Such a well-made and emotionally rich story.
I always say to myself when I start watching a new series, give it a little time before you make a judgement. Well, with the White Olive Tree, I didn't have to do that, it captivated me from the beginning., and I ended up watching the whole series in less than a week. The story is based on a novel, which I haven't read, but for a truly good series or movie there needs a strong starting point, or base. If the directors, screenwriters, actors and set designers are all very experienced then it is a recipe for something remarkable, in my opinion. The two main leads were exceptional in dealing with such and intense and raw storyline. The supporting actors were all good as well. The setting of war, the feelings of hope and even helplessness, and of course love are all explored in depth with this series. What I like so much about a lot of Chinese series is that they have time to develop the characters, and if the series is exceptionally good, then that makes it like a feast for the heart and mind, in my opinion. Some people have commented on the end of The White Olive Tree, so I did a little research, and, in the book, the two main characters do indeed get married and ended up having two children. About 10 years later Lizan did kill himself and sometime after that Song was killed by a stray bullet while covering another country at war. So, yes, the series ending was short and perhaps quite sad, or enlightening. I think that for me, the fact that they ended up together after so much hardship is testament to true love, one that survives the hardest things. I felt like this was such a rich and emotional story, and I didn't want it to end, but to me the ending was kind of realistic and for that reason it was also satisfying.
Was this review helpful to you?
