I've never seen a kdrama like this and may never again. I have to say I did have a BIT of hard time sticking with it in the beginning. It's my shallow tendency to go for the Romance! and the comedy and the beautiful people kdrama is usually populated with. Something made me stick with this and OH how happy I am I did so! I know slice-of-life is what this drama would be classified as, but it is SO much more. Once again writer No Hee-Kyung has shown how she can put down on paper and bring to her audience LIFE in all of its beauty and its pain, and she draws us in to the story until we are living it too. I never thought a drama populated by a half dozen + 60 somethings would take me where this drama did. I don't think there is a one of us, who watched and loved this, who couldn't find an issue related to ourselves or our parents or our children. Every problem that either we or someone we love or someone we know has had to face, these people faced and dealt with as best they could. As the slow beginnings of this drama moved on into the discovery of the terrible pain and anger and fears that these women lived through, as they spilled their pain and anger and fear out after burying it for so many years, we watched how they dealt with these terrible memories, we became an invisible friend next to them, living that pain and wanting so much to comfort them and to share our love with them. And then as they began to face the inevitable illnesses and weaknesses of age....cancer, dementia, loneliness...we could see in them ourselves and our fears for the future. The wonderful, heart filling last 2 episodes were brimming with hope and joy. One of the most amazingly beautiful endings to a drama ever for me. Can there be any one of us who would not wish for such a group of friends like this to ease our last days on earth? Like Wan said, their lives were ordinary, not extraordinary. They were just lives lived day to day like most of us. Yet the sum total of their lives was remarkable in its normality because they lived their lives the best they could. And in the end they had each other....how lucky they were. In their ordinary lives how many of us are now looking at them with envy?
I've watched this movie 3 times now. Mainly it's for the drumming, which I wish there was more of. The story itself is pretty basic, and the acting is just ok. Yet, it keeps drawing me back every few years, so I guess there is something there. I've always loved the Taiko and Zen Drummers and this was a nice way to showcase them.
Pain. My one word review for this drama. I won't get into the moral issues about extra marital affairs because that was not what this movie was about. It was about 2 people living in a lot of pain and a lot of loneliness. They bump into one another and some something sparks life and passion between them. For a short period of time they escape from a world of pain into each others' arms. But, as time goes on, and as it always does, life intrudes with its reality and they are faced with painful decisions. There really weren't any right decisions though. He stays with his family. The look on his face at the end of the movie as he drives on, looking in the rear view mirror tells the price he will continue to pay for his decision. Her breakdown in the taxi after walking away from intruding where she knew she could not go, as well as her phone conversation with her ex and son, also shows the price she will continue to pay for her decision. If they had thrown their old lives away and started anew with each other, the price they would have paid would be just as painful. There was nowhere to go for them. Painful to watch. My heart feels like it has straps wrapped around it, it hurts so much.
The cinematography in this was beautiful. The scenes in Finland so beautifully cold, reflecting the beautifully cold lives they were leading. It is interesting that this story shows 2 affluent and successful families, both dealing with serious mental illnesses in their children (and in his case he is also trapped as a caregiver for his mentally ill wife). On the outside it would appear they have control over their lives, a certain kind of happiness, but it is all illusory. The symbolism of the cold and frozen lives, the rigid control over their lives and their feelings, is juxtaposed with the cold and frozen landscape around them. When they meet and let go of the ties binding them, it is in a sauna, the symbolism of the melting of their walls and the heat of their passion was beautifully shown. The direction was terrific. Nothing gratuitous. The release these 2 found in each other was a relief for them and for me. The end being a forgone conclusion, I wanted them to have at least these stolen moments of happiness that were so hard fought for. Their struggle to not succumb and then to hang on to these moments of release and happiness were agonizing to watch. The final scene of him in the car just ripped my heart. I know he was doing the right thing, but his face! Such agony! Gong Yoo was amazing in this and I will watch it again for him. After I have recovered a bit.
A good movie typical of its genre...cops and gangsters, back and forth battles as our cops try to stay within the law in their fight (well one of them), lots and lots of really vicious beatings and killings. All through it I kept hoping and expecting that turning point, that time when the good guys win. But the whole feel of the movie has such a sense of hopelessness and anger to it. I'm not sure I've watched another movie that left me feeling like this. On the good side it did a good job in getting that across...the sense of futility in good fighting a more powerful and, let's face it, smarter evil. Which brings up the sorta bad. It didn't seem like our good guys planned things out so well...tho I blame the thin script for that. Lots of great action scenes do not make up for a well written plot. And how Jang Do-Yeong ever managed to stay on the police force, or even become a police officer is a big stretch of the imagination. His out of control violence would have caused him to be bounced a long time ago, even in Korea. Still, I found no difficulty in just going along for the ride It would have been nice to see more of his history tho.
This is now 10 years old, but seems older for some reason. It was wonderful and surprising to see how incredibly different Kwon Sang-Woo and Yoo Ji-Tae looked. You wouldn't think 10 years would mean that much difference, but wow, they look SO much better now at 40 than they did at 30!!!
Wow, wow, wow, wow. What a movie. I'm exhausted. I watched this on Dramanice. The picture quality wasn't as good as perhaps other sites might have been, but I hate, when I'm watching intense, edge of your seat movies like this, having to stop and click on the next segment. DN has the full Original Version that is 3 hours long and it is the fastest, most riveting 3 hours I've spent in a movie in a very long time. This is very definitely an adult movie and the very complex subject matter, the violence, the nudity and profanity, are all testaments to that fact. I found myself confused at first...trying to keep up with plot, names, relationships, subtitles, and all the onscreen action...but as the movie goes along everyone and everything becomes clearer and you can start placing your players. So don't get overwhelmed if you feel lost, it will all settle into place. I loved it. 9.5/10 for me. This is my genre though.
Wow, wow, wow, wow. What a movie. I'm exhausted. I watched this on Dramanice. The picture quality wasn't as good as perhaps other sites might have been, but I hate, when I'm watching intense, edge of your seat movies like this, having to stop and click on the next segment. DN has the full Original Version that is 3 hours long and it is the fastest, most riveting 3 hours I've spent in a movie in a very long time. This is very definitely an adult movie and the very complex subject matter, the violence, the nudity and profanity, are all testaments to that fact. I found myself confused...trying to keep up with names, relationships, subtitles, and all the onscreen action...but as the movie goes along everyone and everything settles into their places and you can start placing your players. So don't get overwhelmed if you feel lost, it will all settle into place. I loved it. 9.5/10 for me. This is my genre though.
p.s.-this page is for the short version, which I did not watch. Moving this comment to the other page for this movie
Not a fluff drama...this one is dark and full of terrible things. But, really well written, terrific acting, beautifully filmed. I wasn't crazy about it starting out, but as the characters were fleshed out and the story built, I grew to really like how it was all put together. It is hard when you get hit with a realistic ending like this one. No real winners as even though the good guys won, sort of, the price they paid for doing so wasn't worth it. About broke my heart. I loved this cast!!! Lee Sang Yeob has been a favorite since Blue Bird. I hope we continue to see more of him and in bigger roles! He is just a wonderful actor. Chun Jung Myung is seriously underrated as an actor. I was really happy for Gong Seung Yeon to have such a good part and to do so well in it. JJH is always great, but he pretty much plays the same villain in all his shows. He just does it so well though!
love this, because I am in awe of so many of these children. The quality of their performances is mind boggling. Lee Chae-Mi in Two Weeks, Nam Da-Reum from 6 Dragons and Memory, quickly came to mind, but there are so many! Yeo Jin Goo is my personal favorite. Immense talent that child!
A surprisingly good, adorable, and realistic drama! I enjoyed it immensely. While on the surface this drama plays as a lighthearted romance, it addresses many actual issues that couples deal (or fail to deal) with. I loved how these issues were faced head on in a practical and exemplary way. Within the light comedy format, the drama shows how honest conversations, confronting and dealing honestly with your problems, will resolve the vast majority of couple problems. It showed how the differences between men and women, the game playing both partake in, the misunderstandings and pain that arise from these, are, in and of themselves, not meant to hurt their partner, but, instead, arise from the basic differences both sides need to learn from and about in order to navigate a successful relationship and to understand the fears, insecurities, and inborn differences between people and sexes. Terrifically fun, laugh out loud, shed tears...it's all in here and I am so glad I watched it. What an unexpected pleasure and hugely enjoyable break from the typical kdrama format! Only one issue rang an off key, and I'm afraid that has to do with cultural differences and prejudices where adoption are concerned. The belief that because you have a child of your body that that child will be more yours, more a mini-me, than one you adopt and raise is singularly unenlightened. 8/10
Insane...the drama and us for watching it....to the bitter end! What a waste. Sorta. Actually I don't regret it. It's been a fun ride, bitching all the way.
Lee Jun Ho- Loved him in Memory, and LOVED Memory. Easily in my all time top 10 for dramas...you HAVE to watch. It is just beautiful. He handled his role in it very professionally, with a lot of assurance for a newbie. So glad you brought up Twenty (have not laughed so hard nor so much in ever! and Cold Eyes (for me it was an adrenaline junkie's movie...no depth just a terrific ride. Loved every minute of it). I am going to watch both of them again tonight. Just in the mood and I need to watch them to remind myself of his performances...it has been too long and too many and I need to refresh my old brain!
It's an absolute travesty what Im Soo Hyang has done to her face (nose?). Absolutely one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen, her appearance in Five Children is such a shock to me and my friend. We loved her in Gisaeng (her first and she did well with terrific chemistry between her and Sung Hoon) in a sweet romance, and did even better in I Do as a hilarious Bad Girl who doesn't want to be bad but can't seem to stop herself--her best role. Generation, what episodes I got through, she was a walking doll. What a huge disappointment that show was. Just the reminder makes me depressed for what might have been. I blame the script, not the cast. I see she will be in a new movie at the end of this year with Lee Jung Jin! I'll definitely be watching (subs??) Anyway, I hope she grows (her nose---no, sorry that's bad of me!) as an actress and continues to get good parts.
Choi Woo Shik- What can you say about this very talented young man. Nothing else will stand as well in my memory of him after watching him in Set Me Free. I just read my comments on that movie and the heartbreak of it washed over me again and again I am in tears over the cruelty visited on children. The Best New Actor he received at the 2015 (35th) Korean Association of Film Critics Awards for this performance was richly deserved. I hope he has a long and illustrious career.
With the plethora of vampire dramas in the past couple years, I've been waiting in vain for another REAL vampire show like Prosecutor. One with out a lame script, or bad acting, or 1940's camp style. Finally this show, which had/has great potential to finally be the one to actually use something approaching what followers of good vampire drama consider reality or common sense within vampire lore. Unfortunately we went week after week with no filling in of the blanks, no history, no sense of who these vampires are, where they came from, what the overall agenda was, anything really that would create a vampire world that we could believe in. It was disappointing in that sense, yet... I was not disappointed in the show...only that aspect of it. If you are going to advertise a show as a vampire show, then you need to know your fan base is going to be people who want to believe in the vampire world you are presenting. It is hard to do that when we are given so little world building. Still an 8/10 for me. Really good acting and good stories, just not quite enough vampire...for me anyway. and the once a week format was a big continuity killer too...far better, I'm sure, marathoned.
I found it to be a lovely and touching movie and I cried buckets. Maybe it's just the mood I'm in but I'm not a sucker for schmaltzy movies. And this one was not,for me. It was heartfelt and true to the characters and their stories and it was told beautifully. I loved the actors and they all did a great job. D.O. is a big favorite of mine and I watched this for him, but everyone was wonderful.
wow...wasted potential. Had all the right stuff in place with a good concept, great production and acting then wasted it all on a script with Lapses of Logic and common sense you could drive the Kdrama White Truck of Doom through. It actually is 'scary', sorta, but that's mostly due to really good acting and the terrific overall concept, good production and adequate direction. Still, it was so predictable it was eye rollingly bad in certain parts This is your common everyday Home Invasion Scary Movie, but the twist, which you can see coming (like every other scary thing in the movie), was so unique that I wanted the rest of it to match up to that uniqueness. If you like this kind of genre you will definitely enjoy it and not feel like you wasted your time at all...I certainly didn't. It was a fast and enjoyable ride. 6.5
spot on with Soo Young and Jin Hee. I keep asking myself why I don't like Jin Hee and feel badly that I don't because I have no explanation for why...it's just instinct. So maybe, subconsciously, it's her voice? Soo Young I did not know at all. Spring made me a fan! Looking forward to seeing how she does in 38 Task Force
Just watched this for the 2nd time and bumped it up from 8 to 9. The police procedural stuff may be a bit lacking (as it is in 99% of kdrama), but the development of the twins relationship was riveting. One of the best ever Drama Specials
I too was struck by how different Soulmate was from other dramas. But, for me, that drama and any mention of it is a constant reminder of that tragic young man Shin Dong Wook. I constantly hope and pray he is alive and doing well and wonder how he is dealing with the horrific illness he was diagnosed with. But he has completely disappeared and there has been no word about him for so long now. For those who do not know, read here about the nightmare life this poor young man is dealing with. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_regional_pain_syndrome
The cinematography in this was beautiful. The scenes in Finland so beautifully cold, reflecting the beautifully cold lives they were leading. It is interesting that this story shows 2 affluent and successful families, both dealing with serious mental illnesses in their children (and in his case he is also trapped as a caregiver for his mentally ill wife). On the outside it would appear they have control over their lives, a certain kind of happiness, but it is all illusory. The symbolism of the cold and frozen lives, the rigid control over their lives and their feelings, is juxtaposed with the cold and frozen landscape around them. When they meet and let go of the ties binding them, it is in a sauna, the symbolism of the melting of their walls and the heat of their passion was beautifully shown. The direction was terrific. Nothing gratuitous. The release these 2 found in each other was a relief for them and for me. The end being a forgone conclusion, I wanted them to have at least these stolen moments of happiness that were so hard fought for. Their struggle to not succumb and then to hang on to these moments of release and happiness were agonizing to watch. The final scene of him in the car just ripped my heart. I know he was doing the right thing, but his face! Such agony! Gong Yoo was amazing in this and I will watch it again for him. After I have recovered a bit.
This is now 10 years old, but seems older for some reason. It was wonderful and surprising to see how incredibly different Kwon Sang-Woo and Yoo Ji-Tae looked. You wouldn't think 10 years would mean that much difference, but wow, they look SO much better now at 40 than they did at 30!!!
p.s.-this page is for the short version, which I did not watch. Moving this comment to the other page for this movie
It's an absolute travesty what Im Soo Hyang has done to her face (nose?). Absolutely one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen, her appearance in Five Children is such a shock to me and my friend. We loved her in Gisaeng (her first and she did well with terrific chemistry between her and Sung Hoon) in a sweet romance, and did even better in I Do as a hilarious Bad Girl who doesn't want to be bad but can't seem to stop herself--her best role. Generation, what episodes I got through, she was a walking doll. What a huge disappointment that show was. Just the reminder makes me depressed for what might have been. I blame the script, not the cast. I see she will be in a new movie at the end of this year with Lee Jung Jin! I'll definitely be watching (subs??) Anyway, I hope she grows (her nose---no, sorry that's bad of me!) as an actress and continues to get good parts.
Choi Woo Shik- What can you say about this very talented young man. Nothing else will stand as well in my memory of him after watching him in Set Me Free. I just read my comments on that movie and the heartbreak of it washed over me again and again I am in tears over the cruelty visited on children. The Best New Actor he received at the 2015 (35th) Korean Association of Film Critics Awards for this performance was richly deserved. I hope he has a long and illustrious career.
Just watched this for the 2nd time and bumped it up from 8 to 9. The police procedural stuff may be a bit lacking (as it is in 99% of kdrama), but the development of the twins relationship was riveting. One of the best ever Drama Specials