Becky

Thanks! But believe me, if you have watched it in the big screen back then, you will understand its beauty. The movie fails on small screen becos there is really nothing in the plot, or script, or acting...! This is a film that focuses completely on the cinematography and how to invoke that loneliness and desire (feelings) in the viewers. Another movie that I can think of, is Lost in Translation. But at least that has some interesting dialogues and comedy in the script. Whereas Il Mare relies fully on the viewing experience.

Lol.... This movie is not outstanding for the story or acting, it is the cinematography, the art direction that is impressive. It must be watched on the big screen, in complete darkness with surround sound system to appreciate its beauty.

I know this well because I watched it the theatre back when it was first released. And watch it twice too. Bought the dvd later but realize the movie become boring when viewed on small screen....

I was fortunate to watch this in the cinema back in 2000. And watch it twice too, bringing a group of friends on 2nd watch. We were all mesmerized with it. This is one of those rare movies that MUST be watched on the big screen, in a theatre setting. Becos I bought dvd and realize the movie is boorrring on small tv screen.

It is not the story or acting that stands out. It is the cinematography. Excellent art direction! The feelings that the images and music portray, romantic and loneliness.

He's 16?!! I have thought he looks very young but I was guessing 19...

You forgot: GL too... ;P

Ya, Korean entertainment industry is worse. I'm basing on the end results:- there are more suicides among Korean celebs than Chinese. Well, more suicides among Japanese celebs too, but that could be due to culture...

Yes, the HD can be lagging sometimes. You can also try kanba.cc similar setup as pangzitv.com

Ahhh, Deng Lun (ML) and Yangzi (FL) are too familiar with each other and that familiarity hinders the chemistry. For me too, the 2nd couple are more convincing as lovers than the leads.... check out some BTS (behind the scenes) videos of the drama on Youtube. Deng Lun and Yangzi are like brother and sister on set!

I actually enjoyed the actress portrayal of the Empress , she did a good job making viewers hate her. But at the end, you would learn that were the Empress not thirsty for power, she had another option that would have given her love and happiness.

Ashes of Love initially seems like a typical romantic-comedy period drama. But it flashes out the main leads and supporting cast well, gives multi-dimension looks to each character. Unlike some dramas that just give a 1D representation of its negative characters, it devote a few scenes into the negative characters' pasts which makes it more interesting to watch.

Haha, true... I forgot viewers would post bad rating for drama with poor subs (Sleepless Princess is a very good example of bad subs) Kdramas are the best in Eng subs! I guess public rating system will always be unreliable, as rating is a subjective matter. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ;)

ah, can't resist adding 1 more tidbit:- Guardian 镇魂 final douban score was 6.4 because of some kind of online attack.... it was eventually removed from douban. The thing in China is, when a drama with fairly unknown actors become hugely popular, there would always be some groups that are envious of its success and because the actors are unknowns (with no strong backers) they are vulnerable

Btw, you shouldn't take the douban score seriously. The score is accurate when the drama just completed release. Thereafter, there would be some "coordinated attacks" either by anti-fans or maybe instigated by competing production houses to bring the score down... if a main lead got embroiled in negative issues, some groups would purposely drag down the scores of all the shows he/she was on. Like that Xiao Zhan AO3 matter....

Another example is: My Roommate is a Detective has a higher douban score than Miss S!! That is very incredulous for me, having watched both.... Miss S deserves at least an 8 imo. The China mass opinion is criticism on the FL for being 'too old ' or not pretty enough for the role. But she did an excellent job! And the few other actresses that I can think of who might be able to do as good a job as she did, are all around the same age! I mean that role need a mature female to carry it off.... So the douban scores should be viewed with alot of reservations, I actually think MDL scores are more accurate as we post the scores base on the quality and entertainment value of the shows. Another example, Tenet score on douban is 7.8 *roll eyes*

This is for those who have finished the drama, some recaps and interviews that I found. Unfortunately, no Eng subs ==>

The wallet scene
https://youtu.be/3T5ozOYLguE

Interview on how they choose the locations, what type of color tones and some BTS
https://youtu.be/oGEDY-S2pnA

Interview with Johnny Bai
https://youtu.be/EiB5KNV-jBw

Yes! And the 3 men bromance is so natural that I feel like I am peeping at them, not watching a drama, lol

Haha, yes if you are checking only Asian dramas and movies, MDL is good source. But I watch some western productions at these Chinese sites ;) such as Elementary, The Good Place

I tried searching for 急先锋 Vanguard at pangzitv and kanba, not there yet.

But you are quite good! It ain't easy to know the Chinese titles. I usually go to Baidu.com and type eg: 美国电影 Tenet 中文名 to find out its Chinese title ;) another way is searching for its China trailer release at YouTube

I'm afraid you won't be able to use douban if you do not know Chinese. You need to type the Chinese title into the search field... Maybe you can try copy & paste? It is easy to read the rating as it is shown in numbers with a star.

If you do not need English subs, www.pangzitv.com is my fav streaming site for movies and dramas. It is free, almost all are in 1080p and no ads. But like douban, it accepts only Chinese characters at the search. It contains Jap, US, UK, etc dramas too. But have to type in its equivalent title in Chinese. I finished CW's Supergirl season 5 here. Was watching it on HOOQ until it got shutdown earlier this year... in desperation I searched and chance upon this site! Just watched Disney Mulan at this site too https://m.pangzitv.com/vod-play-id-76291-src-1-num-1.html

Am waiting for Tenet. Tenet is already uploaded but in poor quality https://m.pangzitv.com/vod-play-id-76456-src-1-num-1.html
waiting for a better upload... ps: for these 2 movies, it came with Eng subs. But most Chinese dramas that I watched here, do not have Eng subs... I've watched some Jap animes too, with Chinese subs at this site

I'm not sure how this site bypass copyright issues? It is created for "overseas Chinese" hence everything is in Chinese. Maybe that's how it bypass copyright infringement issues?

For those who are wondering if this drama is worth it to watch, if you like light-hearted fantasy dramas, pls do not hesitate! The FL exaggerated acting might seem annoying, but dig into her background and you'd be impressed. She has 2 best actress nominations for very serious dramas/movies. And dear Xu Kai, the ML, has some unforgettable scenes. This is 1 of my favs:- https://youtu.be/Pcleolz_OPI Observe the FL here. ML is soooo good she is struggling to stay in character! Her eyes speaks, "omg! Can I laugh?!" When Xu Kai look so good and acted so well, that a best actress nominee struggles to act with him in this scene! Ps: this is my 3rd rewatch of this drama.... Love it!!

Thanks! Will check out Flower of Evil ^_^ Sisyphus has good reviews, will check that out. Although the 1st Light On drama I wanted to watch was actually Crimson River (I was watching The Heiress at the time, was so impressed with Una You). But reviews were average, so didn't.... might go back to it, just to see Una You act in a polar opp role as to The Heiress.

I am more "crazy" for cdramas this year! Prior to that, it was sporadic, only the more popular cdramas such as Guardian, Ashes of Love, etc.. It started with Once Upon Ling Jian Mountain (or Once Upon the Spirit Sword Mountain) last December. Initially started the drama for my mother on Netflix, she was laughing so hard that I started watching it. From there I went on to similar dramas: Go Princess Go, The Eternal Love, Romance of Tiger and Rose..... and became fully focused on cdramas this year.

Oh, you checked my watchlist, lol. Fyi, I am Chinese n been watching J, K and C dramas but only started posting ratings at MDL recently. Eg: aft reading your list, realized I forgot to rate Oh My General! n so many others...

Ancient Detective has got good reviews, so I've been trying to watch it for a while... but stuck at ep 4 for a looong time. Becos the cast chemistry does not do it for me. Feel like a random group of actors put together and reading lines to each other... Might try again later.

Tbh, the pairing of the ML and FL in Hotel Del Luna gave me the same feels initially. Thankfully I pushed thru the initial episodes and grow to like seeing the 2 of them.

Pls note good acting does not necessarily mean good chemistry. For me, it is also about the looks of the leads (some faces, u just know at first glance that they won't fall in love, like the leads in Del Luna)

Examples of dramas with GOOD chemistry:- You Are My Destiny, Eternal Love of Dreams, Mystic Pop-up Bar, Maiden Holmes.

Even "The Long Night". The bromance between the 3 men are so well done, at few of the scenes, I feel like this is real and I am peeping at them.

Hang on there, best part is in the middle or 2nd half: the Dream of Arya..... some days i still rewatch the episodes of this ;)