ibisfeather

Hi tiny -- I thought that this was a great review so I ran to your review page to see what else you liked and found !!! you havent written many. Please write some more reviews...I will be on the lookout for them!

I am so jealous of y'all... in the US this isnt released yet. Wah.

As of 12/24 this show is in my top ten best ever kdramas (slanted to fantasy but omitting any sageuk) list: Goblin, Hwayugi, Because This Is My First Life, Just between Lovers; the K2, Run On, Doom at Your Service; Tomorrow, Alchemy of Souls (earliest to latest) and Mr. Plankton . Anybody else?

As of 12/24 this show is in my top ten best ever kdramas (slanted to fantasy but omitting any sageuk) list as of 12/24: Goblin, Hwayugi, Because This Is My First Life, Just between Lovers; the K2, Run On, Doom at Your Service; Tomorrow, Alchemy of Souls (earliest to latest) and Mr. Plankton . Anybody else?

As of 12/24 this show is in my top ten best ever kdramas (slanted to fantasy but omitting any sageuk) list: Goblin, Hwayugi, Because This Is My First Life, Just between Lovers; the K2, Run On, Doom at Your Service; Tomorrow, Alchemy of Souls (earliest to latest) and Mr. Plankton . Anybody else?

As of 12/24 this show is in my top ten best ever kdramas (slanted to fantasy but omitting any sageuk) list: Goblin, Hwayugi, Because This Is My First Life, Just between Lovers; the K2, Run On, Doom at Your Service; Tomorrow, Alchemy of Souls (earliest to latest) and Mr. Plankton . Anybody else?

As of 12/24 this show is in my top ten best ever kdramas (slanted to fantasy but omitting any sageuk) list: Goblin, Hwayugi, Because This Is My First Life, Just between Lovers; the K2, Run On, Doom at Your Service; Tomorrow, Alchemy of Souls (earliest to latest) and Mr. Plankton . Anybody else?

As of 12/24 this show is in my top ten best ever kdramas (slanted to fantasy but omitting any sageuk) list: Goblin, Hwayugi, Because This Is My First Life, Just between Lovers; the K2, Run On, Doom at Your Service; Tomorrow, Alchemy of Souls (earliest to latest) and Mr. Plankton . Anybody else?

Hi Saikashi, I feel the same as a buddhist, that suicide is never forgiveable and that punishment is and should be inevitable. But that is why I liked this show -- I think that principle still held and the development of compassion is needed to prevent suicide before it happens. I do love the comedy part of the depictions that bothered you though. I am sorry that it seemed disrespectful to you of a proper moral balance. Just felt like writing. Take care.

All my sympathy and hope for Korea in this dangerous moment. Rock on, Bong Joon Ho and the whole Korean film and tv industry for such a courageous and clear statement!

I support this -- the problem is that the frozen screen has not so far been important enough in the plot to excuse its use. The newscaster is obviously an idiot, but when I saw this i suspected her of much worse bec its such an evil act to mock a mute woman. And no one on set apologized to Heejo, at all. This is not nit-picking, its clueless show-writing. So clumsy it is misleading in the show as well. The obvious suspicion would be the original kidnappers who are able to mess with electronic transmissions....but not a peep.

Not sure but I have heard they film in huge cavernous unheated sets in China. Also in Kdrama you see weird puffs of steam coming out of actors mouths even indoors or in the spring...the actors reallly really need unions or sim. See recent news abt NewJeans..

US tv series about West during 19thC Chinese Exclusion Act, gangs in SanFran and more, martial arts, and w/connections to Qing China and flashbacks to the same -- first generation immigrants' It was good.

Yeah I feel such anxiety abt their fate and mixed feelings, too. But I like the realistic taiwanese cinema leaning -- in BL some shows are fun, others are sad, some are weirdly messaged, mmm.. but Liu and Tan are so deliriously happy. Waiting here for the end. What do you think abt this though -- Gu Li is vulnerable bec in his world powerful people get away with crimes, but Xiao may be protected by his actual lower status and by Gu Li's love and bec he is a genius...

hope that films about the plight of immigrants in the US will be made in countries of production other than the US. The US industry does produce those sorts of films on a regular basis, but I get that it is still the behemoth controlling the narrative on its own sins, as opposed to others voicing that narrative from a a point of view that holds the potential to be more interesting.. Warrior was cool though.

anolf -- I think #3 is the best characterization of the POV of the novel and script and You get the mr/ms cool prize for that one. I love underlying themes like #1. #2 however is a bit weird bec the historical and cultural context determines a lot of stuff like that for men because their personal existence exists in the public light. I personally believe or choose to believe that our natural humanity is more similiar than different amongst individuals. Interesting comments too above on the show, I am am not done so politely holding back on spoilers is nice. Just the sideways comment here from me.

pickymcpickleton -- a beautiful and sensitive response to the show. I wish more people wouldnt rush to judgement so early on...Ive done it too though. But this show was so powerful and real that I felt like you, and altho I hated the animal cruelty it made me hate those who did it more. With all my heart. It functions as characterization, doesnt it?

Wowee. Thank you. I have to stop and digest after the equivalent of about a page, but this is so useful to me for 2 reasons, as a super curious westerner novice viewer; I want to know why the audience it is geared towards enjoys the work, and I find pleasure in a more developed sense of the levels of meaning and joy underlying the professionalism of cast and crew.

I can always can vaguely feel some of the creators intention through the western refs and a few of the asian ones -- a shared cinematic culture makes all creators magpies searching back and forth for their own voices. Reading the textual level is pure joy for me too.

Also, my current only vague feelings about smaller details ( for me though like" is this important to the plot?"; often what's often different from western stuff), probably resembles the generally vague popular audiences expectations and pleasures.

As an historian I am so curious about what it is like to watch these works in their country of origin. Super curious too about life now, particularly for younger people in the various parts of east asia. The theatrical arts always show dreams, hopes and feelings so clearly. For my sins, I was a high school foreign language teacher.

I feel a little pompous now, urgh, but thank you sincerely.

This is not the place for this discussion. As an historian, I can say that in the past there has always been enormous brouhaha around various movements for women's rights. Two steps forward, one step back with manlash. It has been a long fight since at least the 1830s. Be useful, be helpful, please.

Thank you so much for writing this article. I have already read it twice. Hope that others/yourself will write more articles like this. The six great Chinese novels, korean bears and mugwort, etc etc, lots of single topics show up in assorted shows. Another lover of cultural mythology here!