IA-000

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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The failed promise of an human adventure about revenge

Finally we got a cdrama this year that does take the audience seriously !
It's the first cdrama imo with a writing that is actually good in 2025 (so far, we're in june, nothing actually decent was given by drmaland since january) and pretty impressive.
The intrigues were quite well put together, some things were stereotypes & predictible but the storyline was solid and following neccessary steps that made the story relevant, and which caught not only my attention but also my curiosity.
I hoped for more angst & thrill tho but they weren't there. I feel like there was a lack of ingeniosity in the portrayal of the story.
The acting and directing were very interesting, especially from the older cast and of course the main lead, Xian Zhan.
I'm very glad xz picked an actual good script after so many years, I was so tired of seing him not picking the right drama or movie to display his skills.


People compare it to "Nirvana In Fire" or "Joy of Life" but to be honest, it is very not at their levels at all. The drama failed to actually impress me and for many reason :
1. The pacing is bad, it's actually for me the main flaw of the drama. It left, on most episodes a sense of heavyness since they slowed down the storyline by dragging a lot of scenes for too long, scenes that were actually meaningless just for the sake of filling those 40ep.
If the drama has 20 to 25 eps, it would've been far more impressive, the thrill of the intrigues wouldn't have diminished after 10ish episodes.
2. The dialogues in the beginning were interesting but it didn't last long. The dialogues were just there to move through the story, not really to express layers nor depth.
"When you value your bond with others above it all, it makes you easy to be deceived ... The most powerful skill in this world is to deceive others with truth and honesty."
3. The chemistry of the cp is non existant which made their scenes so boring to watch for me. I didn't feel any connection while watching them interact. The fl acting wasn't bad of course, but it was def lacking a lot of aura and presence, imo she didn't fit the role.
4. The storyline around the revenge was too mechanical for my liking, I was expecting more emotional depth. I feel like the writer shouldn't have centered the revenge into one big villain during the first episodes. They should have play more with the idea of uncertainty and confusing elements to make the suspense around the journey of discovering the the truh more exciting.
5. I wish the psychology of the characters would've been more realistic.
All those vilains don't display enough grey areas in the way they are written. All of them are the evil cunning bad guys, it's too simplistic imo.
6. It lacks creative freedom, the directing is actually nice, but I wish it would've been more brave in adding unexpected artistic texture.
Don't get me wrong, the whole story around the gui seal is what was truly interesting for me but precisely the director could've done something more impressive with it.
There weren't enough scenes where you could feel the characters living real life lol, you know from the get go the characters play " the game of chess" for the sake of a fictional story, at no time you could connect what they are going through with actual real life ... not sure if what I'm saying makes sense but well, that's what I felt lol.
7. The whole idea of "deceiving others with truth" wasn't diplayed properly, it wasn't convincing enough. It's a shame because it could have bring more depth in the story. I dont understand why with so much potential, the director didn't choose to highlight and work better on those scenes where we could dive in precisely in the confusion between truth & lies, between the idea of deceiving while still loving at the same time etc ...
8. Some cgi were cringe as hell, especially those fire scenes, ruined the vibes lol.

Overall, the story was interesting but the oversaturated male energy (from the conception itself of drama as a whole) kind make it lose the spark it was supposed to have.
At no point I got emotional, and I don't think it's because of the acting, precisely the directing & how the story unfold wasn't displayed in an authentic way. Nothing in this drama looks real or natural.
ps : the first episode was actually the best one + the 4 last ones.

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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 seriousness 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 composes 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 grey 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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An everlasting spirit of breathtaking and fantastic adventure !

It's rare for the second film in a trilogy to be better than the first, but this is definitely the case here ! It's been a long time since we've had such a good Chinese movie.
This second part was incredible : super action scenes, the acting was good, very creative directing, a great cast with a lovely chemistry. It was epic, highly entertaining, filled with splendor, glory and epic tragedy.
The direction is really nice and also very convincing. You can tell that the team behind this film was highly motivated and put a lot of effort, love, and rigor into depicting the story as best as possible. A boundless energy emanate from this movie. It really feels like a breathtaking tragic adventure !!
The aesthetics, sets, costumes, and landscapes are reminiscent of many classic fims from Hong Kong & China, which I really appreciated.
The writing succeeds in combining extremely serious and triggering subject matter but also very specific to tragedies (such as perfidy, the themes of justice and revenge, legacy, legitimacy, what is right, good or bad, love, desire, the occult, friendship, the group, self-esteem, jealousy, the question of beauty, strength, the extremes that can provoke power or the monopoly of power, courage, spirituality, the idea of duty etc.) with a lot of humor, and a truly wonderful and adventurous childlike spirit (in a good way).

Some acting perfs could've been far better, I wish we got more depth through the dialogues.

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