Excellent Drama
The land is truly the main character in this drama. The need for land-the work it entails, the greed it incites, and the love it inspires-is central to everything that happens.
This drama is so well acted by so many that it's hard to know who to single out. But I have to mention, especially, Dahong Ni, who plays the FL's father, a man so craven that he chooses to subject his daughter to rape and disgrace rather than part with the money needed to save her. It's not easy to play a villain, someone who's both utterly despicable-and yet believable and understandable. He's brilliant in this part.
Also, the patriarch of the Feng family, played by Yongjian Lin, is another character twisted by greed-yet he's somehow likable, even lovable at times. His wife, in a role played by Peng Chi, is an absolutely kind, simple, and understated human being who's a healing presence in the family. Both these actors did an outstanding job.
Like many people in both China and America, I come from a long line of farmers, many of them miserably poor. I felt a pang of recognition and sympathy for these simple, hard-working folks, some so deprived they don't even own matches.
Ownership of land is all important in this series--those who don't have land are at the mercy and whims of their landlords. The constriction of their souls have made some of these landlords rapacious and unscrupulous. The working poor, who exist at the edge of starvation, struggle to grow enough food to feed their families. But many still find it in their hearts to share what they have with their neighbors.
One jarring note-whenever any one of the poverty-striken characters opened his or her mouth, I was greeted with the sight of perfectly aligned, gleaming, white teeth-which kept reminding me that I was watching a piece of fiction. Also, I found it a bit unbelievable that (in episode 29 and 30) marginalized, food-insecure human beings would so easily give up their grain reserves in order to feed a mass of unknown refugees swarming through their village. Maybe this was the charitable thing to do, but not psychologically credible, given that every episode prior to this had shown how prized every morsel of food was.
In many Chinese dramas there's one character who's so perfect he or she isn't quite human. In this series that character is the saintly Wendian. (Hey, Chinese movie makers-may I make a suggestion? You don't need to do this to drive the point home.)
This is the first Chinese series I've seen that focuses on the rural poor. It was a welcome change. THIS THRIVING LAND is a fine drama and very watchable.
This drama is so well acted by so many that it's hard to know who to single out. But I have to mention, especially, Dahong Ni, who plays the FL's father, a man so craven that he chooses to subject his daughter to rape and disgrace rather than part with the money needed to save her. It's not easy to play a villain, someone who's both utterly despicable-and yet believable and understandable. He's brilliant in this part.
Also, the patriarch of the Feng family, played by Yongjian Lin, is another character twisted by greed-yet he's somehow likable, even lovable at times. His wife, in a role played by Peng Chi, is an absolutely kind, simple, and understated human being who's a healing presence in the family. Both these actors did an outstanding job.
Like many people in both China and America, I come from a long line of farmers, many of them miserably poor. I felt a pang of recognition and sympathy for these simple, hard-working folks, some so deprived they don't even own matches.
Ownership of land is all important in this series--those who don't have land are at the mercy and whims of their landlords. The constriction of their souls have made some of these landlords rapacious and unscrupulous. The working poor, who exist at the edge of starvation, struggle to grow enough food to feed their families. But many still find it in their hearts to share what they have with their neighbors.
One jarring note-whenever any one of the poverty-striken characters opened his or her mouth, I was greeted with the sight of perfectly aligned, gleaming, white teeth-which kept reminding me that I was watching a piece of fiction. Also, I found it a bit unbelievable that (in episode 29 and 30) marginalized, food-insecure human beings would so easily give up their grain reserves in order to feed a mass of unknown refugees swarming through their village. Maybe this was the charitable thing to do, but not psychologically credible, given that every episode prior to this had shown how prized every morsel of food was.
In many Chinese dramas there's one character who's so perfect he or she isn't quite human. In this series that character is the saintly Wendian. (Hey, Chinese movie makers-may I make a suggestion? You don't need to do this to drive the point home.)
This is the first Chinese series I've seen that focuses on the rural poor. It was a welcome change. THIS THRIVING LAND is a fine drama and very watchable.
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