The teasers shown so far have disappointed me. Doesn't have the sexiness and vibe the original had. I tend to enjoy the leads but they seem pretty miscast here. Anyway, good luck to the team.
I read the review! I would like to say it was interesting and thought provoking to read and I wanted to share…
I find your perspectives on Hye Jin and Doo Shik very interesting.
Doo Shik - I agree that he is a people pleaser but my biggest issue was that his sunshine character and the guilt-ridden side of his felt either like dual personalities or different people to me. I know that people hide their pain behind their smile but in the solo moments when he was by himself (at least before the past was revealed), the drama portrayed him to be pretty content. He would do things he enjoyed like surfing etc. which is not something you would expect someone so guilt-ridden to do. They would probably be out and about helping people and then when they're back home, they would just be drowning in sadness and feel empty. This wasn't the case with Doo Shik at all. So when the secret came out, if my memory serves me right, he was portrayed as someone whose entire life was destroyed and he had nothing to live for, which was pretty extreme? Yes we all could guess there was a past but never did the show in a good first half ever indicate that he was this guilt-ridden and had this big of a burden.. like you know it wasn't infused into the plot well? He just came across as this nice people-pleaser dude with probably some sad memory he is running away from. And then the past came in and then it's like a really extreme side was presented that didn't seem like him. On the money part, yeah I think I can agree with you.
Your take on Hye Jin is something I can accept. So thank you for this different perspective, though I still wish the writer showed the transition better because when you work so strongly towards a goal sacrificing your basic needs, even after reaching it, many people struggle to break free from those habits. I do counsel a lot of ppl who find it hard to break free from maladaptive behaviours and habits. Like if you grew up saving money.. it's hard to actually start spending it even if you're damn rich and are making a lot more. Change doesn't happen overnight.
And also I refuse to believe that someone with the kind of childhood that Hye Jin had grew up so "healthy functioning". Her scars and the neglect she saw was never quite fleshed out.
Regarding the villagers and their toxic relationships - sorry but I disagree. Yes people are far from ideal and so are relationships. But the way the show presented them was definitely pushing the narrative that these people are an ideal, happy, peaceful village and that everyone should move there. I can never understand how we are supposed to be be happy for about the woman who took her husband back in when he confessed his love to a younger girl. I can never understand how we are supposed to simply accept a man who never changed and was this insensitive to his pregnant wife. It would have worked if there was character development for these characters but there wasn't. OR it would have worked if the wives in both relationships acknowledged the fact that their husbands were shitty and decided to stay in the hope that maybe one day, things would get better. But none of this happened. Rather, the writer justified these actions, overlooked them and ended it with the we-are-happily-in-love, completely ignoring the way the men treated them.
I would have loved this drama if the writer hadn't presented it as a peaceful loving slice-of-life drama. If it was presented as a human drama with flawed characters trying to live their best each day, overcoming the prejudices and limitations, and still living on with some tears and a smile, yeah I would have been able to appreciate this. A little like 'My Liberation Notes' with very flawed unlikeable characters, but still characters I came to root for and understand. OR 'Nagi's Long Vacation' with flawed but likeable characters. OR 'Nizi Village Clinic' with absolutely beautiful, peaceful, loving characters - now this is a well done, peaceful slice of life.
Long but the tldr is basically...I took comfort in the comfort the village provided the characters. Their shelter…
Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to read and reply to my review. I really appreciate it :) Will get back to you during my lunch break hehe (at work right now)
I've been rooting for him since he was a child actor in Legend.. can't believe its been 20 years.. sad that he hasn't gotten the recognition his peers got. Pity because he has it all - looks, talent, personality.
Shakespeare would be proud of this adaptation of King Lear.
The film takes us through the journey of a father blinded by his arrogance that he couldn't see the truth of his sons' greed and how the blood in his hands would come full circle to haunt him and kill him eventually. In the end, his whole lineage was destroyed. I didn't feel bad for them because they reaped what they sowed. Maybe I did pity Saburo a little for he was the only son who held his father dear and didn't use his banishment as an ego trip. But I guess he, too, had to pay for his father's sins in the end.
The writing was top tier in fleshing out all the characters' intentions and development with the actors doing full justice to the script. Nakadai Tatsuya and Harada Mieko deserve a special mention / standout for their performances. But but but more than just the performances, it is the scale and grandeur of the movie, the way Kurosawa used colours, the frames he used to enrich the characters' plights that was absolutely spectacular both for its time and even when as I re-watch this film a good 40 years later. I am in awe of what he was able to achieve back then and I always wonder what film-makers like him, Satyajit Ray, Bergman, Godard etc would have achieved in this day and age with all the technology.
All in all, this film deserves every bit of praise, appreciation and acclaim it received. Highly highly recommended for all.
This is the kind of comment people write when they don’t understand the subject but still want to feel superior.You…
I have no reason to want to feel superior to him or anyone.
I stand by what I said, and how I interpreted his statement. Fact is he has tax consultants and accountants that help him file and they know very well what ought to be paid, and the loopholes they can use to avoid it. Yes there is an investigation going on but before writing this statement, he would have been informed about where he stands in this. You can't tell me he didn't know. In his statement, he apologized and said he will cooperate, but not once, did he deny the accusation.
Before name-calling others, perhaps you should do some reflection on your part as to why you feel the need to bring down others who do not share the same opinion as you.
I am not going to bother to reply anymore. Good luck to you.
I can see why some people may not warm up to the FL initially but I think the writers depicted her with care, never tipping her over the fine line to that of someone despicable. Yes, she lied to various men who courted her in the hope of finding the richest, most suitable man to marry. But that's where both the beauty and contradiction of her character lied. She may go on a lot of mixers, but the moment she marries, you know she will be very loyal. She may enjoy his money, but she doesn't believe in merely taking, without working and earning her own money. She was a woman with principles, shaped by hunger and poverty at an earlier age, despite her ways that a highly moral audience may see as questionable. She didn't lie to her fiancee to manipulate him. She lied to protect herself. She lied because she couldn't trust that he would accept her the way she truly is. This was quite a contrast to her relationship with the ML; there was an instant attraction, and then there was a fallout because he wasn't rich. She judged him, and hurt him, but she never stopped caring for him through it all, and I loved watching her mask slip as the episodes went by. I liked the ML as well. While he never stopped caring for her and helping her, he wasn't a pushover or a doormat letting her toss him around. He had a silent, grounded presence in contrast to her glittering, prideful presence, making them complement each other perfectly. All in all, I enjoyed the FL's character development and her journey from a woman who wore a fake smile and a tough exterior to one with a soul, with vulnerability and a heart.
Highly recommended for those who want an authentic character-driven story.
4 
9 
2 
1 
1 
Anyway, good luck to the team.
Doo Shik - I agree that he is a people pleaser but my biggest issue was that his sunshine character and the guilt-ridden side of his felt either like dual personalities or different people to me. I know that people hide their pain behind their smile but in the solo moments when he was by himself (at least before the past was revealed), the drama portrayed him to be pretty content. He would do things he enjoyed like surfing etc. which is not something you would expect someone so guilt-ridden to do. They would probably be out and about helping people and then when they're back home, they would just be drowning in sadness and feel empty. This wasn't the case with Doo Shik at all. So when the secret came out, if my memory serves me right, he was portrayed as someone whose entire life was destroyed and he had nothing to live for, which was pretty extreme? Yes we all could guess there was a past but never did the show in a good first half ever indicate that he was this guilt-ridden and had this big of a burden.. like you know it wasn't infused into the plot well? He just came across as this nice people-pleaser dude with probably some sad memory he is running away from. And then the past came in and then it's like a really extreme side was presented that didn't seem like him.
On the money part, yeah I think I can agree with you.
Your take on Hye Jin is something I can accept. So thank you for this different perspective, though I still wish the writer showed the transition better because when you work so strongly towards a goal sacrificing your basic needs, even after reaching it, many people struggle to break free from those habits. I do counsel a lot of ppl who find it hard to break free from maladaptive behaviours and habits. Like if you grew up saving money.. it's hard to actually start spending it even if you're damn rich and are making a lot more. Change doesn't happen overnight.
And also I refuse to believe that someone with the kind of childhood that Hye Jin had grew up so "healthy functioning". Her scars and the neglect she saw was never quite fleshed out.
Regarding the villagers and their toxic relationships - sorry but I disagree. Yes people are far from ideal and so are relationships. But the way the show presented them was definitely pushing the narrative that these people are an ideal, happy, peaceful village and that everyone should move there. I can never understand how we are supposed to be be happy for about the woman who took her husband back in when he confessed his love to a younger girl. I can never understand how we are supposed to simply accept a man who never changed and was this insensitive to his pregnant wife. It would have worked if there was character development for these characters but there wasn't. OR it would have worked if the wives in both relationships acknowledged the fact that their husbands were shitty and decided to stay in the hope that maybe one day, things would get better. But none of this happened. Rather, the writer justified these actions, overlooked them and ended it with the we-are-happily-in-love, completely ignoring the way the men treated them.
I would have loved this drama if the writer hadn't presented it as a peaceful loving slice-of-life drama. If it was presented as a human drama with flawed characters trying to live their best each day, overcoming the prejudices and limitations, and still living on with some tears and a smile, yeah I would have been able to appreciate this. A little like 'My Liberation Notes' with very flawed unlikeable characters, but still characters I came to root for and understand.
OR 'Nagi's Long Vacation' with flawed but likeable characters.
OR 'Nizi Village Clinic' with absolutely beautiful, peaceful, loving characters - now this is a well done, peaceful slice of life.
Will get back to you during my lunch break hehe (at work right now)
Can't wait to start watching :)
The film takes us through the journey of a father blinded by his arrogance that he couldn't see the truth of his sons' greed and how the blood in his hands would come full circle to haunt him and kill him eventually. In the end, his whole lineage was destroyed. I didn't feel bad for them because they reaped what they sowed. Maybe I did pity Saburo a little for he was the only son who held his father dear and didn't use his banishment as an ego trip. But I guess he, too, had to pay for his father's sins in the end.
The writing was top tier in fleshing out all the characters' intentions and development with the actors doing full justice to the script. Nakadai Tatsuya and Harada Mieko deserve a special mention / standout for their performances. But but but more than just the performances, it is the scale and grandeur of the movie, the way Kurosawa used colours, the frames he used to enrich the characters' plights that was absolutely spectacular both for its time and even when as I re-watch this film a good 40 years later. I am in awe of what he was able to achieve back then and I always wonder what film-makers like him, Satyajit Ray, Bergman, Godard etc would have achieved in this day and age with all the technology.
All in all, this film deserves every bit of praise, appreciation and acclaim it received. Highly highly recommended for all.
I stand by what I said, and how I interpreted his statement.
Fact is he has tax consultants and accountants that help him file and they know very well what ought to be paid, and the loopholes they can use to avoid it. Yes there is an investigation going on but before writing this statement, he would have been informed about where he stands in this. You can't tell me he didn't know.
In his statement, he apologized and said he will cooperate, but not once, did he deny the accusation.
Before name-calling others, perhaps you should do some reflection on your part as to why you feel the need to bring down others who do not share the same opinion as you.
I am not going to bother to reply anymore. Good luck to you.
OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS
BRING IT ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Highly recommended for those who want an authentic character-driven story.
But damn that didn't last long... XD
ALSO WHAT A FREAKING A1 CAST.. SO MANY OF MY FAVOURITES ARE HERE!