Drama Tea

A short, mini drama that packs a lot of punch

I avoided short dramas like these for the longest time because I thought they would be badly made and just wouldn't be satisfying enough.

Eighteen episodes? Ten minutes per episode? Really? What can you absorb in a mere ten minutes? Turns out: more than you think!

However, after watching my first short web drama, What's Wrong with My Princess?, which I really enjoyed, I became a short drama addict

This could be an unpopular opinion, but while the actors of these mini-dramas are unknown most of the time, their acting is often way better than the idols in blockbuster Chinese dramas. I am glad these dramas exist because they could help some of these talented actors get noticed. It's a sad thing that a lot of actors in China don't get that chance because they don't happen to have the right looks or fan base and most are forced to second lead roles just to make way for less talented actors.

Also, mini-dramas tend to be "braver" so we get edgier storylines.

If you're thinking about trying Chinese Dramas but feel like 40-episode monoliths are just too much commitment, starting with mini-dramas like A Familiar Stranger is a great way to do this

What drew me to A Familiar Stranger is the premise, and the chatter around it being excellent even if it's a short drama.

Once I started it, I was really impressed with the production quality and how well the two main actresses could play each other so convincingly.

But what shocked me was how sensual it was, especially since I'm used to (sigh) cold fish kisses in Chinese and Korean dramas. No, they actually showed bare legs and bed romps in this one! (Though not to the level of what you see in Game of Thrones, thank God.)

Apparently, some folks theorise that shorts like these can get away from the Chinese censors because they are too small and insignificant, which makes me a tad sad because it shows how much potential is currently being capped by the draconian Chinese censors.

I think the short format forces the writers to be more disciplined and the producers to be more creative with their filming. (As a writer of serial fiction on Substack, there's a lot to learn from these short 10-minute-per-episode dramas.)

That said, due to the tight timeline, there were a lot of plot threads that were unexplored.

For example, why would our villainess give up her lofty position as a high-ranking Prime Minister's daughter to exchange faces with a lowly painter? How could she sashay around the mansion, unimpeded after that? Although there's some explanation at the end, I thought it was all very convenient, and not a smart move. But maybe it wasn't supposed to be … love makes a fool of us all.

The romance between the general and Shi Qi is sensual and beautifully done. And the story comes together in a satisfying and beautiful way. Part of the satisfaction comes from having a quick payoff. Instead of slogging through 40 episodes, you can get the whole story in three hours, and with the same highs of episodic serial storytelling every 10 minutes.

Also blogged at: https://wp.me/pf6C2d-1R

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A very interesting take on environmental protection. But...

I had to concede that towards the end the drama got really, really boring for me 😅.
it started out really well and then it just got suuuuuper slow. I think I understand why. Initially the show was filmed in a dynamic way. Our characters would go on expeditions to villages, into mountains and caves and discover pockets of terrible pollution. There would be interesting environmental cases to tackle. The first case was a prime example - how do you move a street full of vendors without harming their livelihoods? I thought the solution was ingenious.

Then the case of an apartment complex abandoned by developers, stranding the buyers with no homes but with high mortgages. And to add insult to injury, the apartment grounds was turned into a toxic garbage dump.
These cases held my attention until the big case involving the suicide of our main lead's friend which started it all ..and the drama literally slowed down and grounded to a halt. In terms of action and dynamism. Suddenly all our characters are stuck in meeting rooms, boardrooms and press conferences. They talk, they lecture. Essentially the show became super talky and my brain, tired out from a day of meetings at work, could not bear to watch TV people hold meetings. Pure torture 🤪

But I persevered.
I just felt that the last 10 episodes could've been told in the same dynamic way the show started out. What happened? God knows, but my brain begged for mercy and I ended up fast forwarding most of the last ten episodes. 😆
So should you watch this? Well, if an environmental, curious about how China goes green kinda person like me finds it boring...well, probably not a good idea unless you are an even bigger nerd than I am. 😉

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China's "Miracle on the Hudson" - you gotta watch this!

Here's what I learned from miraculous plane landings, such as the one made by Captain Sully of US Airways Flight 1649 (Miracle on the Hudson) and Captain Liu of Sichuan Air Flight 8633: You need extraordinary airmanship to land your passengers and crew safely during these unexpected emergencies, and most essentially, you must remain very, very calm when everyone is panicking around you. (And they have a very, very good reason to.)

This movie was so excellently made, and it is on par with my other favourite air-flight disaster movie, Sully. But rather than center it around an overly dramatic hearing about Sully's actions (which was far from what really happened in reality), The Captain kept it simple - it focused on the events leading to the cockpit accident how the crew kept everyone calm, and how the pilots finally landed the plane despite crazy weather, the mountains and a busted gears.

However, we don't really get to know our passengers very well; the film gave some of them a backstory or two, but it's never deep enough for us to truly care for them. (I even wondered why we were given introductions to some of them.) The focus is sharply on the pilots and the air attendants.

Time moved so fast that I was stunned that I was at the end of the movie. Not a single minute was boring. (I mean, honestly, how could it be boring?? LOL.)

At times, I thought the soundtrack was overly dramatic, but I forgave that because there were really touching moments such as the flight control manager's teary eyes when he thought the plane was lost, or Captain Liu thinking about his daughter as he flew the plane through a treacherous storm.

On a side note, I also enjoyed the movie's little touches of culture here and there - what I assumed was Tibetan language, the Sichuan-accented Mandarin and more.

As a Malaysian, I couldn't help but think about our ill-fated missing plane, MH370 and the tragic fate of MH17, shot down over Ukiraine, when watching this movie. The year 2014 was Malaysian Airlines' annus horribilis - we had two major air disasters months apart.

Perhaps this is why I enjoyed Sully and The Captain so much. It gave me the happy ending and closure I and many Malaysians craved for MH370 and MH17.

An excerpt taken from my original review on my blog: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/02/18/the-captain-movie-review/

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Wonderful love story, but the plot has lots of problems

What I discovered after watching The Sword and the Brocade
- Women are bloody scary when they're having tea with you
- Forehead kisses are better than bedroom scenes
- Ming dynasty mother-in-laws are scarier than the T-1000.

I had long avoided *The Sword of the Brocade* for the following reasons:
- I was super not impressed with Tan Song Yun's performance and was majorly annoyed with her aegyo character in *Under the Power*.
- In general, I dislike harem dramas intensely. I just don't like watching women bully each other.

But for some reason I am suddenly in a romantic mood for mature, adult, slow burn, arranged marriage romance and the *The Sword and the Brocade* delivers.

I really loved Shi Yi and Ling Yi's gradual attraction to each other and I love Wallace Chung and Tan Song Yun's performance. I believe that Tan dubbed herself, and it really brought a lot of nuance and colour to her character.

I didn't find Wallace Chung attractive at first, but he is so manly, honourable and considerate as Ling Yi that these qualities end up making him very attractive indeed.

And yes, yes, this is one of those dramas with misunderstandings between our couple, but it's not at epic proportions like Love and Redemption.

I don't seem to mind misunderstandings and lack of communication in romance dramas as I find them morbidly enjoyable. But if you hate this be warned as the Show has one major arc with that.

(Also, I'd like to report that Wallace Chung is such a good kisser. Like, no fish-eyed kisses, people! But one filled with intense passion and desperate hunger. *Fans self*.)

However, I confess that I skipped or fast forwarded a lot of scheming concubine parts because I can't stand a lot of that. At times I found the mother-in-laws (both Madam Xu and Luo) intolerable.

Yet, despite their horrid scheming, I have a lot of sympathy for the concubines. I felt their pain and sorrow when Ling Yi rebuff their efforts to gain his attention. As for Qiao Lian Fang, the primary evil concubine? Nah, she deserves everything she got lol.

But while it tries to convey the painful lives of concubines and women in ancient Ming dynasty times, but it was clumsily done.

And as with so many Chinese dramas, for some reason, the last 10 episodes was a rush of betrayals and schemes, a lot of them lacking logic.

If I were to rate the way they had written romance between our main couple, it would be an 8.5.

But for the plot involving the evil Ou family, concubines and more? Oof, it'll be a 6 or less.

So, I can only give it an slightly above average rating rather than excellent.

But I still highly recommend this drama if you like watching slow burn romance and arranged marriages. Our leads are really good and you will really enjoy their performances.

Rating: 7.5

I wrote a longer, more detailed review here: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/the-sword-and-the-brocade-review/

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