Ophanin

The cinematography is truly beautiful, with many stunning shots and natural lighting used to great effect in these picture-perfect Canadian and Italian settings.

The two protagonists are adorable, touching, and funny. The first episode is meticulously crafted. And with all this double-dealing about the translator who translates while answering or answers while translating faithfully, we don't know where their relationship ends.

Stop being so cute ! It's illegal. He's always serious but secretly seduced ; she's sincere and kind, not afraid of her feelings. Episode 7, with the writer friend who struggles to get these two back together, is extremely touching... And the whole series should have stuck to that. Because that's a good half of the episodes, after which we get lost in something else. The quality of the writing disappears, in my opinion. I could have given it 4 stars or more if the writers had simply stuck to this touching romance.

It's a shame, then, about these obsessive delusions surrounding visions and personality changes ! I hated it. It ruins all the magic of the series. Nobody acts like that. And too often Cha Mu-hee/Go Youn-jung ends up in embarrassing situations, with her innocent face, at the mercy of others mockery. And then there's her story with her deceased parents, it wasn't worth dragging it out for so long. We understood it from the first hint.

In the end, it must be said that you can watch one episode per day at most. Not much really happens. Do not exceed the recommended dose.

Ps : The movie that made her famous looks incredibly bad. Poor Do Ra-mi.

Read More

Simple, elegant staging in natural settings and historical costumes that aren't necessarily very exciting. Some beautiful, aesthetic shots, but too few and far between. The music remains rough and stripped down, even discreet. Except when it emphasises the humour of a scene, which, in my opinion, detracts from the overall tone of the series. Many K-dramas brilliantly mix registers, but not this one. What remains is a narrative that takes the time necessary to advance its pawns in this game of massacre.

Alas ! It is difficult to feel concerned by these stories, as the protagonists, including the hero himself, are so unsympathetic. The latter shows disgust at the way his fellow workers are treated and does nothing about it. He could. He has the ability to change things, we know that perfectly well, and he chooses to suffer for a long time. He sides with the bastard who mistreated him and his comrades before. He doesn't try to help them ; he supports one tyrant against another. Since the power struggles are never questioned, and the ending celebrates sovereign individualism, these script choices leave a bitter taste.

At first, we think that morality means : when you exploit people, have the decency to pay them. Personally, I would prefer that no one be exploited. If your thing is loading rice onto boats and making a profit from it, then load it yourself, you bloody exploiter.
In the same vein, one character protests that bandits collect taxes, but that's how regimes worked at the time. Soldiers in wartime, bandits in peacetime, they are the same people. Aristocrats earn their titles of nobility in bloodbaths ; they have no innate nobility. There is no difference between a nobleman and a godfather of the underworld, between the state and the mafia. That was my awkward anarchist, or Christian, take. (delete as appropriate)

Shin Ye-eun is underemployed. Scandalously underemployed ! An actress of this calibre and a character with so much potential should not be relegated to the background. What a waste, seriously.

Read More

A series that would have been better off as a film. In terms of its legal-crime style, it's well made, to be honest. The plot elements are just well enough developed to maintain tension despite a very thin premise : we are asked to believe in an incredible cure. But the filler is noticeable (episode 6 and its restaurant scenes where we are just reminded of elements we already know), accompanied by excessively weak cliffhangers. You shouldn't do that. No, because then we want the plot to be resolved, even though we know we'll be disappointed.

I don't know why, but for some obscure reason, a lot of people in this series go from whispering to screaming in a fraction of a second. In a nutshell : annoying and ridiculous.

Read More

A K-drama about a chosen family, in a way ? A whole group of merry pranksters, united in adversity and divided in the gold rush. The entire building refuses to give way to a despicable company.

It's so zany and grotesque at times, it's like The Fiery Priest but with lawyers this time. It goes way over the top in terms of silliness. That said, I suspect the trials aren't very accurate in terms of how the Korean judicial system works. And, sure, the series is funny, but damn, it's about some really serious stuff ! Killing your employees is not okay. It's not reasonable. Babel, the most evil company in the world. The mafia seems almost more likeable in comparison. (Between us, I think that's the point here, to show us that they're equally bad... except Vincenzo Cassano)

Everyone loves Vincenzo. That heartbreaker. Even pigeons. Nice pigeon, by the way, Vincenzo, congratulations. Not all heroes wear capes, sometimes they're just pigeons. And Vincenzo knows how to make good police officers : force them to resign. An example to follow.
Anyway. But Jeon Yeo-been has class, she's an impeccable actress, I need to see more of her performances. Ms Incognito was really good, even if it didn't get a very good reception, it seems.

So ! I solemnly declare that if I hear that cover of Bach's chaconne in D minor for violin again, I'll go berserk, ok ? I'll smash tiny objects while screaming. My strength doesn't allow me to express my anger any more furiously than that.
Also : those adverts for instant coffee and chocolate squares wrapped in plastic ? Embarrassing. No one buys that rubbish, wake up.
And at some point, we need to take two minutes to think about xenophobia towards Chinese people. They are always portrayed negatively in almost all Korean productions. One character has a caricatured name, "Wang Shaolin", then we hear about "Chinese hackers from the North Dragon gang". It's getting a bit much.

_"This idiot's brain is a black hole." A teacher must have written that in one of my school reports.
_"You're a subhuman, unworthy of being human, you don't deserve to live." It all reminds me of my father.

Read More

"Introductions ! This is Rachel, Phoebe, and Chandler ! Hi !" Nobody loves Monica.

Miss Hong is so cool. She and the 'queen bee' are a killer duo ! It was really nice to see a show that didn’t focus on romance with guys, but on female friendship.

When Miss Hong goes undercover on her first day at work, she notices that the managers don't do anything, the bosses don't know how to do anything except to be extremely misogynistic, and the only one who works in the department is the guy at the bottom of the ladder with the lowest salary. Realistic. What's more, it's a financial investment company, the ultimate bullshit job, legendary parasite level. If I've learned one thing in the world of work, it's that there's no point in overworking yourself, you won't be rewarded for it. The wool will be sheared the same from our tiny round backs. Glad to see that Miss Hong's colleagues have understood this. A fine example for young people. "They're overdoing it ! Why give us work ?" A French joke just for fun : They gave us work for four people ! Luckily there were eight of us. And, of course : I talk in my sleep. At night it's annoying, but at work it's worse.

"If experience made you grow, you would be surrounded by saints."

Revenge, then ? We love that here. Especially when it's the little employees that no one takes seriously. We enjoy accompanying this cast of characters throughout these sixteen well-filled episodes. Albert Oh and No-ra annoyed me at first, but in the end, I love them. Everyone has their goals, becomes friends, teams up : the usual stuff. Studio Dragon does a great job of mixing humor, serious topics, and redeeming endings that are comforting after their emotional roller coaster. We talk about harassment, suicide, misogyny, single mothers, domestic violence, working conditions... Poor Kim Mi-sook... And then, No-ra engaged to a man 20 years older than her ? Hell ! But it's a joyful and kind series despite all that.
It should be noted that there are always an investigation, but not by the cops, which is good. Everyone hates the police. All my homies hate the cops.

In any case, the writers manage to make these stories about investing in a company cool and fun. That's why we love K-dramas. I'm ready for season 2. Totally ready.

"A man who disparages you for having lived with him deserves to be judged.

PS : The t-shirt "Vivre est un journey", I don't understand. "Vivre est un voyage" or "to be alive is a journey" but not a mix of two ! It stresses everyone. Never do that again.

Read More

Jisoo plays an ordinary woman whom nobody notices? That requires a massive leap of faith. When she stands in front of her mirror and complains about her dark under-eye circles… but she has the most flawless skin in the world. It’s hard to believe she’s this insignificant, clumsy character. But, to be fair, her acting has improved. (She was already quite good in Newtopia, given the series’ delightfully daft tone)

She plays an adorable, heartbroken producer who’s getting over her break-up and taking control of her love life again. We figure that out pretty early on.
All her scenes with new virtual boyfriends are strangely good. It plays on clichés deliberately, so it doesn’t treat us like idiots. I've found myself laughing stupidly far too often to say anything bad about it. I’ll admit it, I liked it. There, I’ve said it ! The humour saves the day when it gets a bit saccharine.

This series is pure binge-watching (there isn’t even an opening credits sequence), a short, simple, funny, pinky, very pinky story… Pinky but blackened (this joke : illegal in 197 countries) by this dating game, which, when you get right down to it, is quite terrifying. Losing consciousness every time you start it up ? I’m not sure I’d like that. I’ve already played Dark Souls, ok ?
And what about her working hours... can we take this up with a trade union, please ? Both in the series and in Jisoo’s real life.

Gong Min-jeung, the "annoying" author, is the best. Keep it up, madam. Screw them !

Read More

A story about corruption at the highest levels of South Korean society, or so we're led to believe. Everyone's despicable. No one worth saving. Because the cruel world these people inhabit demands it. I would have preferred less self-indulgence, though.
In reality, it's a just decent thriller about three or four individuals, but not really about politics, neither corruption...

Unfortunately, in my opinion, there are too many ostensibly shocking choices thrown in just to brutalize the audience. And then, again and again, that same way of portraying relationships between women ; it can only be sad and end badly, nothing else is possible. To be honest, it really gets on my nerves seeing that all the time.

It's a twisted series in which all the characters behave strangely, solely to conceal plot points. Or to give Nana and Ha Ji-won their moment to shine. (They're brilliant in those scenes, of course.) But that's obvious, and it really annoys me. As a result, the ending feels like a real slog to get to. The first episode promised a daring story and I have to say : that's not the case.

Why is everyone breathing heavily or sighing non-stop ? I don't like having someone breathing down my neck for 10 episodes.

Read More

A Chinese drama where women call the shots. They run the most renowned tea production company and compete with each other for power while all the men seek to win their favour. The roles have truly been reversed.

The sets, costumes and editing are beautiful. It's standard for these kinds of productions. So I'm quite willing to believe that at one time in China, everyone was capable of the greatest physical feats in epic aerial combat. It was commonplace to fight to the death to win the heart of a noble woman, of course. I've just summarised a good third of the series. The plot doesn't make much sense, but that's okay... for a while, because you get tired of it. But above all, don't watch the episodes too quickly, as I did. Big mistake. Nothing and everything happens at the same time. I skipped episodes after a while, the compulsion to know the ending even when you've lost faith is serious, very serious. My behaviour is utterly scandalous.

But, although the show quickly loses steam, FL is brilliant. We want to follow her adventures. She never lets anyone fool her. She has a truly photogenic presence, always elegant and noble. The actress, Gulnezer Bextiyar or "Naza", is one of the very few Uyghur actresses. She plays a character who had potential but was not exploited sufficiently. That's why I gave up halfway through, I think. (And then 36 episodes of 50 minutes ? Let's calm down. Write less, write better. That's advice I should take myself, the chatterbox.)

Oh, and the final plot twists are so silly.

Read More

These people take role-playing way too far.

I wasn't convinced at first, but I got caught up in the game. I'm weak. A lone knight like me ? Falling in love with this budding romance ? How shameful ! But that's the magic of Chinese dramas ; the pace and technical quality play a big part in it. The evil minds behind these productions are very powerful.

The story navigates between their role-playing and their IRL lives, which allows for a variety of atmospheres, but it mostly feels like two parallel series that come and go somewhat randomly. It takes some getting used to, but it doesn't last long ; at some point, it stops. What they want us to understand is that these are people who would like to be someone else and will discover that they are happier together, just as they are. Isn't that beautiful ? Be yourselves. Unemployed.

It works thanks to the two leads, Chen Xingxu and Lu Yuxiao, especially her, because they are extremely cute. They are so touching together and natural. She is clever and mischievous, a fighter who doesn't hesitate to resign when she realises she won't be given the job she was promised. He is the typical Chinese male model, a little reserved but loyal and devoted. It's a healthy relationship, they take the time to get to know each other. They don't make impossible promises to each other. No one fights to win the other over ; it happens naturally, and they already know they love each other when they finally admit it. They laugh together, tease each other, and are just happy. And in these dark times, when everything is nothing but brutality and hatred, this kind of light-hearted series where everything is fine is a breath of fresh air.

The ending unfortunately tries to create tension between them, but it doesn't work. I know. I know everything! They resolve it like adults, by talking. And this heavy secret wasn't really a secret at all. "Either tell me everything or let me go." "I've already told you everything you wanted to know."
And I wish all these characters the best and many happy years ahead of them. But I'm delusional because they're fictional characters, so what I'm saying doesn't make sense.

Read More

The injustice perpetuated by Confucian society

A series about the injustice perpetuated by Confucian society, particularly in Korea. A scene in the early episodes makes this point quite clear. Furthermore, the authority figures are all, without exception, negative characters who stem from this hierarchy.

At times, the psychological and physical violence is unbearable. It’s terribly cathartic to watch. When you’re on the receiving end, all you can do is wait. Rebelling only leads to more violence. Speaking out is pointless. Nobody wants to listen to us. You learn that very quickly.
In this regard, the two disabled characters die, either by suicide or murder. It’s no scandal to anyone in the series. It could have been me. That’s what I take away from it.

The cult in this story is directly inspired by the JMS Church. I can say this with certainty because of the leader’s white tuxedos, a reference to the vile bastard who ran that utterly disgusting cult. People tried to escape and were beaten up in groups (as the series brutally depicts in episode 10) or, worse still, went missing. People reported it to the police for years, to no avail.

What sends a shiver down your spine is seeing just how pervasive the indoctrination is. Those vultures circling around people’s misfortune, and then that falsely humble and approachable leader. It doesn’t matter whether or not you believe the stories this bloke tells; it becomes the sole reason for his followers’ existence. You find yourself isolated. Those who watch over us are, above all, watching us. You convince yourself that it’s ridiculous to give up after having made so much progress, after having given so much, and you become the first spectator of your own show.

"Why don't you leave ?"

It’s an absolute nightmare. Sang-mi finds herself trapped in this cult. Leaving would mean abandoning her parents and losing them, along with the memories of her brother. And abandoning all these vulnerable, desperate people. Her father controls every aspect of her life ; both her real father and the cult leader.
Where the writing really shines is in the way it puts us on Sang-mi’s side. We’re trapped alongside her. She understands exactly what’s going on; she knows that this cult hastened her brother’s death and how everyone around her is manipulating her ; they’re using her mother against her. (Just like with her friend, the politician’s son. The parallel is brilliant) Sang-mi has no leverage; she owes her survival solely to the leader’s evil intentions towards her. It makes you want to scream when you see it. You want to shake the servile father. He is pathetic and hateful. I understand his background, but I don’t excuse him. Well, that’s what I thought at first, but after a while, I just wanted someone to finally put him out of action, because he’ll never come to his senses. We all need friends who tell us when we’ve gone too far, even if it hurts at the time. But there’s no point confronting fanatics; they lie, say we refuse to understand them, and so on and so forth. (As for the mother, we excuse her; she’s been put in a straitjacket. Like so many people who die in psychiatric hospitals amid general indifference)

It’s one of the hardest scenes to watch, when the protagonists try to reason with the cult members, the police or the politicians, and it backfires on them. There’s absolutely no point in talking to these people; they have no interest in changing. They’re there because it suits them, and they want it to continue. It destroys everyone, but these people either put up with it or profit from it. (Time for a name drop: 'Discours de la Servitude Volontaire' (A Treatise on Voluntary Servitude). The only way to abolish this is to abolish hierarchy, exploitation and dependency.)

"In this world what's real and what's false are not different. So don't try so hard to distinguish the real from the false."

A series that makes you weep with rage and sadness.
Nothing is straightforward. It’s heart-wrenching. Because it’s extremely well written and performed. The parallel between the prison-like conditions within the cult and the outside world is explored with great insight. The thirst for power and obedience. Confucian principles being used to serve scum.
The three-year time jump allows us to explore these characters in greater depth and become even more invested in them. A modern series would have skipped this first part.
It’s touching to see how hard it is for this group of boys to express their feelings.
A focus on class-based violence. The subtleties of power dynamics between people. And in friendships, depending on whether you’re poor or from the capital. Depending on the hierarchy within the cult. Honestly, the writing in this series is brilliant.

Naturally, those bloody [redacted] cops are no help at all to the victims. They’re only too happy to hand them back to their tormentors. Just like it was with the JMS Church, for that matter. They’re completely in the pocket of politicians and the cult. Very realistic. Right, they pull the ‘cops suddenly spring into action’ trick in episode 12... but the bloke interrogates the victim with her tormentors in the room. Nice work. And the young female cop makes the same daft mistake of going to confront the leader at his home on the basis of: nothing against him. Great. Very helpful.

Jeon Yeo-Bin, in one of her first roles. Already displaying great subtlety in a challenging part where she must appear to believe in her faith whilst simultaneously casting doubt on it, in order to keep her true motives hidden.

Read More

Are you serious ? Transgender people don't become transgender because of childhood trauma. What is this nonsense ? And all this talk about gender dysphoria, frankly, I'd rather not say anything... well, actually, yes : psychiatrists are not allies, no one needs their bogus diagnoses to know who they are.
I'm not putting this under a spoiler alert because I'd rather warn about the transphobic clichés that await the comrades concerned.

Other than that, it could have been an interesting crime series. I watched it to the end, so it wasn't that bad. Season 2, however, will be without me. The hero lies to his wife and his team, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him. It irritates me.

Jeong I-Shin/Ko Hyun-Jung did nothing wrong.

"It is the police's job to save lives." Come on, let's all laugh together : hahaha !

Read More

Humility leads to progress, comrades. It's written on the textile factory, so it must be true.

This is a series to watch at your own pace, two episodes here, two episodes there. In between other things. Because the story doesn't really move forward much. It’s the kind of show you watch for comfort. That said, I was worried at first that we'd be presented with a revisionist take on the Cultural Revolution. But the two protagonists are actually victims of it. It isn't stated outright but framed as their courageous efforts to overcome it… And we know they will. No mystery there. A little trick to get around censorship, I suppose.

We're also led to believe that domestic violence is no longer tolerated in the new, truly socialist China. Well, I'll steer clear of that topic because it would imply that the rest of the world is subject to the same constraints. There's no reason for Chinese productions to be criticized more than others. Propaganda is produced just as much elsewhere. And C-dramas, in fact, ingeniously manage to play with the boundaries. Still, seeing Mao's portrait everywhere feels weird. Excuse me, Great Helmsman, I am an enemy of the Revolution, a rusty nail in the gears of true Socialism.

Arthur Chen played a vengeful deity in When Destiny Brings the Demon, and here he completely changes his acting style, attitude and character. A stunning transformation. He becomes a gentle, dreamy man, always ready to help.
As for Sun Qian, she plays a young woman who wants to fulfil herself through her studies, to graduate even though she is denied this opportunity, and who wishes to retain her independence. All the female characters display authority and free will... as long as one remains within the framework of marriage ; a man, a woman, everything in its place. True socialism seems awfully straight.

In this sense, there is a scene surprisingly charged with sensuality in which our dear artist traces the outline of his working-class partner in chalk on a large blackboard in front of the factory. It's highly symbolic. The two of them complement each other perfectly. A cute couple, in the full vigour of youth, unstoppable. It’s a pleasure to follow them, two angels who've found each other so perfectly. However, there was surely not enough material to fill 29 episodes. A common trait of too many Chinese productions : it drags on. (Just like my dumb reviews)

The other characters aren't all that interesting. The mathematician, the hero's sister, you just want to tell her, "Move on ! You deserve to be happy, comrade." The series has its moments, though. The humor is heartwarming. Some tragic events occur ; (tw: suicide) one character sees no future in this society and feels like he's in prison at work. C-dramas often manage to convey unexpected messages.

Do you also blurt out things like "You belittle the working class !" when you argue with your parents ? Me, I call my cat a paper tiger. That little capitalist scoundrel.

Read More

We should all be entitled to an Arthur Chen and his big snake watching over us. (it's ok if you don't get it)

It's hard to ignore the limited special effects, to put it diplomatically.
You have to be really into celestial palace intrigues between millennial beings in an bad RPG landscape. I lasted until halfway through. 17 out of 33 episodes, no less. The cardboard sets, the ridiculous superpowers, the scheming between clans I didn't know existed five minutes ago, death but actually no I'm coming back as a spirit and I'm alive again (are you elves, actually ?), all of that got the better of my patience.

Wang Yinglu is exceptional, naturally. In 'Twelve Letters', that same year, she played a completely different character with great intensity. She's a superb actress. And she undoubtedly deserves better roles than that of a servant to a capricious god.

Read More

Tough life for the rich. What a bummer to be rich. It can't be easy having all that dough, can it ? I feel like telling them to use all that dough for useful things if their lives are so miserable, instead of wallowing in their pitiful little love woes. It'll give a little meaning to their indecent existence. That's what I said to myself at the start of the first episode. And then the Korean capitalist propaganda got me, again. What a sad life I lead. The flesh is weak, alas.
Even if their thing of torturing themselves over a divorce that the gentleman never asked for and even : abandoned ! it pisses me off. He literally did nothing, but he's going to get rotten as if he'd strangled kittens anyway.

In any case, it's clear how the rich use progressivism to their advantage. They still exert their domination, but we have to thank them because deep down they think that women too can be tyrants like the others. What great values... damned rich. I want the money and your power to go. And your good intentions, keep them to yourself or let them be translated into action. Despite all this, I fall for these damned kdramas every time. Every single time ! God, that was good. The scriptwriter had already ripped me off with Crash Landing on You, I'm going to lodge a complaint. You can't make me love rich people with impunity, you have to pay for it !

Kim Soo Hyun, there's nothing you can do, he looks like a little boy. Throughout the series, I hesitated to denounce Kim Ji-won, but in reality, she's even younger than he is.
I must confess I stopped watching at episode 8 because of the revelation that the actor dated an underage girl who has since committed suicide. If she hadn't taken her own life, he would never have admitted it or apologized. It disgusts me too much.

Read More