A Western flavour for an Eastern Tale
It's been a very long time since I last watched a proper Western show—Western, as in the usual Cowboy flick. The last one I watched, made with a Asian flavour and enjoyed, was unironically the Once Upon a Time in China & America. And to be honest, since then and until now, I never imagined there would be a day that I would ever watch a Western 'Cowboy' genre being shown with an Eastern setting.
Song of the Bandit was set during one of the turbulent periods of the Japanese occupation and was based on the Gando massacre. To be honest, I have to say that depicting the series in the style of a western gunslinging genre was really an interesting choice to make, as well as original. It gave the drama a certain noir style that's has never ween seen before in a Korean production. It's certainly a refreshing take on the old western gunslinging cowboy flick, that is NOT set in old American setting.
Lee Yoon's bandits are unlike the usual gun-totting bandits one used to see. In fact, Lee Yoon's character leaned closer to being Sheriff-like, rather than a mere bandit. But I guess in a world where the righteous were trampled and the corrupt and evil reigned free, our good Sheriff had no choice but to take on the role of a 'bandit' in order to protect his people. The drama had a pretty solid start, to be honest, and I do wish we'll get to see a continuation of this tale. Like if a second season was to be made, I would've loved to see (aside from the series version of how the Gando massacre would happen and the aftermath) of how Yoon actually managed to find the rest of his bandit crew and how he was able to gain their respect. Because it was pretty obvious that, as much as Yoon's group was pretty ragtag, they did hold Yoon with some level of respect.
Song of the Bandit was set during one of the turbulent periods of the Japanese occupation and was based on the Gando massacre. To be honest, I have to say that depicting the series in the style of a western gunslinging genre was really an interesting choice to make, as well as original. It gave the drama a certain noir style that's has never ween seen before in a Korean production. It's certainly a refreshing take on the old western gunslinging cowboy flick, that is NOT set in old American setting.
Lee Yoon's bandits are unlike the usual gun-totting bandits one used to see. In fact, Lee Yoon's character leaned closer to being Sheriff-like, rather than a mere bandit. But I guess in a world where the righteous were trampled and the corrupt and evil reigned free, our good Sheriff had no choice but to take on the role of a 'bandit' in order to protect his people. The drama had a pretty solid start, to be honest, and I do wish we'll get to see a continuation of this tale. Like if a second season was to be made, I would've loved to see (aside from the series version of how the Gando massacre would happen and the aftermath) of how Yoon actually managed to find the rest of his bandit crew and how he was able to gain their respect. Because it was pretty obvious that, as much as Yoon's group was pretty ragtag, they did hold Yoon with some level of respect.
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