amrita828

If I think of myself when I was a girl and compare it to who I'm now - technically an adult - I don't see that big a difference. My kernel has remained the same. So I truly don't know what makes a boy into a man, nor do I know if a "man" is more desirable as a partner than a boy. Maturity is often confused with gravity, and - personally, mind you - I'd rather deal with someone who's kept his/her childlike idealism and passions intact than a person who is convinced life is made only of duties, responsibilities and pragmatism.
Clearly there are personality traits I consider paramount for me to appreciate - among others, intelligence, sense of humour, honesty and open-mindedness - but as you can see none of these are prerogative of adults, and certainly not of "real men" (whatever that may be).

I can't talk about Greece or Spain, but I can assure you in Italy and France it's not common at all to give children "a good beating". It WAS common enough to spank them 40 years ago or so, but even then slapping was considered harsh and other forms of beating - while sadly tolerated but not talked about - were already seen as abuse, both by the law as well as by society. Today even spanking is considered bad (and archaic).

To go back to Asia, even without knowing the specific legislation on the matter, it is obvious Asian, and Koreans on top, are more physical in their interactions. Alone the fact that they bow or even kneel in front of someone who's considered superior is an indication. In a society where class and age distincions are so clear-cut, it's almost inevitable that children don't often protest Many aspects of their common behaviour are based upon the inequality of people: the already mentioned bowing, the language - younger people should use honorifics when adressing someone older, even by a few months!! - the insistence on class/money (I have never seen in Europe a hospital with VIP floors). Family is, after all, the smallest and most traditional form of government. Clearly, the more common is a practice, the less traumatizing it is. If everyone hits their children on the back of their head (without cracking the skull, that is), then we can easily infere nobody will be traumatized by it.
Things are changing there too, and fast enough that the issue is shown and somewhat criticized in dramas too.

My pleasure. :)
I actually wanted my comment to appear on your review, but for some reason it ended up here. Glad you got to read it, though. :D
By the by, I also agree on her clothes: they are all gorgeous and perfectly worn by the actress. She's got true class.

@DragonAlien
A wonderful review!
Your words took me back there as much as the movie did, just like you very cleverly describe.
I love this movie and while I wish it were better known and rated here, I'm almost glad it has only one review this beautiful and exact.
Thanks! :)

You sure you're on the right page? I think Yoochun was busy watching scents - or oozing them, who knows - while Kim So Yeon and Jung Kyung Ho were falling in love here... ;)

Thank you, PD. As a reviews lover, I wish you would be a little less lazy and give us a review, now and then! :D I'm sure I'd be the one agreeing in the comments, then.

Poor Sun, you had to be the main recipient of my ramblings about this drama. Luckily I have restrained myself here, or I would have gone on and on about Min Ho and his adorable antics. ;)

Thank you for this review. You gave me a much needed laugh out loud moment.
Oh, and I happen to agree with everything you wrote. :D

I think I'm going to try them all except the Chaebol girl thing. It sounds very trite.

Actually, I wanted to say more, but I also didn't want to be verbose. I suppose some things are fit for a discussion, not a review. I'm also aware my overall rate doesn't seem to match exactly my judgment, but I refuse to lower the value of a very good show only because the plot didn't fully satisfy me. Style always comes first in my opinion, and in this sense I believe this drama to be absolutely brilliant.

I can see why you love Doc's character so much. He just needed a cig...;););)

Indeed, he's the main reason why I started the drama, why I finished it and why I enjoyed it. ;)

I'd say he's childlike, rather than childish. :)

Agreed. He's so deliciously obvious around her, it's killing me. :D
And what about him sliding down the couch when she tells him she went to the factory for him! LOL
I'm totally in love with this man.

I didn't even know my all time favourite movie was listed here. Awesome. :)

I agree wholeheartedly.
I too was very much intrigued by the medical approach. Even the surgeries were well done, I loved those, spiced with some ethical questions and Ji Sang's effort no to be affected by blood. I waited all the second half of the drama to find that spirit back... but it melted in the sunrise. Bah.

Great article, Hava. I love your choices, they are unpredictable, not the ones everybody would pick. But then again, with 400 dramas watched you sure had a lot of material to prune. ;)
Ah, and take off those earphones for us, now and then. ;);)

LOL, I hope our silly commentaries won't deter you. While the drama is not much cleverer than our conversation, it's still a funny and cute ride. :D

I can see your point, Pretty, but the perception I had of it all is completely different from yours. I watched Healer with my husband and he was particularly interested in the past events, proof that two viewers who are watching the same things can fix their attention on different aspects.

If the drama had followed a chronological pattern, as it used to be the case in many other k-dramas where we had the kids, then the teens, then the adults, we would have had the same amount of "context", only in a different order.
I never felt that those flashbacks overpowered the present story, neither in terms of length, nor in pertinence. I though Moon Ho was the third main lead here and he needed to find closure with his past too. Because not all the flashbacks were shown from the point of view of the same character, I also found it very interesting to see how each of them remembered, what detail was vivid in their memory and why.

Every time I read a drama review - no matter what drama - there's always someone complaining about the fact that the secondary characters weren't given enough space in the narration. Clearly, each viewer asks a story something different that goes beyond simple taste. I thought Healer had a perfect balance of all it was "sold" as.

The sex scandal was resolved. Like all sex scandals in this world, many of the protagonist weren't involved, nor will they ever. The issue came into the open, they incriminated that deputy, the panderer died, the lawsuit against the actress was dropped,. Basically, it's the kind of event I hear about often enough in the news: the scandal is in the open, they talk about it for a while, some people are mentioned/incriminated and after a week the news are talking about a typhoon.
Please don't get me wrong, but if they had insisted on this story, wouldn't we have an army of people now complaining about the fact that the drama dedicated too much time to it?

By the by... finally a true debate about a drama! I had missed those dearly. :D

I actually loved the flashbacks here. The way I see it, Healer wasn't only the story of Young Shin and Jong Hoo, but the story of a group of friends whose choices and fatal circumstances affected the lives of these two kids as a final effect.

I wouldn't have been half as moved by their love story if I hadn't known where both came from. Some of my favourite scenes in this drama are in flashback (child Young Shin hiding under that slide, the moment Moon Shik makes the choice to stop looking for the child, Teacher abandoning Jong Hoo on his birthday, the roasted potatoes parallel and many others). They all served the purpose of building up the two main characters, let us know how they came to be the way they are.
Unlike many other K-dramas that repeat the same flashbacks hundreds of time as if we were stupid (Kill Me, Heal Me, I'm looking at you), in Healer the flashbacks are used appropriately and were diversified, since they gave us glimpses into the important moments of other characters, like Moon Ho, Ahjumma and Moon Shik, who weren't secondary characters in this drama.

I loved the fighting scenes too, and I wouldn't have minded seeing Healer run a little more, but since I was interested in the rest too, unless they had given us 24 episodes (but they barely had the time and the funds to film the 20th) this drama should have cut short on characters interaction, which I wouldn't have appreciated.
Not to mention the fact that perhaps poor Ji Chang Wook may have been a little exhausted of running... ;)

I don't agree with a single word, but I love your review nonetheless. You always manage to be incredibly thought provoking, so thank you for sharing your thoughts, Pretty. :)