IA-000

The romanticization of the self-sacrificial heroine must stop !!!

This drama is a real danger for young women who seek inspiration through dramas. Here, the show normalizes and glamorizes the fact that a woman decides not to choose herself, not to prioritize herself, for the sake of a man's well-being.
If QiaoXi had truly loved YingTao with a pure and strong love, he would never have held her hostage. He would not have fueled YingTao's perseverance to continue waiting for him and finding him.
QiaoXi is a coward and a hypocrite, his character is really realistic tho, don't get me wrong, most people would have behave like he did. He had legitimate reasons for being so, but that doesn't change the nature of his actions and choices.
He tried to make her understand why he gave up on her, saying it was because he was too ashamed of what he had become, that leaving her was for her own good blablabla ...
But in reality, he's a very self-centered person, who displayed ambiguity that was detrimental to YingTao's well-being simply so that he could keep two options open for his very own well-being: keeping her in his life or abandoning her for good AKA breaking his heart or hers.
Yintao has such a strong love for QiaoXi that she couldn't bear to leave him behind (the taxi scene, episode 21), to see him destroyed because of her decision. QiaoXi couldn't do what she did. Why? Because that's what we expect from women, not men ...
YingTao acted like the mother he didn't have lmao, and it was cruel to watch, making sure he felt secure and loved in her presence no matter what ... But she wanted to be a lover, his lover and his insecurities even stole this dream of hers for so many years, having her instead chasing and showing a devotion for a man who didn't actually do the same.
It was so unfair. And most people actually focussed on how QiaoXi was feeling.
Of course, his life was very sad but you shouldn't mislead people to think because of how sad your life is, you can have the right to misbehave with someone who always had pure intentions for you. This is not fair. We all have to face our responsabilities and the consequences of our actions.

Please, women, don't sacrifice your time for a man who hesitates to keep you in his life. You deserve more than a man incapable of confronting his pride to preserve your love. You deserve someone who is determined to choose you no matter what !!!

The directing was pretty good (lovely shots especially in the beginning), the writing was bad, the editing and pacing were awful and probably the worst things about the drama.
They wasted a lovely chemistry. The acting wasn't bad but I wasn't impressed at all, they did the job I guess.
Barely anything was realistic and meaningful in the storytelling... youth, poverty, separations, friendships, the love story, the adult life... nothing looked real or even actually made through the spectrum of the age of the characters which was truly disappointing.

Was it a waste of time? Yes. I finished it cause I felt the need to have a closure.

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A Fake Promise

The first part of the drama was very entertaining. The comedy was fresh, the chemistry between the cp and the whole cast was pretty nice. The directing is really the only thing that is actually impressive tho, the shots were different and brave especially for a cdrama, very innovative, the action scenes were beautifuly filmed too which is something that rare to see in cdramaland now.
In term of acting, it wasn't bad at all but nothing was that incredible to witness.
Li Yi Tong did good, but when you look at her acting in « Royal Nirvana », you can see the radical difference when it comes to having her in a drama where she can display the depth of her skills or not. Here, she tried her best, but I don't think she portrayed her character the best she could have, some of her scenes felt forced or maybe one dimensional ...
Liu Yu Ning definitely improved again, still showing his ability for range when it comes to acting but you could clearly see how his skills lack depth and strong incarnation.

The writing after 20 eps went downwhill pretty fast, which was very disapointing. The ideas were good, the execution was immature.
The main and strong theme of the drama being the generic "mary sue" role freeing herself from that narrow minded narrative turned into a strong will or direction to make the ml the most pitiful possible. How come the work around the fl didn't get the same dedication?
It turned so forced, it was very hard for me to find the drama interesting during the 2nd part of it.

The main character's development was poorly done; the writing didn't emphasize enough her need to be straightforward and selfish to literally stay alive, AKA chosing herself instead of entertaining the idea of having to sacrifice for her love, for her family, for everyone else but herself, instead they made her seem like ruthless. At the same time, they made the ml seen as the most pitiful, deep down so kind and nice despite everything that happened to him, which ultimately blocked any attempt to showcase any real gray areas for his character, which would have been more realistic when it comes to psychology...

The last part of the drama was completely meaningless, nothing was really interesting to watch, and the conclusion felt flat. They turned the last segment of the drama the story of the ml's life and focussed on his relationship with his father.
The fl became a supporting character, and it's quite baffling when you consider the drama's introduction, which promised us to see her reinvent the character's position in the story, challenging stereotypes etc, clearly it was a fake promise LOL.

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A little bit of hope and sweetness

A cute movie def made in and for Netflix, surprisingly fun, endearing, and at times (rarely) quite deep.
Netflix's generic tone and format made the story feel artificial, but I still found it to be quite charming.
The theme of domestic violence deserved more prominence in the movie. The entire segment was rushed, and as expected from Netflix and kdramaland, they simply used tragic events as special effects or shock value, instead of truly tackling this type of subject with proper writing (psychology, introspection, relevant dialogues, etc.).
Despite this serious flaw, I do recommend this movie. I had a good time. The last part felt rushed, but I don't regret watching it. It was quite inspiring, but I don't think it's really rewatchable.

The whole scene where the ml and his mother are crying together in the hospital made me cry, it was such a well-acted scene! I really liked Gong Myung's performance, I think he did a really good job, and the whole cast was actually quite nice, but their acting wasn't that interesting, the fl was cute but her perf was simply ok.

It's most definitely not a movie that engage your brain lol, but it has some sparkles in it, many scenes and vibes bringing a little bit of hope and sweetness in the heart of the youth.

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A distraction I regret not dropping earlier !

It's going to be a quick review.

The drama was boring as hell but the natural chemistry made my heart flutter, so of course I couldn't drop it...
The chemistry was nice but after ep14, not only it got insipid but also the cp got boring interactions with dull dialogues. The storytelling was mediocre, it feels like the writing was uninterestes by the story they choose to write LOL.
Their chemistry was, as I wrote earlier, natural (which is rare in cdramaland) but it did lack depth and intensity.
I like how the two leads carried a very natural tone in their interactions instead of forcing a fake intensity for the sake of gaining attention, but those kissing scenes felt like a very superficial fan services level type of stuff (as most cdramas have)...

The writing is dull and boring, no brain stimulation at all, the psychology around the characters has potential but of course the lazy writing ruined it, nothing was that entertaining to watch, and the directing was generic.
I had to skip most of the drama, especially all the scenes with that stupid selfish fl's brother who was evil enough to get romantically involved with his sister's bully ...
Nothing that interesting was happening, the stories aroud the 2nd characters was also boring, they turned the 2nd ml pure evil, which was cringe af.

The last 4 episodes weren't that boring but lowkey pathetic, what  was the purpose of all that nonsense, like what are we supposed to learn from this? Truly disappointing, you don't need your brain to watch this drama.
Tbh, it was simply a distraction for me. Blaming censorship isn't valid, the team behind the drama could've tried better and harder to finish the storyline with a better or even just a freaking decent ending.
The whole coma situation wasn't the problem, they should have been woken up much earlier and shown us how they would reconnect in real life, they were just too lazy to even try to give something decent... Basically, we saw two people dreaming of being able to change the past and that's that LOOOOL. No aftermath.
They also chose to close the drama with a scene with that pathetic brother and the psycho girl LMAOOO, THE DISRESPECT WAS REAL, a real clownerie ... ANYWAY.

The lack of efforts and intellectual abilities in the writing was disrespectful to the audience who watched the drama.
The acting was ok, but really nothing outstanding. I feel like often the fl lacked a lot of incarnation, she had a superficial embodiment of her character. The ml did ok but I feel like he could've display more range in his facial expressions (fl too, I mean lowkey the whole cast...).

I would recommand for the people who are considering watching this drama to just watch the scenes of the cp if you want something sweet to binge watch, it's the only good thing decent you'll get from it LOL.
I have zero interest in watching this drama ever again

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A happy ending is not mandatory... It's okay to leave behind the people who hurt you !

The first 20 eps were truly incredible, all the themes around family and what this word truly means were very inspiring.
I love how the fathers (mainly thanks to Hai Chao) built for their children the best they could a family, and a stable and warm home.

The casting was very well chosen but I think the acting of Song Wei Long was bellow in comparison of the rest of the main cast tho. He did a better job during the last part.
After ep21, the drama was ok but not as good.
It was too much of that fake triangle insinuations and many scenes with 3rd characters I didn't care about.

The development of the lovestory between Jianjian & Ling Xiao didn't get me interested as I was in the beginning of the drama, probably because their chemistry was good, cute but not that deep ...

Yang Tong Shu, Tu Song Yan and Zhang Xin Cheng put the best acting performances imo.
Tan Song Yun's perf on the 1st part was great, I wasn't that impressed in the 2nd part.
I was expecting "a masterpiece" as many people stated, it was not, it was a good drama with more flaws that people let us believe...
It was tiring and triggering to watch the writers try to force us to accept the excuses of the toxic parents who chose to abandon their children and having to see those same children becoming adults still having to "compromise" for those awful parents, just for the sake of pleasing a certain chinese moral standpoint, and for it to please the censorship... and to also please the idea that in the end of a story, we need things to get better at any expense, even against common sense, that we need an answer to every situation even those dark and complexe ones ...

I think the drama needed a more mature dimension in the writing to deliver a real, honest raw ending to truly respect the representation of what dysfonctionnal family and toxic parents are and what they lead to.

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What was the point of the storytelling?

Eps 1-4 : very good, acting, directing, writing, chemistry, I had zero complain, the quality was very nice

Eps 5-7 : the pacing started to go bad, the scenes less revelant, the dialogues were still quite inspiring but the writing of the scenes weren't that good, too much focus on the time thing

Eps 8 : the major scene came out of nowhere and it did affect my appreciation for the storytelling... It was abrubt, no introduction, we have no idea what actually happened in details, why and how.
I'm not sure if it is because of censorship, but it was disappointing.

Eps 9-10 : quite boring especially in term of writing and pacing, as if we have to be bored to expect the next major events, the upcoming shock value was too obvious. The writing was clumsy and lazy.

Eps 10-12 : They tried real hard to make us cry, the tone was a bit artificial for my taste, they were doing too much when in fact I think the execution felt off.
I feel like the production tried to take heavy inspiration from the aesthetic and directing of the famous japanese movie "Love Letter", the chinese movie "Better Days" and the taiwanese drama "Someday or One Day". And it's something I enjoyed, but at the same time I do think the drama still managed to have its own style.

The ending left me bored, I honestly got really uninterested and uninspired by the execution and the writing of the drama after ep8. The conclusion of it felt flat, lacked so much sense and depth.
At the end of the last episode, all I was thinking about was the point of that whole storyline ... It felt too idealistic and naive while portraying real pain and misery. But for what? What was the point of it all? The whole time thing had no real purpose but to tell a story of being able to change the upcome of the past, which I didn't find interesting.
For exemple, the drama "Someday or One Day" portrayed the storyline in just an effective way with similar themes (the different timelines and the ambition of changing past events).

Overall, the first 4 eps were very good but after that, the writing and pacing weren't as good and convincing imo, the acting and great directing carried the show until the end tho.
The quality of the drama was overall better than most cdramas that were overhyped this year but failed to impressed me.

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The Principle of Polarity Put into Perspective: "A weakness can also be an armor"

I actually rate this drama a 6.75/10, but since I can't give that rating on MDL, I opted for a 6.5/10.
I also want to emphasize the fact that this is, for me, the first xianxia I've found interesting in over three years. And this is essentially due to the fact that this cdrama focuses on stong philosophical reflections, that I found very inspiring. However, this drama has many flaws, and I understand why many fail to connect to it.

Nevertheless, for me at least, there's still something in the design of this drama that I value greatly: the expression of sincerity in artistic & creative exploration. This drama really tried to create something visually different from the usual xianxia genre (mainly the first 11 episodes, cause after that it went slowly downhill).
This drama is far from perfect, but despite everything, it managed to touch the part in me in search for a creative journey.

1.The Directing :
The 1st ep looked very much like a pilot one, a bit chaotic & clumsy, weird voice over for the fl, your classic xianxia trope, in term of directing it's wasn't that great but still charming.
Episodes 2-11 were beautifully directed imo, not perfect but the creative input was def strong & authentic, it impressed me. The shots were differents & gorgeous, you could sense the inspiration from old famous movies from hong kong & china, and there was a serious will to give us a different looking xianxia. There was something very seductive in the way the scenes were portayed through the lens of the director.
The color palette, decor, makeup & costumes truly surprised me in the best way. I was so tired of watching xianxias having the same aesthetic.
Shots got repetitive after the first 11 episodes tho. Most of the creativity of the beginning faded away to display the most generic directing, probably less costing LOL. During the last part of the drama, few shots were pretty but kinda meaningless, so it was a disappointement.
Most cgi during the 2nd part & most importantly the action scenes were bad.
The editing was often weird. It participate on the downfall of the quality of the drama. The scenes followed one another in either an abrupt or robotic manner. Of course, it is obvious that to respect the 32-episodes format, there must have been a need to reduce a lot of scenes.
The work on the lighting was generic and lacked efforts. It actually made a lot of scenes (that were already poorly shooted) look very awkward.

Have you noticed how all the hugging scenes were poorly filmed? A shame. The directing after ep 11 definitely lacked sensibility, spirit but also bravery. I never got actually emotional while watching the drama, I could feel so much distance with what was displayed, it didn't feel real despite many realitic themes. The execution of it was most definitely NOT credible, lacked so much attention for details and precision.

The sountrack was absolutely underwhelming. I only like two songs and one of them was the one sung by Zeng Shun Xi.

2. The Writing :
A/The Themes of The Story :
The choice of the themes deplayed in the drama were outstanding and what truly makes this drama worth the watch and give it a high rewatch potential.
Here a short list of the themes :
-The Principle of Polarity (Yin & Yang, Cause and Effects)
-The cycle of life that never ends
-Theory of causality: cause and effect
-The theme of motherhood and fatherhood
- Maternal instinct ( HRY being overprotective) vs detachment ( BJS chosing to take action for both of them without her consent, being also overprotective)
- The challenges of perception
- Reality vs Imagination
- Hysteria or the condescending term and judgment of women's emotional expressions (Yin)
- The silent burdens in the expression of masculinity (Yang)
- The puirsuit of Truth & the construction of discernment

I have written a very long essai that I added on discussion topic of the page of FEUD, so if your curious I'll invite you to read it, it is called "An attempt to highlight the beauty of the deep philosophical themes of the story of FEUD". 

B/The Storytelling :
The storytelling was a complete fail.
The writing & choices of the themes were great but the construction of the narrative was very amateurish and full of obvious and tacky clumsiness.
The audience is really left alone trying to guess the depth of the writing. And if you don't pay attention enough, you would definetely miss the beauty of the subjects displayed, because precisely the storytelling wasn't efficient enough. You do not get to truly witness the beauty of the theory of polarities reaching its high potential when it comes to a drama adaptation. FEUD is to me more of an attempt, a lovely & clumsy attempt that still reached me, but if I wasn't myself educated enough on taoism and other philosophical ideas, this drama wouldn't have reach me like it did. And that's why I can see how many people didn't connect to the drama.
The writing of the first twist was actually good (HRY faking having forgotten everything), the 1st stabbing scene did get the reaction from the audience that was needed, but the twits after felt VERY repetitive, forced & cringy, simply added to avoid truly writing something creative & more serious as obstacles or ways to deepen the psychology of the characters.
Honestly, they were too many repetition in the writing, it was annoying.
I guessed most major twists, and after the 1st one, the thrill of guessing became flavorless.
The constant focus on those stabbing scenes & the display of physical pain was of poor taste (most xianxias have those and it needs to stop LOL, can you write angst in another way? Like it's 2025?). One or two scenes were enough for us to grab the importance of how deep their sorrow was, but nah, they kept going just to use those heavy scenes of suffering as a way to fill up the storytelling, which I find not only problematic but also triggering. It destroyed the impact of the first scenes, making the use of those same looking scenes (where you see the fl stabbing the ml, one of them needing to die etc) as a pretext or disguise for the lack of cleverness needed to write new scenes with such a strong impact.
HRY & BJS “acting” to then cooperate felt flat as hell, it was simplistic and yet again REPETITIVE ! So, in the beginning, HRY was acting up, BJS was playing along, then HRY played AGAIN in an illusion to trap BJS. And then, both of them play fools to win against the bad villain bla bla bla uuugh so boring and cringy ?! Like, the writer didn't find any better way to make the story evolve? haa? That's the real major issue, the writing didn't get to evolve at all ! A waste of so much potential, and that's a shame.The drama could've been epic.

The last part of the drama (eps 22-32) was highly disappointing. I did enjoy the scenes were BJS get to discover the truth when it comes to what HRY had to go through in the mortal realm without him but after that, nothing interesting was going on. The quality of the writing definitely showed its heavy limitation there. Watching BJS acts like a child was cute but felt completely random since the drama was almost ending.

The drama was far too abstract & focused on aesthetics when it came to the story of the two heroes' love, we were forced to display a form of detachment since the writer failed when it comes to the storytelling.
We don't really know how BJS & HRY fell in love in details. I mean we know the circustances but we never got to see the characters wonder and have introspection about how they feel and think. The drama was too focus on displaying a robotic way of narration. We needed to dive more into their soul imo. We didn't have enough scenes where there was a real effort in the writing, particularly with the help of sincere and deep dialogues.


Now, let's talk about the ending.
The ending was underwhelming but the idea of it was very interesting and meaningful, too bad the making was badly done.
The whole idea of HRY going back in time to try to change things in the past, but failing into changing the future for her & BJS was an excellent idea but again, poorly executed. They rushed the whole process.
The idea was that Destiny or your Karma fate, is bound to happen no matter what, your mistakes, one flawed action, aren't the only responsibles of the trajectory of your life's journey. Erasing suffering won't change the separations, the misunderstanding (etc), nor the course of what should happen. Suffering is what made you transform, you have to live it. You have to accept how unperfect your past could be, & if you are able to make peace with it, you can find some sort of harmony, between suffering and happiness, cause one can't exist without the other, again it is the symbolism of polarities. Happiness might not be the actual precise word to express the opposite of suffering, I think it was more a matter of Prosperity (a spiritual abundance) that is about experiencing a sense of profound fulfillment, gratitude, and richness in every aspect of life.
HRY go back in time and resolve the main misunderstandings, leaving the people have more informations, to guide their future choices but without forcefully intervene (the way she did in the past). It's a way for her to help them gain a better level of consciousness, something she lacked herself for a very long time.
By being more conscious of what's happenning around you, because of yourself and others, you get to at least try to harmonize the income of your future by not failing into the trap of self victimization. The source of your suffering, doesn't have to kill you, it can transform you.
The ending is about Yin and Yang becoming complementary, forming One through their differences.

3. The Pacing
It was awful.
Unlike many, the beginning of the drama and the first part was the most interesting part to me.
Yes, the very first episode was very clumsy, but despite that, I immediately saw potential and the chemistry.
Nothing was clear, and that's what I liked about it. Everything was designed to encourage us to make suggestions rather than offering an academic introduction to history. And the pacing was very good, during those episodes, I never got bored.
It's only after episode 12 that the chain of events slows down and makes the narrative less engaging. There are many scenes without passion, without a well-crafted rhythm, particularly in the way events follow one after the other. The drama lacked so much passion, lacked so much life, and the terrible pacing made those inadequacies even more heavy.
Despite many lovely scenes, some great emotional moments and the chemistry between the lead, they couldn't correct the void left by the lack of quality in the storytelling & the pacing.
Those scenes in that 2nd part (eps 13-21) were largely premeditated with the aim of solving the main mystery rather than showing us a shared adventure with moment of deep connections. The drama lacks a lot of subtlety.
The other thing that made the pacing quite awful that were most definetely
repulsive are the filler scenes. They were soo boring, especially the scenes about the Jingyun sect and its members, all those scenes with the 2nd male lead etc, gosh so boring.

4. The Chemistry
The last time I actually liked Bai Lu's chemistry with her male lead was with Xu Kai. The chemistry between Zeng Shun Xi & Bai Lu was also one of the reason I decided to continue watching the drama. The chemistry was very obvious from the get go. Their scenes felt natural, you could sense how comfortable they were in acting together.
They did lack intensity but they instead displayed a very lovely, charming chemistry, that was very refreshing.
In the beginning of the drama, you could sense a sexual tension between HRY & BJS but after episode 12, it kinda got lost. Their mutual attraction got muted for the sake of highlighting a more platonic love, which was disappointing to me. I mean, I loved the platonicity, the innocence from it but it wasn't neccessary to suppress their desires lol, both could exist at the same time.

5. The Acting :
Since FEUD is a drama produced by Yu Zheng, we have to deal with the fact that he adds most of his team members into the cast of the drama, and as always it's annoying as hell, cause most of the time those actors & actresses bring nothing truly interesting to the table, at least for most of them.

Zeng Shun Xi's performance was the true suprise of this show for me but also what made me curious about this drama in the beginning.
I never was impressed by his acting if I'm being honest, he always does the job but never truly was impressive.
Here, he really was good. His care and dedication to display the right expressions but also subtle ones (especially during the 1st part of the drama) were one of the major reason that made me choose to continue watching this drama.
I really enjoyed his work on the characterization of Bai Jiu Si and the expression of his character's aura was undeniable. It felt sincere, even if, during the 2nd part of the drama, his acting lacked novelty, his portrayal got a bit redundant. The last part of the drama gave him enough substance to show us more of his range.
Zeng Shun Xi does look very young despite being 27 year old, and I think it did take away the credibility of him looking like the most powerful & respected deity (Heavenly Lord Dacheng) in the heaven realm lol.
But it wasn't really that disturbing to me, I could ignore that. But the real flaw in his acting imo, is that at some point (and it's also the case for Bai Lu too) you can very obviously see how his own lack of experiences in life made some of his scenes feel unsatisfied, incomplete and sometimes superficial.

Bai Lu's perfomance felt quite flat and average. There was few scenes were I fought she did a good job but overall, her peformance lacked range and depth to portay Hua Ru Yue.
She didn't display anything different of what she usually does. She lacked tremendously micro expressions and energy shifts in her perf.

Li Mo (Liang Yong Qi) and Sun Zheng (Long Yuan) were the only interesting character's outside the leads to me. Their acting perfomances were good especially Li Mo.
The rest of the cast performed in a rather ordinary or caricatured manner. They were simply uninteresting to watch for me.

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"There are beings that exist that you can't even imagine."

Much more of a theater play than a film to me, the movie makes a fascinating mixture between esotericism and psychology.
Aragami sometimes reminds me of Coppola's film Dracula and sometimes Zeffireli's Hamelet but still, with an unique style od its own, a precise and well thought mise-en-scène and enigmatic acting performances that keep you in suspense !


In a silent and isolated room, a room that resembles a deep and secret thought full of imagination, strangeness, and the unknown, the destinies of a man, a demon and a witch (?) are colliding.
In this same room, the mystery and magic of their world is revealed.

Lurking in the shadows, one of the secrets of the mystery finds the light :
"There are a lot of people who look human but are not ... They are human, yet they are not human."

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There is true beauty, real magic in just doing your best !

A hidden gem of a coming-of-age film, the film features a headstrong but utterly charming girl who decides to join an all-male rowing team.
By staying true to her desire to join the team, she inspired other girls to join. She finds pride in her activity, her friendships, her difficulties and her doubts, she learns to face the romantic feelings she hides for her childhood "enemy", but above all she learns how much she can be strong and perseverant.

The film inspires people to be braver, even if it's just a small step, to be bold enough to do something for yourself, even when people don't understand, even when it's hard, even when it seems impossible to do. The film tries to inspire people, especially young people, not to be afraid of the difficulty of what they want to do, and not to be motivated only by the outcome, because there is true beauty, real magic in just doing your best.

Stunning soundtrack, gorgeous directing, lovely chemistry of the cast, the directing was beautiful. The pacing wasn't the best, and more dialogues could have made the movie more impactful.

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The right to exist !

The movie was very good but I think some scenes were incredibly insensitive in several ways...
It is the story of a woman treated throughout her life as less than nothing, like an outcast. The heroine, although suffering from a dysfunction of her mental abilities, nevertheless manages to be very lucid about life, much more lucid than many people who have retained all their mental faculties...

She understands that the world sees her as nothing, that she is not seen as someone who is entitled to the same consideration and respect as others simply because of who she is, as a human being . She is not surprised by the mistreatment she receives, nor the mockery, lies, etc. She accepts her reality.

And yet, (and this is where the heroine is truly inspiring and this film reveals an incredible depth in the writing) Yoshimura Masako despite everything, how cruel life can be, the injustices, the good and the bad, the wounds, heartbreak and traumas, firmly embraces her will to live, to embrace her life with all the strength she has left, and how strong she is ?! She is a force of nature! After all, it really is her life! HERS !!! It's her life and she wants it! She wants to live and own her life as best she can !!!

"Don't need forgiving."
She has been treated cruely, with so little love and appreciation that it is so natural for her to not even be inclined to believe that the world would ask her for her forgiveness, that people would care, that they would show remorse. And she also know she doesn't have to forgive people to be able to move on. Nobody asked, and she never intended to give it anyway ...
She doesn't try to ask for forgiveness either. She doesn't need it to continue. All she has is herself and her ability to be resilient and yet also her ability to love the good people she would meet.

She murders her worst bully, her own sister because this same sister wanted her dead, she despises her so much that she was ready to deny her own sister the right not only to exist but also to be loved simply because she wasn't "normal", so of course Masako decided to kill her before she does.
This murder isn't really the focus of the movie, but rather Masako's will to live. Of course we see her really regretting and being afraid of what she did, and of being caught by the police, being afraid of that the world would see her as a monster, but the center of the film, in my opinion, is to navigate between the character's journey living through different emotions, but also her own will to continue to cling to life, even when that same life was cruel to her. She doesn't want to deny her right to exist, so many people already did, she refuses to be become her own bully ...


She continues to move forward, without necessarily believing in anything nor have some sort of high hope in life, god, or the universe, but simply by her pure will and desire to get through life as best she can. She never considered herself a loser just because people might have seen her that way, no, she was Masako no matter what the world would say about her ! She walk with pride, she walks with her head held high, she does not spend her time in a victim mentality, without constantly having to ask herself existential questions which will in any case have no impact on her reality, without denying herself the right to love and to trust tstrangers, because she knows that in any case, she cannot avoid the dangers of life, she cannot avoid being betrayed by people. All she can do is move forward!

She faces life as best she can and keeps moving through her own sad, tragic but yet still, still precious and valuable existence with all her might!

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When words are absent or insufficient, the mind finds another way to externalize the suffering.

Undo is a purely artistic film. It is about a visual representation of a psychiatric disorder.
Although as a movie, the narrative structure, the lack of dialogues and relevant scenes to give us more context needed of the story, the film is a unique sensory experience to watch !! The directing is absolutely stunning.
It is pure visual art, more than a film.

Moemi and Yukio are long time lovers, but their relationship is fading away. They love each other but aren't in love anymore.
Moemi is trying to change things to fix their relationship but Yukio is uanble to express what he really feels. She is willing to stop her own evolution just for the sake of Moemi being able to see in Yukio what made him in love ... (her choosing to put back her braces because he was used to them)
"You don't like it?"
Moemi's insanity starts. She has this compulsive need to attach things to her, so that they don't leave her. And in the movie, I feel like it started when Moemi asked Yukio why their kiss didn't feel as good as before (but she felt it too, she knows when she kisses him, the intense feelings aren't there for her too) .
He couldn't really answer, he couldn't give an answer, simply because he really didn't know why his love had changed, she started to brush his hair, her hands yearned for his hair, as if she wanted to hold them, because indeed both were noticing how far they were drifting away.
The braces were just a symbol of it, and now knoting things is the only way she finds to cope with the traumatic revelation that their love is dying by itself, with no actual real reason than the simple exhaustion of romantic feelings.
An ‘Obsessive Knot-Binding Syndrome’.

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The story of how destructive "male desire" can be ...

The main casting is very good but the direction makes the acting of the characters completely uninteresting. The film is very difficult to watch because the direction and editing are quite bad.
From an artistic point of view, I find the film interesting but I didn't like the execution, there was a huge lack of sensibility but from a writing point of view, the film is much deeper than it seems. The writing is very subversive. There are a lot of scenes that I didn't understand, many things are honesly so confusing too ...

Those things being said, I would like to share my own interpretation of the story:

Sozaburo Kano is treated throughout the film by the characters and even by the director as an object of desire, what he can say or think don't matter, he is a simple object at the mercy of male desire. The simple existence of Sozaburo, well beyond his physical appearance, provokes in those men more than obsession but a desire to possessed and corrupt him for their own plessure. He has no say, the desire of men only sees itself.
At no time does Sozaburo, although displaying a constant coldness and apathy throughout the film, ever express his consent. Sozaburo is a victim whose silence is taken as an acceptance of everything that all these men project into him.

We see him very clearly being harassed by this male desire, but he seems not to react at all. He knows his reaction won't change anything. And he seems to not even be suprised but more used to this treatment. It feels like he learned to play with apparences since probably very young, to not only be the victim somehow ... The psychology of this character is truly intriguing, and his story is deeply tragic.

And yet, towards the end of the film everything becomes clearer. Sozaburo Kano is a much more complex than it seems. He hides his real skills, he pretends to be a worse fighter than he is yet we grasp the fact that he tries to deceive the men around him by playing along the role that this "male desire" has forced and imposed on him, precisely we understand that his goal is to use that desire against them.
I see in Kano's actions a fatality, and a silent passivity that is already beginning to investigate revenge.
What is fascinating is that we understand that his agenda is to reverse this narrative of prey/predator spectrum that this male desire has forced on him.

His silence, his coldness seems to be the result of his life spent having to deal with trashy mens whoa bused him, to know how to adapt through the desire of these monsters. And the only purpose for his pain to him, and the repeated injustice of these crimes committed against him seems to be v'olence. He say it early on in the movie, he was there to k'll.
Who Sozaburo Kano loved? No one I think. I believe he has let all those rumours around just to be able to move silently in his plan, he was playing along, but not in their game but his own.

Soji and Kano might have a certain mutal understanding somehow but I also believe Soji loved Kano... I think he might have k'll Kano out of jealousy, because he realized Kano had feelings for Tashiro somehow ...
Kano might have caught some feelings for Tashiro even if he was using him, because Kano seems to be unable to fight Tashiro properly which I believe indicated his probable tourmoil about him. Tashiro forced himself on him for sure but somehow Kano feels something for him .. not sure why or what, but I do believe there is a mix of different feelings, hating him but also having some affection for him (a sort of stockholm sundrome).

Before k'lling him, he asked his forgiviness ... yes, he used this to be able to k'll him but he used truth to be able to fool him, that's why Tashiro believed his words.
Soji pretended he couldn't hear what Kano was saying to Tashiro, but I think he did. His instant pasisonate jealousy led him to k'll Kano.
"This sort of thing has happened before. Hearts inflamed by passion ... It must not happen again."

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Life is not a game.

The directing was lovely, the acting was nice. The creativity was really obvious in this version.
The writing wasn't mediocre, but I didnt really like it. I did appreciate how they adapt the story in the 10ep format.
I can definitely affirm this version is better than the korean one mainly because the execution was far more profound that the korean version who's attempt was really just about entertaining the audience using women sufferings as most of the time kdramas tend to do since many years now.

It was deeper (I liked the dialogues, especially in the first part), but also a bit childish. There was no real attempt to delve into the complexity of the characters. It was a little strange, because they portrayed the story on a superficial level, but the display of emotions was profound in my opinion. Psychology has been largely neglected in the writing. And that's the second thing that annoyed me the most.

Japanese dramas have this ability to present many stories as true journeys, but often tend to neglect or wash out what needs more detail and focus.
They always have the ability to hide what they know they can't portray well and so deliberately choose not to even try, pretending it wasn't necessary anyway (LOL). Kdramas, on the other hand, are more willing to try, but their arrogance and quest for western validation makes them so delusional when it comes to acknowledging their flaws to avoid repeating them, which leads them to repeat them over and over again while thinking they ate.


I didn't like the writing for one precise reason, there is, in my opinion, something morally questionable and uncomfortable about depicting life, especially the suffering of women, without attempting to grasp its seriousnee and impact on real life.
This whole time thing, where we see the fl going back in time and while living again, witnessing how her life used to be was filmed in a way that I find very insensitive.
They tried to film the whole thing as some sort of game, video game, or even some sort of virtual reality where the fl has to operate in a certain way in hit her goals ... With such strong themes as misogyny, womanhood, v'olences against women, m-rders, etc etc
I was disappointed by the way the series deviated from what should have been a more responsible narrative, where the priority was to portray the story with dignity and respect for the weight of its subjects.

I feel like most recent dramas no longer have the ambition to portray life as something sacred, where the dignity of everything that exists and happens is respected.
Not everything has to be portrayed in an entertaining way to keep the audience alert, especially when they are about very triggering themes ... I don't mind comedy in serious drama of course, that's not what I'm taking about. I'm talking about depictions in a larger sense.

There's no need to distort everything to avoid making the real effort to grasp the very essence of life and the lives that compose it... Life is not a game.

I'm a lowkey getting depressed to see that 97% of dramas now refuse to take life seriously.
Either we end up with dramas that are meant to be ultra-performative and dramatic, or ones where the tone is misplaced and insensitive or those who focus on demonstrating and preaching to an audience they believe to be stupid and incapable of critical thinking.
Where has the poetry, the contemplation, the questioning, the non-answers, the unsaid, the silence, the ambiguities, the gray areas, etc. gone?

SIGH.

ps : I invite you to try the Taiwanese drama "Imperfect Ones" (2024) if you are interested in watching the theme of female rivalry, the issue of personality and womanhood portrayed in a much more mature and fascinating way.

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Seeking true connection is what we all want to be able to do...

The film, although filmed almost 30 years ago, remains completely relevant.

The two characters form a sincere online friendship without ever having met. They get to know each other through the emails they send each other. Despite the lies, the sometimes long-awaited answers, they manage to prolong their friendship because of the unconditional acceptance of the other.
Perhaps this acceptance was facilitated by the fact that they never met, the lies are forgiven more quickly because they do not have to confront their feelings of shame or guilt face to face.
The film could have been better made, however I always loved how most Japanese films and dramas of the 90s face the daily life. I really admire the fact that often the ordinariness is made less unbearable than in reality. There is a lot of comfort in what the film gives us but also a sadness that is ... accepted.
We can still lead our life in a courageous way, it can still harbor a form of beauty that belongs to us, even if our life is not full of exceptional events, of constant adventures...
Continuing to live is already an exceptional act, we carry within us magic much more than life carries, and we don't always see it.

We all have responsabilities and boreness in our life, and that's okay, we all go through this sentiment of feeling stuck in the same daily routine of our lives. But yet, there is still a space where you can find beauty in it.
It is increasingly difficult to form real relationships in our daily lives in our increasingly individual societies, and having to communicate via email or social networks now is both sad, perhaps even tragic, but also allows us to find a certain sense of hope.

The real beauty of this film is in the characters' innocent and powerful will to see the best in each other, and to maintain a constant connection between them despite obstacles. Their willingness to connect is very pure.
I also really like how the movie normalizes the feeling of loneliness. At no point is there any motivation of sensationalizing the fact of choosing to be alone or to isolate oneself. The film doesn't try to make the spectators sad or to feel sorry for the characters, but to understand them and accept their choice of life. Sometimes choosing to isolate oneself is not a dramatic thing, but simply a choice of living to gain some respite, to not have to suffer so intensely in front of the world which continues to move forward, that same world who prentend to not see you or how you feel.

Seeking a true connexion, feeling seen and heard, accepted and cherished is what we all want to be able to do. Don't we ?

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“How to Become Myself” could also have been called "how to stop people pleasing".

Have you ever felt like you always have to act in front of people, so they don’t see your true self? Your scared, vulnerable, sensitive self? Have you ever wondered who you really are when you’re not someone else?
Who are we when we don’t try to fit in with others?
I think these were the questions the film wanted to raise with a very authentic and inspiring innocence and simplicity.

And I think the final answer could be this:
even when you try to be more or less than you really are, it’s still you.
Your being is beyond what you do or don’t do, your lies or the roles you play. This need, this choice to become someone else to avoid suffering and/or to satisfy and please others is a component of who you are.
There is no need to deny it, you always have the right to be loved and accepted, truly, by others but especially by yourself.
You are not stuck, you can change, you can be someone completely different if that is what you desire and need, your identity is more than what you think. Your identity isn't stagant or rigid, it is free and abondant.
You are the author of your own story, not others. You get to decide how you want to live your life.

This movie could have been done better, that is undeniable. There are many scenes that were a bit too long, more dialogues were also needed, the pace got bad in the middle of the movie even though it is obviously a slow paced movie...

However, the beauty of the heart of the movie remains intact and very powerful, because it is about self-identity.
The intimate theme of self-identity is so complex that, obviously, only a truly innocent approach could answer it naturally. And that's exactly what the movie did.

I think people, situations, and things are complex only because there is a refusal to face and accept the simplicity of the reasons that motivate the complexity...

The boy says to the girl, "I don't understand this 'real me' and this 'fake me'. I love that Hanada Kanako is in front of me. Can't I? Can't I love you?"
And the girl realizes that she has misunderstood what love really means; it was only when the boy enlightened her with a simple truth that she began to understand.
When you see what true love is, how simple it is, you understand that you don't have to do anything for people to like you or not. You just have to be yourself no matter what. True love conquers all, true love means unconditional acceptance.

A scene made me cry and touched me deeply and I want to share these inspiring lines to motivate more people to try this movie :

"I didn't want to accept myself living here right now as the real me.
Because she's so dull and uncool.

"It's the fake me, so it can't be helped." It made me feel better thinking that way.
But I found out.

The cowardly me, the role of myself that I play, they're all me.
Me, who wants to run away, me, who lies ... and also me, who gets hurt ...are all me."

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