yeou_bi

Nope

True.... But man, they still had me completely fooled because I guess I'm just used to movies where things somehow work out in the end.

So, I was really looking forward to finding out what the twist would be. What I really, really appreciated was the story with the son (and why he seemed so distant when she still thought he was her father). Stories about single mothers always break my heart.
I also liked the story with the cop and the watch and how it eventually made sense that he always freaked out when Hye Ja or Joon Ha talked to him. And idk, there were a lot of small details that were well-done. Hye Ja telling her "mother" that she would always be on her side, her old-fashioned name, her not really dressing like a young woman, her being a great hairdresser, her extreme attachment to Joon Ha,...

But despite all that, I think my biggest issue is that the twist eventually erased a lot of storylines and the one that probably hit me the hardest was that of Joon Ha. The real him also had an abusive father, but that version at least also found love and managed to become a reporter (even though, yes, that eventually was his downfall). For the version in the delusion things just steadily got worse. Hye Ja supposedly was happy with her life abroad and yet her aunt constantly nagged him, his dog essentially got stolen, he had no family except for a father who constantly broke into his house, a guy he had trusted turned out to be a crook, an elderly lady he got along with committed suicide and he was very much aware that his job was horrible. And then in the end he never actually had closure, because haha, that character we followed for 10 episodes was not actually real.

I actually liked it at first because I knew there would be a major twist, so I was completely on edge trying to guess what the twist was. And then it happened and I wanted to like it but the more I thought about, the more frustrated I got because it erased all these plot lines that I grew to really like.

I liteally only watched it because I wanted to learn more about the ethnic Korean diaspora in Central Asia, because that's such an interesting setting. I mean, think about it, a farmer goes to Uzbekistan of all places to find an ethnically Korean bride and that's not just some random made up thing but is based on actual real life facts (Koreans in the USSR got deported there during Stalin's rule). I wish more movies/dramas would explore that. That being said, I didn't learn all that much but it was fun

Fun fact: This documentary is 8 hours long. I did not know that when I went to see it during a movie festival. They put it in a break after 4 hours which was good because I had not eaten anything that day and had barely enough water. Did I fall asleep at some point? Possibly.

It's funny how the focus was on Sang Hwan who didn't really do all that much. He drove around and was sad and surprised and made calls. He couldn't help his friend because Daddy Lied to Him!!!! and even as a teenager he only had a reputation because people were scared of his father. And yet he clearly was the lead. And sure, this maybe has to do with the fact that Taecyeon is not actually a brilliant actor, but I feel like he also wasn't written to be very compelling. Sang Hwan took the least risks of all of them, but his scenes dragged on and on. Sure, he broke into that place once, but his friends literally got abducted and beaten up. Which brings me to Dong Cheol, who I gathered is most people's fav character, but who technically was written as a side character. There are episodes where we barely see him at all. He honestly does a lot. He is expelled for fighting bullies, goes to prison for accidentally crippling a bully, helps out ex-cons he owes, tries to save his coworker, tries to save a random lady from an abusive boyfriend, works his ass off, breaks into a cult, constantly walks around at night on the cult grounds, is constantly face to face with very dangerous situations but lies his way out of them, literally blows his cover to find out where people get tortured, obviously knowing that he will probably get tortured and like, all this stuff just kinda happens on the side. That's just so strange. But maybe he only comes off as so awesome because unlike Sang Hwan, we get the feeling that Dong Cheol doesn't try to be the hero. He doesn't care about the attention because doing the right thing is never something he broods about. He just does it, and i guess in a way the direction reflects that?

So, what really messed me up was the first fake ending when the viewers were lead to believe that the son did get rich and did get to save his father. I honestly was moved to tears. And then it cut back and the cold reality hit me in the face. Chances of him being able to buy that house are almost nil and it's not explicitly said but you just know. If it was that easy to beat poverty, poverty wouldn't exist in the first place.

I was super hyped for this and it was even better than expected. This deserves 100% of the praise it receives. Honestly, I could probably write a novel on all the details I loved.

So, obviously this is just my interpretation but I don't think they would have cctv inside the house, just outside. The rich family is so cozy and feels so secure in their world. It's like how the poor mother said: The rich can afford to be nice and naive. They clearly don't even think much about their employees. The former housekeeper stole food for years and all they thought was, haha, that fat lady sure eats a lot. And what do they think of the poor family? Only that they smell funny.