58
260
11
"Everyone lies"
I began Regeneration knowing nothing about it and was rewarded with compelling storytelling. If you have ever watched Kurosawa Akira’s Rashomon, you’ll find they have something in common. Never wholly trust in a witness’ testimony---"It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves.”
At a memorial for conman Fei Ke, five seemingly disparate people were brought together for the reading of the will. For reasons I will withhold, the five began to tell about their relationships with Fei Ke. Each knew him in a different manner, but most were ultimately deceived by him.
Episodes 1-6 followed a similar pattern of how Fei Ke ingratiated himself into their lives and then scammed them out of money. All of the “victims” were innocent and well meaning. From episode 7 on, the tone changed and the revelations poured out. I found the final episode overly dramatic and unfulfilling which lowered my score. A shift in the tale of revenge would also have provided better closure for me. But overall, the characters were engaging, if often unlikeable. This was the strongest performance of Jing Bo Ran’s I’ve seen which was a pleasant surprise. He had to express a wide range of emotions as each interpretation of the past played out. I hesitate to say anything else which might spoil an intriguing ride of vengeance and deception.
I’ll end with an Edgar Allan Poe quote, “Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.”
18 January 2025
At a memorial for conman Fei Ke, five seemingly disparate people were brought together for the reading of the will. For reasons I will withhold, the five began to tell about their relationships with Fei Ke. Each knew him in a different manner, but most were ultimately deceived by him.
Episodes 1-6 followed a similar pattern of how Fei Ke ingratiated himself into their lives and then scammed them out of money. All of the “victims” were innocent and well meaning. From episode 7 on, the tone changed and the revelations poured out. I found the final episode overly dramatic and unfulfilling which lowered my score. A shift in the tale of revenge would also have provided better closure for me. But overall, the characters were engaging, if often unlikeable. This was the strongest performance of Jing Bo Ran’s I’ve seen which was a pleasant surprise. He had to express a wide range of emotions as each interpretation of the past played out. I hesitate to say anything else which might spoil an intriguing ride of vengeance and deception.
I’ll end with an Edgar Allan Poe quote, “Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.”
18 January 2025
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