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well, that was a surprise!
I've never written a review before so you know there has got to be a reason. why then? because this is actually good. really good. and as someone who doesn't watch minidramas, this is big praise.the story is obviously fast-paced but still manages to introduce a large number of characters in a believable manner and in a way that you actually care about them.
the two main leads were solid in their acting, I wasn't sold on yifu and a couple of minor actors but overall it surpassed my expectations many times over.
the costumes were good and sometimes spectacular, again a massive and delightful surprise given the budget of this type of drama. special call out to Shenzhi's gothic style outfit with the train, the man is a certified drama queen.
the only things that I found distracting were the really heavy filter (negative) and Shenzhi's eyebrows (positive).
overall, the director, writer, cast and crew deserve a full-length drama next time. I'd totally watch that.
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a dark but well-balanced drama that surprised to the upside
if you think about crime dramas, we've seen it all, from specialist fraud units, SVUs, forensics and pathology, major divisions investigating serial murderers, lone-wolf detectives pursuing crime syndicates. in this series, we are introduced to the thoroughly unsexy railway police, whose job it is to deal with pickpockets at the station and thefts on trains. this is not a procedural but a pursuit story starring an ill-favoured demoted detective. it's dark and dirty and features an overlapping network of career crime and petty misdemeanour. generally well-directed and features some tidy editing towards the end when a lot of karmic vengeance is delivered all over the map.Guo Jingfei particularly delivers a great performance, no notes.
(bonus point if you can spot the actor perhaps best-known as the most un-Lan Lan, grown up and engaging in petty crime, he does credit to what must have been quite a difficult role)
overall thoughts: a slow train ride with veteran actors leading you through a gritty urban landscape.
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a republican era drama that sweeps like a brand-new broom
it's a little difficult to define this drama. in all honesty. it should be a mess, given the variety of actors, storylines, and politics, but it is a great watch, with engaging, well-developed characters and an approach to history that is surprisingly deft through most of its run.so in this beautifully shot Republican era drama, we have a mismatched bunch of actors from liuliang all the way through to well-regarded veterans and character actors. there's little to criticise about any of them. even where the direction may feel a little heavy-handed or the exposition a little too obvious, the ship is steadied by Wang Yang at the core, as stubborn but sympathetic official Shen Tunan.
the story is initially simple. exceedingly intelligent country boy, played with great sensitivity by Wang Yibo, comes to the big city to make his fortune in finance and finds a family, a job, a mentor and a purpose. of course, this isn't how it plays out. one by one, circumstances and individuals knock out each of the underpinnings of Wei Ruolai's faith in the system and in himself.
there will be times that everything feels entirely too unrealistic. there will be characters that are altogether too much. there will be politics that is far too unsubtle. but these things feel irrelevant given the feisty pace, the solidity of the overarching plot, grounded by the history and political imperatives of then and now, and the exquisite charm and pathos of the many and varied cast.
overall thoughts: a worthwhile story that deserves all of its accolades.
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a dizzying carousel I wouldn't ride again even if it came with a free lunch
I kind of see what the writers are trying to do here but the wild swings between watching one million hours of humanised abandoned dogs (but not cats, disappointingly, seems like a missed opportunity) and an entire episode of nauseating but also kind of funny hell tortures was already too much.I hatewatched to the end only for the pastor, a relatively unknown actor to most of us, because despite having four literal behemoths of Kdramas in there (husband and wife, random third wheel whose presence is eventually explained and it doesn't help, and the twin bosses of heaven and hell), their performances and the underlying message were overshadowed by the heavyhandedness with which everything was handled.
however, if you like maximalist dramas with a side of evangelism, this might well be appealing.
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this one has stayed with me for a while
so from the outset, full disclosure, I am a fan of Chinese crime dramas and consider MDL ratings to be an underappreciation. this is no exception.in general, these dramas tend to have a similar darkness to the typical scandinoir which some may be more familiar with. they lean towards a grittier visual appearance, however, and frequently make full artistic use of their location, whether it is an impersonal or derelict urban setting or the open spaces of the central plains.
this review has taken a while to formulate, mostly because I was genuinely touched by this series and had to sort out my emotions about the drama itself and whether it is possible for people who commit certain types of crimes to be redeemable, or whether misplaced sympathy means that I too am morally flawed. this veteran consumer of noirs has in fact not watched a single episode of any other crime drama yet since completing this because of deep and painful feelings about this tragic tale.
we find ourselves in what is, essentially, a dying town. it's set up from the start that many of the characters we meet are looking for a way out, and the pool of people they can attach themselves to to achieve this aim is small. as can be predicted, almost every relationship is thus dysfunctional, including the ones that set the initial crime in motion and further propagated it.
in the acting department, this is a solid cast and they play to their strengths. special callout to Wang Qiang, who manages one of the most careful balancing acts here, and whose characterisation was the source of much of the angst described above.
visually, this oscillates between darkly beautiful, expansive shots of a broken town, cramped interiors, and a hell of a lot of sand, with the occasionally injudicious use of a too-heavy filter that I wish had been toned down a touch, especially early on, as it was a little distracting. however, it is a testament to how immersive it is that I can't actually comment on whether that issue persisted beyond the first few episodes. the OST is surprisingly apt.
don't come here for an easy weekend watch but do come for the stories of these flawed characters, some of whom manage to be both deeply sympathetic and unforgivably criminal. the sheer weight of the tragedy of this story will slowly unfold and quite possibly leave you somewhat breathless and flailing for your own personal moral compass.
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a solid watch with a surprisingly relatable lead
while we can probably all admit that the peerless Lee Youngae appears not to age, this underrated series nevertheless boasts an unashamedly un-put-together middle-aged woman as the lead? sign me up for this. add a female villain and sidekick? definitely in. this series is a pretty wild ride and diverges just enough from the usual Kdrama for its woman-centered plot to be more than window-dressing. it may not stick with you forever but it's a tantalising rollercoaster while it lasts.overall thoughts: tropey enough to be comfortable, odd enough to be enjoyable.
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a light comedic drama not entirely to be taken at face value
at first glance this is a very usual costume drama, somewhat indeterminate point in time, attractive actors, light and bright colours. it starts with comedic scenes, not entirely unusual. what is unusual is that it retains this tone overall even though it gets quite deep into what is a set of very dark topics, many juxtaposing ancient practices and modern feminism - domestic violence, women's economic rights, arranged marriages. a particularly positive aspect is the way that most of the women in this drama support each other, a far cry from the usual divide-and-rule harem politics.overall thoughts: occasionally silly but a delight.
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a disturbing story with an interesting aesthetic
(TW: domestic violence, bullying, sexual assault, misogyny and more) there is so much awful behaviour in this, it's not an easy watch. it's also shot in an overly arty, almost try-hard way that adds to the vertiginous sensation as you claw your way through this drama. yet these are not negatives. they are the reason this is a compelling watch. although the series occasionally loses a little of its early impetus, it has enough to carry it through its fairly short, but very much not neat, run.overall thoughts: this is like looking at art photos of an accident scene, it will probably leave you feeling dirty but there's an acid gloss to it that is perversely attractive.
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an amusing but sensitive look into some deep issues: tears optional but likely
(TW: suicide and suicidal ideation) first off, it's necessary to praise the production team for this one. it was a brave choice to run with given the underlying subject matter, and the politics and social considerations around the topics of certain episodes. as you start watching, this may seem like a drama that does not take itself seriously and is at risk of devolving into a tropefest featuring white trucks of doom and grim reapers. it is actually a sensitively directed series exposing some of the types of personal interactions and societal issues that drive people towards suicidal behaviours. it would have been so, so easy to see it devolve into the type of preachy PSA trap that dramas such as Death's Game fell into, but it managed to resist the easy path and feels all the more meaningful for it.overall thoughts: manages to be light and funny but handles deep topics with the necessary gravitas and sensitivity.
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