highly underrated!
i hardly give 10s, but this easily tops my top list. because this is one masterfully done show!
everything in this show is done on such a nuanced and subtle level, that it was utterly disarming to experience. so much so, that i was left completely in awe of it.
if you liked “call it love” and “the glory”, i definitely recommend this to you in particular. it’s kind of a mixture of both: more eerie and mysterious than the first (back stories are only slowly uncovered and it's also a whos-done-it), less clear-cut revenge, slower and more healing/genuine romance between broken people than the latter.
rarely will you come across a show, where everything - from the story, dialogue, cinematography, the way the scenes are cut, the music (or lack of it) up to the acting - is mend together so masterfully that it can create such a pain drenched, twisted and at times eerie atmosphere only for it to be genuinely saved by the tender grace of two characters. the simple truth, that innocence is not lost but being buried within us and therefore resurrectable, if we are mindful, is uncovered breathtakingly slow. so in my opinion, at it's core, this is a romance.
the trunk depicts - and very elegantly so - the difference between deeply hurting people choosing the untwisted path of wanting to love genuinely and longing for one's own return to innocence over obsession and self destruction. slowly, and only bit by bit, unraveling the consequences of the leads’ choices, light is shed on on how fated relationships can play into one's own healing process if we are conscious enough to recognize and allow them into our life.
i tend to rather dislike how the idea of fated human bonds is used in stories as it is often boiled down to the hollow idea of this one-in-a life-time-match of eternal love, that needs to culminate in a lifetime’s happy marriage to count as such. i don't deny fate. but depictions hardly match my experience of it. this one does.
love in and of itself is eternal by nature. but it's not exclusive or single minded. it just doesn't flow as humans wish. its nature is to be left free so it can flow towards you in it’s own time and way. we can’t control or force it, but despite knowing that, it’s the most common human thing to try bend the will of the one’s closest to us towards what we want. making them stay by our side by whichever means possible, so we’re not lonely, is the first step towards that. much later, tainted by pain, anger and our own history with each other, we are no longer able to see what we once loved in our counter parts. or ourselves. but cynically enough we seem unable to let go, so love would find us again, clinging to that one person beside us. now merely a stand-in, a reminder of the beauty we once found in each other and deep down long for, we choose to sacrifice everything for it, despite knowing it's an illusion.
one massively complex matter to work through! but the trunk manages brilliantly.
it very distinctively shows, where boundaries lie within a loving relationship to be able to keep alive and around what we love within each other. and they apply to any kind of emotional state we are in. orbitting around the fl, an excellently written and acted character, who perfectly balances her strength with vulnerability, it understands exactly where a person ends and another begins and what it needs from one side to the other to keep a relationship in whichever state a healthy one. deeply hurt and despite her own impactful history on relationship/marriage, with the smallest of movements, the least words said, the fl knows exactly how to stay herself in every situation she's placed in, simultaneously creating a surrounding where others are put into place or shown what belonged to them before it was taken from them. to pull this off with a character, that's anything else but perfect, is nothing other than stunning to watch. the stage being cleaned up like that is much different from doing it by trying to control it. hence, the tango - a perfectly matching metaphor.
the development of the show is slow, there’s only a few brawl-ish scenes and there’s no real suspense. so it mainly runs on subtleness. so you do have to like that. but, and in defense: it never ran boring as i have experienced it with other slow-burners.
last, i should mention that for asian standards it should be quite mature in terms of nudity/bed scenes. not so extraordinary for western standards, though. as a western raised watcher i think the physical aspect of a relationship has equal impact as the emotional ones towards the quality of the bond between people and is an important aspect to recognize underlying dynamics of couples - exactly as is shown very excellently by comparison of all couples depicted. so in my eyes it’s a necessity to understand the message carried throughout the story.
masterpiece, no less. so, enjoy!
ps. and one tiny hint towards expectations, because the plot summary is indeed rather misleading: the trunk acts more like a metaphore than as the keeper of the big secret to be revealed. so keep an open mind and you won't feel betrayed!
everything in this show is done on such a nuanced and subtle level, that it was utterly disarming to experience. so much so, that i was left completely in awe of it.
if you liked “call it love” and “the glory”, i definitely recommend this to you in particular. it’s kind of a mixture of both: more eerie and mysterious than the first (back stories are only slowly uncovered and it's also a whos-done-it), less clear-cut revenge, slower and more healing/genuine romance between broken people than the latter.
rarely will you come across a show, where everything - from the story, dialogue, cinematography, the way the scenes are cut, the music (or lack of it) up to the acting - is mend together so masterfully that it can create such a pain drenched, twisted and at times eerie atmosphere only for it to be genuinely saved by the tender grace of two characters. the simple truth, that innocence is not lost but being buried within us and therefore resurrectable, if we are mindful, is uncovered breathtakingly slow. so in my opinion, at it's core, this is a romance.
the trunk depicts - and very elegantly so - the difference between deeply hurting people choosing the untwisted path of wanting to love genuinely and longing for one's own return to innocence over obsession and self destruction. slowly, and only bit by bit, unraveling the consequences of the leads’ choices, light is shed on on how fated relationships can play into one's own healing process if we are conscious enough to recognize and allow them into our life.
i tend to rather dislike how the idea of fated human bonds is used in stories as it is often boiled down to the hollow idea of this one-in-a life-time-match of eternal love, that needs to culminate in a lifetime’s happy marriage to count as such. i don't deny fate. but depictions hardly match my experience of it. this one does.
love in and of itself is eternal by nature. but it's not exclusive or single minded. it just doesn't flow as humans wish. its nature is to be left free so it can flow towards you in it’s own time and way. we can’t control or force it, but despite knowing that, it’s the most common human thing to try bend the will of the one’s closest to us towards what we want. making them stay by our side by whichever means possible, so we’re not lonely, is the first step towards that. much later, tainted by pain, anger and our own history with each other, we are no longer able to see what we once loved in our counter parts. or ourselves. but cynically enough we seem unable to let go, so love would find us again, clinging to that one person beside us. now merely a stand-in, a reminder of the beauty we once found in each other and deep down long for, we choose to sacrifice everything for it, despite knowing it's an illusion.
one massively complex matter to work through! but the trunk manages brilliantly.
it very distinctively shows, where boundaries lie within a loving relationship to be able to keep alive and around what we love within each other. and they apply to any kind of emotional state we are in. orbitting around the fl, an excellently written and acted character, who perfectly balances her strength with vulnerability, it understands exactly where a person ends and another begins and what it needs from one side to the other to keep a relationship in whichever state a healthy one. deeply hurt and despite her own impactful history on relationship/marriage, with the smallest of movements, the least words said, the fl knows exactly how to stay herself in every situation she's placed in, simultaneously creating a surrounding where others are put into place or shown what belonged to them before it was taken from them. to pull this off with a character, that's anything else but perfect, is nothing other than stunning to watch. the stage being cleaned up like that is much different from doing it by trying to control it. hence, the tango - a perfectly matching metaphor.
the development of the show is slow, there’s only a few brawl-ish scenes and there’s no real suspense. so it mainly runs on subtleness. so you do have to like that. but, and in defense: it never ran boring as i have experienced it with other slow-burners.
last, i should mention that for asian standards it should be quite mature in terms of nudity/bed scenes. not so extraordinary for western standards, though. as a western raised watcher i think the physical aspect of a relationship has equal impact as the emotional ones towards the quality of the bond between people and is an important aspect to recognize underlying dynamics of couples - exactly as is shown very excellently by comparison of all couples depicted. so in my eyes it’s a necessity to understand the message carried throughout the story.
masterpiece, no less. so, enjoy!
ps. and one tiny hint towards expectations, because the plot summary is indeed rather misleading: the trunk acts more like a metaphore than as the keeper of the big secret to be revealed. so keep an open mind and you won't feel betrayed!
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