was obviously going to be more explicit than the other Gameboys-verse stories. No. The reason I was upset is because that Pearl was not the Pearl I know. I wondered how loose of a grip or loyalty the writers must have to the character. Pearl would not hurt, dare I say backstab, a friend in that way. Pearl wouldn't be that shameless and carefree. That wasn't Pearl. And the comment section obviously agrees - as many of those Pearl-hating comments came either before the release or before it was available internationally.The trailer did this movie an extreme disservice. So many people who were initially looking forward to more from Pearl started actively hating this movie without even seeing it. Myself, unfortunately, included. But I can tell you, Pearl is still very much Pearl. The whole situation was a result of ineffective communication and poor timing.
The only thing I can fault Pearl for is the fact that after she and Achilles found out their mutual feelings for Ali, she proposed and participated in a dating competition of compatibility. Did she learn nothing from her exploits in "Pearl Next Door" the year prior? I also think I would've handled the ending differently, but I get why she did what she did. It was a very Pearl-like choice.
I had a lot of fun here. I laughed quite a bit, as there were several different types of humor included here (besides the sexual humor which just isn't my thing). There was a lot of rep here as well: bisexual and gay leads; enby, pan, and gay supporting characters that were both campy and nuanced. They supported each other and really built off each other's energy in the scene.
The person I watched this with even said she liked this better than Pearl Next Door.
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Cute, for a student social media project (I'm assuming)
The very first thing any potential watcher needs to come to terms with is that this is very much done as if it is a student social media project.Many people complained about the episode lengths and the video being in portrait mode, rather than landscape. I personally did not have a problem with that aspect of this series. Each scene was generally composed of 2 episodes. The image quality was clear and they made good use of the screen space.
My problem however is the acting and the script. Plot conflicts didn't have sufficient time leading into them, and were resolved just as quickly (or even vaguely sometimes). Fortunately, there wasn't a problem with overacting like many other newbie works, but I wasn't convinced of the emotions the characters were supposedly feeling. It was cute, but it didn't feel fulfilling as a viewer. But the couples made sense story-wise. As all the couples were some sort of friends-to-lovers dynamic, it's important to show some sort of new circumstance that serves as a catalyst for the change in dynamic - and they did that well.
The series premiered officially on the GagaOOLala and Artop Media Hit Drama youtube channels.
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As a stand-alone, pretty good. As a continuation, empty.
If this movie stood on its own as a second-chance romance tale, I might've rated it higher. While the main characters were consistent to the drama prequel versions of themselves, they were perhaps too consistent. It felt as if they didn't really learn and grow from those events. Xavier especially easily fell back into his old cycle of giving up his own happiness for other's expectations. Which, yes, 1000% happens. But was was the point in the webseries then?It was also too tropey for my liking. Not necessarily because of how many there were or even how they came in quick succession of each other... But because they didn't really DO anything. As one reviewer wrote, it was "like empty calories."
The movie ultimately felt like a waste of time. We didn't learn or see anything new from these characters. Nor did we even get any fluff of them being a couple. We cycled back into the same angst as the webseries, and ended in much the same place as the webseries too actually.
I will say though, JC (Milo)'s performance was quite spectacular. When he broke down in front of Xavier and asked for him to stop messing with his head... it was so real. I felt that.
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This review may contain spoilers
Romcom with Realism, for good and bad
What I loved and hated most about the film is the healthy dose of realism to this romcom. From the stressful in-laws (on both sides, for different reasons) that weren't overdone, to the getting-used-to-each-other phase of being newlyweds, to the stress of living in a place that isn't your own, and more. It was real but it was funny. And the leads were so cute. And despite Angie being hot-headed and Jed being rather weak-willed, I would dare to say that they were a perfect mesh for each other. They knew how to apologize to each other after a fight, and really wanted the other to be as happy as possible.But, we also get the other side of that realism: the likelihood of a man cheating on his spouse goes up significantly with pregnancy. For a number of reasons. Loss of attraction. Less bedroom activity. Change in the spouse's attitude. Etc. Etc. And in reality, many spouses will still forgive their partner afterwards with the reassurance that it won't happen again, after a good/sincere apology, and/or on behalf of the baby and their post-partum state.
Even when this plot element was introduced, I still really liked the movie. The way Angie handled it was spectacular. And I expected nothing less from my girl. Even when she's on her last leg of pregnancy, she handled that like a boss. And it looked like she was gonna make Jed work for her forgiveness.
But alas, the film botched the story towards the end. Jed didn't grovel as much as he deserved to. And several characters contributed to this narrative of the infidelity being an easily forgiven transgression - on behalf of him being a man and it not meaning anything. For instance, Jed's mother seemingly shocked but relatively okay when it came to light - because, I mean, what does it matter if your son went against basic loyalty morals since you hate your daughter-in-law? And then Angie's father gave this whole spiel about how "men work different" and "just because we cheat doesn't mean we don't love our wives anymore" speech while comforting her.
And then we have Angie saying she feels bad because she married Jed in the hopes of changing him? That didn't even make sense with the movie! Did me and the scriptwriter watch the same movie? At most, Angie hoped Jed would grow more of a backbone and stand up against his parents wishes/opinions. What does that have ANYTHING to do with his ongoing affair?
This could have been a great movie. And I would have loved to debate the "should she/shouldn't she forgive him" aspect of the story. But the ending just really messed that up. It made the cheating out to be much a smaller dealer than it was, and tried to paint hot-headed pregnant Angie as part of the reason it happened.
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A Powerful Display of Women, But with 2 Very Risky Choices
I loved this drama to bits. Such a great show of female empowerment with a diverse array of female personalities - a lot of which definitely go against the typical view of women, in reality and in dramas. See these women as they move through their careers and their various feelings about morals, ends and means, and relationships was very enjoyable. With a lot of material to spur some nice ethical and societal debates, should viewers decide toThe women were all strong characters. The main characters consisted of a a strategist with a great ability to read situations, a quick-on-her-feet action-taker with strong ethics, and a hard-to-read calculatory businesswoman. There's also a morally grey support character that I adore. You don't really see such types in modern-setting dramas much.
The romantic storylines rarely involved miscommunication or misunderstandings - if at all. It was truly quite novel. There was a lot of really great communication and emotional maturity. The main couple had a lot of inside references/jokes between each other - a personal favorite element of mine in romances. The couples also features some nice role reversals.
The music was exceptionally well-chosen, ranging from vibe-y tunes to emotional melodies. All of which fit into the scenes like magic. The editing and cinematography was gorgeous, poetic, and purposeful. Making me rewind on multiple occasions.
There were 2 major problems with this drama though:
Two of of our three female leads read as quite suicidal for a significant amount of time. And only one of them felt somewhat properly addressed. In fact, the one that wasn't properly addressed even said some insensitive lines to a minor character which displayed such traits as well.
If you made the storyline around the three female leads into a Sapphic love triangle, you wouldn't notice hardly any difference in their interactions with each other. Just about all of the usual cliché romantic tropes and lines were used in scenes revolving around these 3. The sweet romantic background music and rosy filter certainly didn't hide that it was purposeful either. I'm not one that typically calls "queerbait," but this one deserves it.
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Perfect for a light-hearted family movie night. But too predictable for a deeper impact.
It was an adorable family movie where we got a look at the bonds between a grandmother, mother, and daughter as the tension that has been building up for 15 years finally "explodes" (as one of the characters puts it). They were all extremely well acted, and I found myself really wanting to cry right along with Han Chae Young (the mother), and even some scenes with Jin Ji Hee (the daughter).The problem though, is that none of this felt new per se. It was incredibly predictable, and the stage was all set from the very beginning. Nothing really came as a surprise plot-wise. Same with the characters. Even while editing tags, there wasn't really anything that could be considered a spoiler, because we know it all from the beginning. And the ending felt either uninspired or with insufficient lead-up. And this wasn't a "funny, ha ha" type of comedy, but rather comedic attempts that kept the film from feeling too heavy. Or perhaps it's the simple type of comedy that appeals to kids.
That all being said, I greatly enjoyed the transition from a sister-like bickering to "nagging" mom mode that the film goes through. The teenager - moody, annoying, and a bit brainless - was very realistically written (I say coming from someone with a younger sister), while still remaining sympathizable. And the overall message of the film was wholesome and touching. A great film for a light-hearted watch with the family.
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The only thing that might add rewatch value, if you didn't notice it the first time, is the way they used lights and colors. Shima is consistently in and surrounded by monotonous colors and darkness. Meanwhile, whenever Togawa is in the scene, there's color and light coming through. Sometimes his color/light will affect Shima on the screen. Sometimes they look like theyre almost embodying two different spaces, even while being right beside each other. It's beautiful visual symbolism. And something the film did spectacularly well.
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However, there was a particularly annoying character that I'm still wondering what her role is. Because we see her a few times, and then she's never really brought up or addressed again. Perhaps I'm supposed to see it as someone who got the hint? But it really didnt feel like it had that finality to it. She didn't even really have much bearing on the plot. So why did I sit through her scenes to begin with?
I also think that one of the overarching topics could have been slightly more explicit during the reveal. It's the only element that made me feel like the drama might be rushing. There were also scenes related to this plot line that could have been more cleverly done, reducing it's watch value for me. But to those who may have less familiarity with it, the rewatch value may be notably higher.
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