A new fairytale from the Hong Sisters
'Can This Love Be Translated?' is the third drama I've seen written by the Hong sisters. It's once again a fairytale story (as the lead actress, Go Youn Jung, has rightly noted in interviews), set in our own reality. However, unlike 'A Korean Odissey' and 'Hotel del Luna', it doesn't feature any fairytale characters. The fairytale feel was more due to the stunning beauty of the filming locations: in addition to the colorful landscapes of Canadian lakes, mountains, and parks, I especially enjoyed filming in Italy, a country I love and have visited many times.
Go Youn Jung is back as the character similar to the one I've seen in 'Resident Playbook'. Cha Mu Hui is an unfortunate child been forced to adapt and pretend starting from childhood to not only be liked but also to survive. A very useful skill for an actress, right? Especially in SK.
Childhood trauma runs deep within her, embodied in the character Cha Mu Hui played before falling into a coma and waking up to become famous. The writers walk a fine line, making a personality disorder caused by profound trauma seem almost normal. Every time I watched Ju Ho Jin play along with Cha Mu Hui while she imagined herself as Do Ra Mi, I couldn't understand how come he was not terrified of interacting with someone with a clear mental disorder. A girl like that shouldn't have been invited to dinner; she should have been sent to a clinic, and not to that nice guy in a white coat.
It's clear that this is a way to draw a parallel between translation from foreign languages, which allowed people to communicate and understand each other, but it was truly eerie upon closer look. This in no way detracts from Go Youn Jung's charm and her brilliant performance as the two-in-one role. She's rising higher and higher in my personal ranking of actresses, and I eagerly await her new roles.
Well, Kim Seon Ho was pure love. Anyone who couldn't get enough of his wseet Park Cheong Seop in 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' was fully rewarded in this drama. Well-mannered, well-educated, handsome, stylish, and very sensitive, Ju Ho Jin is a dream! He has a house with a huge library, he speaks several foreign languages, works as a translator, loves good music, has excellent cooking skills, and wears stylish coats. Could you resist? I couldn't.
Kim Seon Ho and Go Youn Jung formed a beautiful and harmonious on-screen couple, but the 'third angle' was lacking: Kurosawa Hiro had every chance of being a worthy rival to Joo Ho-jin (and, admittedly, I would have rooted for him with all my heart), but Fukushi Sota was given a poorly developed character who never was a threat to the main couple. From a complete ***hole, Hiro suddenly (!) transforms into a compassionate wise man, and I saw no motivation for this change, because the viewer's attention was always focused on Cha Mu Hui and Ju Ho Jin, and Hiro's arc came off as very, very complimentary.
Overall: I liked the drama, but credit goes to the stunning scenery, Go Youn Jung's lively presence, and Kim Seon Ho's beautiful eyes, rather than the incredibly engaging plot. While there wasn't much intrigue, it was a beautiful fairy tale the Hong sisters are so good at.
Go Youn Jung is back as the character similar to the one I've seen in 'Resident Playbook'. Cha Mu Hui is an unfortunate child been forced to adapt and pretend starting from childhood to not only be liked but also to survive. A very useful skill for an actress, right? Especially in SK.
Childhood trauma runs deep within her, embodied in the character Cha Mu Hui played before falling into a coma and waking up to become famous. The writers walk a fine line, making a personality disorder caused by profound trauma seem almost normal. Every time I watched Ju Ho Jin play along with Cha Mu Hui while she imagined herself as Do Ra Mi, I couldn't understand how come he was not terrified of interacting with someone with a clear mental disorder. A girl like that shouldn't have been invited to dinner; she should have been sent to a clinic, and not to that nice guy in a white coat.
It's clear that this is a way to draw a parallel between translation from foreign languages, which allowed people to communicate and understand each other, but it was truly eerie upon closer look. This in no way detracts from Go Youn Jung's charm and her brilliant performance as the two-in-one role. She's rising higher and higher in my personal ranking of actresses, and I eagerly await her new roles.
Well, Kim Seon Ho was pure love. Anyone who couldn't get enough of his wseet Park Cheong Seop in 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' was fully rewarded in this drama. Well-mannered, well-educated, handsome, stylish, and very sensitive, Ju Ho Jin is a dream! He has a house with a huge library, he speaks several foreign languages, works as a translator, loves good music, has excellent cooking skills, and wears stylish coats. Could you resist? I couldn't.
Kim Seon Ho and Go Youn Jung formed a beautiful and harmonious on-screen couple, but the 'third angle' was lacking: Kurosawa Hiro had every chance of being a worthy rival to Joo Ho-jin (and, admittedly, I would have rooted for him with all my heart), but Fukushi Sota was given a poorly developed character who never was a threat to the main couple. From a complete ***hole, Hiro suddenly (!) transforms into a compassionate wise man, and I saw no motivation for this change, because the viewer's attention was always focused on Cha Mu Hui and Ju Ho Jin, and Hiro's arc came off as very, very complimentary.
Overall: I liked the drama, but credit goes to the stunning scenery, Go Youn Jung's lively presence, and Kim Seon Ho's beautiful eyes, rather than the incredibly engaging plot. While there wasn't much intrigue, it was a beautiful fairy tale the Hong sisters are so good at.
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