This review may contain spoilers
Love Story in The 1970s is a Love Letter to us all
I was TOTALLY CAPTIVATED by this beautiful drama!!!
It was in many ways remindful of Korea’s When Life Gives You Tangerines…both beautifully and sensitively made dramas a caliber above what is out there to watch. I have said it before and will say it again, it should be a requirement to watch both WLGYT and now also Love Story In The 1970s to learn the quality of dramas Asian has the capacity to create.
I loved them both!
Each touched me deeply and will stay with me a long time.
Each raised the bar for their respective countries as examples of what an exceptional drama looks like.
And each are, in my opinion, truly works of art.
I believe they are both wonderful examples of Slice-of-Life stories…When Life Gives You Tangerines is a generational slice-of-life drama…A drama that shows us a picture over a longer length of time in a family. Yet WLGYT also gives us more beautiful moments then I can mention that will have you laughing and ugly crying throughout it’s amazing story.
Love Story In The 1970s is truly a “slice"-of-life drama. It gave us stories of a single family as they navigate daily, finding their place in a world within the backdrop of the new China. Gifting us with glimpses of such poignant sweetness when they discover simple happinesses; like when Fang Muyang brought home the record player and together they listened to some Mozart tented in their “bunk bed” (I so loved watching his face when he watches her), or their special rooftop spot or sharing a tin of melted ice cream or creating their wonderful mural out of a spiteful mess on their wall. And then there were other moments we struggled alongside them with their attempts to find their own voice, or tentatively reach out for their dreams like Fei Ni’s persistent pursuit to get to university or Fang Muyang’s struggle to create and be acknowledged for his own art.
The outstanding secondary cast from LSIT7 also portrayed their characters and their stories superbly, and I often found myself as invested in their characters as I was the leads. All were multiplexed real personalities with good and bad traits just like all of us and I’d find myself alternately rooting for them, crying for them, hating them or feeling truly empathetic to their plight. All their portrayals were deep, complex and full of humanity.
Ever since watching L&P, Yesterday Once More, My Best Summer and a few other earlier works, I have followed Chen Fei Yu. I think he is a very talented actor…BUT that said, his last two dramas I watched (and so eagerly waited for) were disappointing for me. So, I was a bit afraid he'd lost his way...and was a touch trepidatious about trying Love Story In The 1970s. But I need not have been…Chen Fei Yu was magical in this drama. His Fang Muyang sweetly reminded me at times of WLGYT’s Gwan Sik…a man often misjudged as maybe "not so bright" or not the “best choice" but both, in reality, have an incredible depth of love, integrity, caring and quiet strength we should all aspire to. Fang Muyang's powerful optimism carried himself and all he loved when life knocked them down throughout this whole story. He was the soul of this family.
Sun Qian was a perfectly cast partner to Chen Fei Yu with, I thought, great chemistry between the two. She genuinely made me believe I was watching a young girl in China in the post revolution 1970s. She seemed to epitomize a simple yet driven girl who was alternately strong, gentle, naive and wise beyond her years. If Fang Muyang was the soul of this family, Ni Fei was the backbone.
In the end Love Story In The 1970s teaches us ways to deal with hardships, teaches us to keep getting up…teaches us to care for others and shows us how we each need to stand tall When Life Gives US Tangerines.
And Chen Fei Yu?.....Welcome back, it's so good to see you again on the screen, being the talented actor you really are, in a work of such quality.
It was in many ways remindful of Korea’s When Life Gives You Tangerines…both beautifully and sensitively made dramas a caliber above what is out there to watch. I have said it before and will say it again, it should be a requirement to watch both WLGYT and now also Love Story In The 1970s to learn the quality of dramas Asian has the capacity to create.
I loved them both!
Each touched me deeply and will stay with me a long time.
Each raised the bar for their respective countries as examples of what an exceptional drama looks like.
And each are, in my opinion, truly works of art.
I believe they are both wonderful examples of Slice-of-Life stories…When Life Gives You Tangerines is a generational slice-of-life drama…A drama that shows us a picture over a longer length of time in a family. Yet WLGYT also gives us more beautiful moments then I can mention that will have you laughing and ugly crying throughout it’s amazing story.
Love Story In The 1970s is truly a “slice"-of-life drama. It gave us stories of a single family as they navigate daily, finding their place in a world within the backdrop of the new China. Gifting us with glimpses of such poignant sweetness when they discover simple happinesses; like when Fang Muyang brought home the record player and together they listened to some Mozart tented in their “bunk bed” (I so loved watching his face when he watches her), or their special rooftop spot or sharing a tin of melted ice cream or creating their wonderful mural out of a spiteful mess on their wall. And then there were other moments we struggled alongside them with their attempts to find their own voice, or tentatively reach out for their dreams like Fei Ni’s persistent pursuit to get to university or Fang Muyang’s struggle to create and be acknowledged for his own art.
The outstanding secondary cast from LSIT7 also portrayed their characters and their stories superbly, and I often found myself as invested in their characters as I was the leads. All were multiplexed real personalities with good and bad traits just like all of us and I’d find myself alternately rooting for them, crying for them, hating them or feeling truly empathetic to their plight. All their portrayals were deep, complex and full of humanity.
Ever since watching L&P, Yesterday Once More, My Best Summer and a few other earlier works, I have followed Chen Fei Yu. I think he is a very talented actor…BUT that said, his last two dramas I watched (and so eagerly waited for) were disappointing for me. So, I was a bit afraid he'd lost his way...and was a touch trepidatious about trying Love Story In The 1970s. But I need not have been…Chen Fei Yu was magical in this drama. His Fang Muyang sweetly reminded me at times of WLGYT’s Gwan Sik…a man often misjudged as maybe "not so bright" or not the “best choice" but both, in reality, have an incredible depth of love, integrity, caring and quiet strength we should all aspire to. Fang Muyang's powerful optimism carried himself and all he loved when life knocked them down throughout this whole story. He was the soul of this family.
Sun Qian was a perfectly cast partner to Chen Fei Yu with, I thought, great chemistry between the two. She genuinely made me believe I was watching a young girl in China in the post revolution 1970s. She seemed to epitomize a simple yet driven girl who was alternately strong, gentle, naive and wise beyond her years. If Fang Muyang was the soul of this family, Ni Fei was the backbone.
In the end Love Story In The 1970s teaches us ways to deal with hardships, teaches us to keep getting up…teaches us to care for others and shows us how we each need to stand tall When Life Gives US Tangerines.
And Chen Fei Yu?.....Welcome back, it's so good to see you again on the screen, being the talented actor you really are, in a work of such quality.
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