Tate Arson

An Adorable Staple On Your K-drama Shelf

The main feature of this K-drama: Seo In Guk. Among the cold mysterious male leads Seo In Guk is hands down the hottest. I'm genuinely fascinated by the way he cracks that ice mask with his eyes only. It's damn hypnotizing.

🔸I do believe the drama with a long and confusing title 어느 날 우리 집 현관으로 멸망이 들어왔다 (One day doom entered my house through the front door) has earned its place among the classics. It's a heartwarming and well-executed romance between a human and a supernatural being with actually engaging supporting plots. I love how it teaches us to appreciate the present and the fleeting moments of happiness, because there is no happiness without sorrow and no birth without death. The main theme of death in the drama is handled very well. Tak Dong Gyeong is terminally ill, but it doesn't feel like an intentional tear-jerker. Instead, the story concentrates on her connection with her family and friends and recognition of human relationships. The surreal world of Myeol Mang is also attractive in its emptiness and solace, and you're eager to unravel his true nature as his character evolves. The drama depends on him entirely.

🔸The overall story is pretty standard and predictable for a fantasy/romance, involving the annoying trope of memory erasure, but the way the drama takes you on that journey is worth the time. I didn't notice how fast I finished it considering that it's not packed with action and mind-blowing twists. My complaint remains: the emerging of the contract and its conditions - the key element of the story - wasn't clear from the very beginning and stayed unclear to the very end.

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"오늘부터 퇴근 없다!"

서투르고 한심하고 어리석다.
I just can't stand all these poorly made dumb movies that make a fortune by involving big names and accessible concepts while small authors with better filmmaking skills don't get attention.

🔸️Separate scenes are hanging loose, and the acting and lines feel very forced. Lee Byeong Heon totally abandoned that thing called rhythm. He is one terrible director among many in the action thriller genre in Korea. I just despise that type of movies, including Master and the recent Alien. Imagine how would it flow if Edgar Wright shot it - because that's what cinematography is about!

I am damn revolted, and I hope I never make anything like this when it's my time to shoot a feature.

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The essence of the color green.

This title's translation is "green night", and the movie is the essence of the dark side of the color green.

🔸️You should watch it at least for the incredible camerawork. The camera is always static but the composition and the colors contribute to the depressing viscous atmosphere while nothing seemingly unusual is in the frame. This is the director Yoon Seo Jin's debut feature, and, while it's not a masterpiece, the directing style is intriguing enough for me to wait for his next movie. It's dark. Someone's death follows another death, and all in the scale of one family. The main issue would probably be the short premises that don't develop into the full genre or subplot.

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이상하게 귀여운 영화. 내가 제일 좋아하는 박찬욱 영화 중 하나.

"Please, steal my sympathy. Like Thursday."

화려한 영상미와 캐스팅은 차치하고라도 두 정신병원 환자가 각자의 독특한 소통 방식을 찾아가는 이야기는 마치 내가 한번 다시 세상을 발견한 것 같은 느낌을 준다. 분위기가 유치하고 성숙해서 소중하다.

"I didn't come with an instruction manual or a label on me anywhere. I still don't know what my purpose is. What was I made for?"

I was only 2 y.o. when this movie was released. To this day I have no idea what was I made for, but at least I know what a great time it is to be alive.
주목적은 핵폭탕이 되는 거 아니라 행복하게 사는 것이다.

Yesterday was 78 years since the bombing of Hiroshima, and we as individuals should not succumb to self-destructive behavior, we should not become our own nuclear bombs, and we as humanity must not destroy. We all should live, love, and help people around us become happier like Il Soon helped Yeong Goon.

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"이 땅의 주인은 니들이 아니야!"

There is a lot more this prequel season could have told, but it certainly doesn't lack the style, passion, and its firecracker personality. I guess we don't have to argue that Kim Beom's undercut, inspired by Peaky Blinders, stole the show. I totally approve of it, I myself have been wearing such for years.

🔸A wild mix of fantasy, horror, action, noir, comedy, and period drama, a sneak into the culture, history facts, indigenous Korean spirits, zombies, martial arts, and time-traveling, - you can't pull that off flawlessly, but you can make it a passion project with fire in each and every actor's eyes, sparkling a fire in mine as well. How do actions in the past affect the future? How did Ki Yuri end up as a wild gumiho in Siberia if she was a Korean independence movement activist blowing up Japanese officers with regular non-magical TNT? Who the hell is the first mountain god? Even though we didn't get to learn any of that, it doesn't diminish the joy of watching the two reunited brothers trying to beat each other's arse, fooling around, fighting, learning to show their appreciation for each other, bonding, and parting to different centuries to never ever meet again.

🔸The magnificent instrumental scores of the composer Hong Dae Seong already deserved an Oscar in the first season. They are breathtaking masterpieces no less significant that those in Park Chan Wook's movies. You won't find such tremendous works in other K-dramas. I haven't heard anything like them. The Youth of the Mountain Gods, Parting at the River of Three Crossings, Sad Fate, The Brothers - these instrumentals won't leave my "On Repeat" Spotify playlist soon. Or ever.

Tale of the Nine Tailed is that type of drama that depends heavily on the actors charisma and unique production style. With a few writing improvements I will be happy to see the next season. I have a special thanks for making 1938 a separate show, now it won't get erased from Letterboxd.

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"I am taxi driver, you are taxi 손님."

There are at least two countries that I have learned a lot about and admire: the United States and South Korea. The book Human Acts by Han Kang accidentally came into my posession two years ago, and it's extremely vivid and graphic depiction of Gwangju Uprising made me want to learn more and more about Korean history to find out what have this nation come through to become a leading democratic country that the world looks up to nowadays.

🔸️There were only several foreigners in Gwangju on the first days of the massacre, including 5 Peace Corps volunteers, and all of them chose not to abandon their Korean colleagues and friends despite the direct warnings from the American Ambassador. Later, when a few foreign reporters, including this movie's main character Jürgen Hinzpeter, arrived, they helped them by being their interpreters. If you have seen the movie you already know what happened to the fictional character Jae Shik. A few Koreans who did speak English would not desire that attention from the ubiquitous KCIA.

🔸️I love A Taxi Driver for its amazing execution, production design, and a pretty much historically accurate timeline. It succeeds in capturing the sense of confusion and danger coming from all the sides and making spectacular and tragic scenes like the taxi cars battle and the arrogant German reporter coping with shock and guilt by filming his dead companion and the bloody havoc around. No one in Gwangju knew what was going on, later hearing the infuriating official news that the upheaval was incited by "bandits" and "impure elements from outside the city".

From "Witnessing Gwangju" by Paul Courtright: "The [elderly Korean] halmeoni's grip tightened on my arm and she turned to face me. 'We have no voice. You have to be our voice. You have to tell people outside our country what they're doing to us'. She glanced around the street, then returned her fearless gaze to me. I was rooted to the spot. I was to be the "witness" and she had given me a clear task."

🔸️No country exists in a vacuum, and I find it fascinating how people from different provinces, from different nations can work together, bond, and help each other, i.e. Seoul and Gwangju taxi drivers, Gwangju people and foreign reporters, volunteers. Man Seop didn't choose between his daughter and a grown-ass foreigner reporter. He was choosing between what's best for his family and what's best for his country. Along with self-sacrifice this makes it a clear patriotic idea for the movie.

I've been learning about the Gwangju Uprising from the article of the witness Peace Corps volunteer Tim Warnberg "The Kwangju Uprising: An Inside View", 1987, and the memoir "Witnessing Gwangju", 2020, by Paul Courtright. I highly recommend to read them if you're interested, as the writing is highly detailed, captivating and visual.

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What would you do in her shoes?

Although the drama provided us with decent entertainment, it failed for me to go into the very darkness of human desires, falling flat in it's execution.

🔸Through the whole story I wanted to see what made Seo Ari moving despite her unwillingness to step into the glamour world at first. She was born in a rich household, so it doesn't make her look "not like the other girls" when she says to her non-rich friend that "the (Burberry) backpack was made to be worn". There are 3 types of people in this drama: "good" rich who doesn't bargain over a ruined limited collection dress, "cheap" rich who charge for every scratch on their bag, and "cheap" non-rich who want to live the lives of celebrities. Seo Ari essentially is the only visible representative of the "non-cheap" non-rich group (later transferring to the "good" rich), and making her look better this way feels problematic.

🔸I wish the origins and implications of human greed and desire for money and power were researched, how would it sweep Seo Ari and what would be the outcomes. However we only see that the "bad" rich fail and the "good" rich win, and Seo Ari gaining power uses it to punish the guilty. It is a very predictable plot and doesn't challenge her internally.

🔸Another issue that I feel is important is the intro. It's just bad. It is long (1 min), repetitive, lacks distinct rhythm and design. I don't have to explain how important an intro is for a show, and this one is too similar to the infamous "corporate style". Just compare it to The Glory and Little Women.

The drama isn't bad. It has good actors, luxurious interiors, it receives a lot of love from the viewers, but there could be so much more than that, and it disappoints me.

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"소에, 되지, 사람들까지, 계획대로 되는 게 하나도 없으니까."

I feel like the most appropriate time to watch this sunny K-drama is a leisurely summer breakfast with a cup of tea. The 30-mins episodes and an easy-to-follow story about two young people - former secret friends - will be able to provide enough warmth and comfort for the day.

🔸️The plot is entirely focused on the young veterinarian Ji Yool and a policewoman Ja Yeong slowly falling in love. By "entirely" I mean entirely. There are many authentic characters around them in the Huidong village but none of them have any influence on the main characters or an arc. That isolated romantic development falls flat leaving me indifferent to the ending. My favorite episode though was the 7th where Ji Yool and Ja Yeong give the opposite relationship advices to the kid, confusing him, therefore showcasing their differences.

However, I find the comedic beginning - how Ji Yool adapts to the village life and tries to treat big cattle - very enjoyable. Mostly thanks to the actor Choo Yeong Woo and his soft comedic style. He is never too much and has a perfect balance in his expressions. Basically, the whole show is his.

🔸️A K-drama in a rural setting with its beautiful landscapes and loud nosy ajummas is always going to be comforting despite its writing flaws. There are far better examples like Summer Strike, Hometown Cha-cha-vha, Our Blues, but if you look for a short sweet one with cute puppies and cute Choo Yeong Woo - this is it!

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"나는 도망 대신 사랑을 선택할 거다."

🔸️The debut mini-drama of the director Lim Hyeon Hee is an incredibly lovely piece that made me smile all the way through it. It definitely doesn't fall into the category of "Competition for the most cringey skinship" but it feels that a lot of thought has been put into the making of the drama.

The metaphor and the premise - video game format to reimagine one's relationship + learning to not run away from your problems - make the drama stand out. But the viewers' love it earns thanks to the good chemistry between the actors and the gentle directing.

🔸️Originally, it was planned to be longer, and the director says in her interview that she has regrets about not being able to tell more about Wan and Ki Tae's past due to the nature of the short form. I personally think that the background could still be successfully incorporated, e.g. showing more by telling less, but what has been done is pretty solid already. Fun fact: Ki Tae only wears shorts because it matched the character so well.

I hope Lim Hyeon Hee will join Hwang Da Seul and other famous BL directors in this Korean BL Renaissance and bring more joy to the viewers, especially considering that her favorite genre is melodrama. 응원합니다, 감독님!

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"나는 사랑하는 게 너무 어렵더라."

This nostalgic web-drama follows the lives of two best friends growing up together and going through the first love, first heartbreak, hurtful arguments, kidney transplanting and "cellular memory" that makes one of them adopt the traits of another.

🔸Although not the most coherent and too relying on the unnecessary "big reveal" in the end, the story is quite lovely to watch. My favorite scene is drinking home-brewed makkolli at school in the middle of the night and escaping security guards together. The biggest mistake is making the cellular memory responsible for the arguments between Joon Hwi and Yoo interrupting his personal development, not to mention that cellular memory is just a myth and you could use it more creatively.

Overall, it's still a good drama about navigating friendship, anger, sorrow, love and grief, and the performance from Se Hoon is worth a watch.

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"하늘과 바람과 별과 시"

The movie has a feel of old black and white pictures coming to life. The camera is a careful observer and doesn't make unnecessary movements. It's a lot like a theater play that relies mostly on the actors performances, and those are amazing!

🔸️I feel like it's the right way to approach such complicated topic as Japanese rule and tragic life stories of people who lived in another century. We have to keep a respectful distance to remember that there is no going back, and therefore the history lessons have to be learned. This distance also makes the movie very lyrical, with poetry recited over the scenes, expressing Dong Joo's thoughts and feelings and creating the flow.

It was a bit hard to understand the potential goals and motivations of the characters, but now poetry makes sense to me.

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"Ones that take away and leave nothing."

영자의 전성시대 appears in the introduction episode of the drama Oasis, so while watching I tried to imagine I was a school student who sneaked through the back door with friends to watch the age restricted movie. Jeong Shin was crying at the scene of the kiss from the different sides of the bars, and here are my brief thoughts on her thoughts.

🔸️The movie was produced in 1974, the years of student and Christian protests against the Yushin Constitution that gave the president the unlimited power. There were 4 emergency decrees proclaimed that year that allowed to use the death penalty on student protesters. Many people were arrested and tortured in jails by Korean CIA. The visit of the president Ford in November didn't help any human rights although gave a little hope to the protesters. On January 22, 1975 the president Park announced a national referendum on February 22 to ask the citizens if they would safeguard the Yushin Constitution.

🔸️Yeong Ja's Heydays premiered on Feb. 11, 1975, and let's imagine Jeong Shin watched it that day. She definitely knows about the protests, and even if she may not really understand what is going on, Jeong Shin feels that something has to change. It's not extraordinary for a poor woman to end up like Yeong Ja. It's not only the increased prices and police raids all over the country, there are enough bad people around to ruin her life. The only person who cared about her, Chang Soo, was arrested for starting a fight, but he could've been arrested for any made up reason if he was unlucky. (That's literally the reference to the further imprisonment of Doo Hak in the drama Oasis)

What makes you a "plus one" in the Korean society in 1970s? And as a woman? Is that social norm going to make you feel better? Is sacrifice worth it? The movie explores these questions and themes leaving the weak hope by the end: things will probably get better in life, but not how you expected.

After all, the Yushin Constitution was supported again on the referendum on February 22, 1975. The Park Chung Hee's dictatorship continued until his assassination in 1979, and South Korea had many more years ahead before the establishment of the democracy.

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