Reviews

The best Joseon romance of recent years

Among the current sageuk offerings, dominated by the fluffy romantic comedy fusion sageuk trend, The Red Sleeve is a drama that shares certain elements found in such sageuks, but is truly a melodrama rather than a comedy, and thus, despite some light-heartedness in the early episodes, has a predominantly serious tone. To those tiring of the fluffy trend, The Red Sleeve may prove a welcome respite that offers some of the gravitas of a more classic sageuk, yet it is also enough in the realm of the romance-focused, youth-oriented sageuk that it will likely appeal to those who are fans of the rom com in period dress genre. It is not likely, however, to satisfy fans of political sageuks, as this is a drama primarily concerned with its romance.

Lee Jun Ho’s portrayal of Yi San was truly excellent. This was quite a nuanced and multifaceted character, and I found him compelling in all aspects. Though this character is certainly an idealistic, intelligent, and benevolent man, who has a strong sense of duty regarding his role as a ruler, he is not the sort of adorable, fluffy Joseon royal I have seen in many sageuks of late. There is a real edge to this character that at times borders on genuinely scary. Lee Jun Ho succeeds in both bringing some sweetness and charm to his character as a besotted lover as well as imbuing his portrayal with enough power, command, and charisma to be a convincing ruler. He made me feel this character’s pain acutely, whether that was heartbreak or the suffering of a traumatic family situation. And he had a superb intensity in some of the romantic scenes, conveying to the viewer a very palpable sense of his attraction.

I liked Lee Se Young as Seong Deok Im. I think her mannerisms and bearing are well-suited to this sort of period piece in a court setting. However, compared to the male lead, both she and her character left somewhat less of an impression. This is not to say she was bad in anyway. I definitely thought she was good, just less of a stand out. I did have some trouble getting a sense of this character at first, in part due to not immediately realizing that when Lee Se Young was initially introduced, she was playing a 15-year-old. (The male lead was also only 16, but his character was significantly more mature, thus his behavior felt less mismatched to the actor’s age.) The character does mature, though her core traits remain the same. (I think both actors did a good job and subtly aging up their characters over the course of the drama.) She is bold, principled, and strong-willed. At times her behavior is not really congruent with what I would expect from a Joseon court lady. The drama finds a balance between making these aspects completely anachronistic and unbelievable and making it seem somewhat plausible in her specific circumstances (e.g. her young age at the beginning, leeway afforded her due to Yi San’s favor).

The second male lead is an interesting character, though perhaps not a very likable one. However, I felt he was somewhat underutilized. I think they could have done more to show the viewer the bond between him and the male lead, and it seems we may have lost some of his character development in a time-skip. Although Kang Hoon’s performance did not particularly stand out to me, I have no complaints regarding his portrayal.

Along with Lee Jun Ho’s Yi San, the Lee Deok Hwa’s Yeongjo was the performance that had the most impact on me. This character had a duality, sometimes a kind, grandfatherly old man, sometimes a dangerous ruler prone to bouts of rage and suspicion. The gravitas Lee Deok Hwa brought to certain scenes and the relationship between grandfather and grandson was one of the most engaging aspects of this drama’s early episodes.

Regarding the story, it has earned a place on my list of favorite historical romances. The romance does start off with some rather standard tropes, but it’s a well-executed version with a lot of charm. As the relationship developed, I felt that it began to differentiate itself from the tropes and offered up incredible chemistry as well as some truly memorable scenes. My emotions definitely became caught up in this relationship, as it succeeded being both heart-fluttering and heart-wenching. This drama really put me through a lot, but I take that to mean that it was very successful in drawing me into the story.

That being said, this romance might not be to everyone’s taste. Firstly, despite the more light-hearted tone at the start, overall, I would describe the drama as “nearly continuously angsty.” I’m a sucker for the emotional torture, but for those looking for smooth-sailing, happy romances with minimal pain or conflict, this is not the place to look. Even the happy moments sometimes have a bittersweet tinge. A second point of potential discomfort for certain viewers is that there is a very large difference in status between the leads. Although the male lead often treats the female lead as more of an equal than their respective statuses would dictate, he does not necessarily view her as one and is not entirely above using his power over her. This is a dynamic many period romances tend to ignore, as it isn’t congruent with contemporary relationship ideals. Personally, I think the way this drama walked the line of not being too offensive for a contemporary viewer while also not entirely disregarding the power imbalance between a ruler and a court lady is one of this drama’s selling points and something fundamental to the themes it examines. Perhaps for some, though, it would cross the line. The third and final point is potentially a bit spoilerly, depending on what you consider a spoiler, so skip to the next paragraph if you’d like to avoid. Although it is up to interpretation, I think this is, to a certain extent, a story of a one-sided love, which is not to say it’s entirely unrequited, but I’m not sure the degree of feeling was equal on both ends. I think this is something interesting to explore, but it makes this relationship less idealized than the standard romance offering. If you're looking for a "perfect" couple, this isn't really it, but I think the story is better for that.

Now for the aspects of the drama that I felt were weaker … At the beginning, I thought the politics had some potential. They were not the main focus, but things were gradually developing in the background, and doing so in a way that seemed well-paced and well-conceived, if pretty standard. But at some point the plot just became something of a mess. It spices things up with intrigue that, to me, felt unnecessarily over-the-top, and yet it pretty much skips over major events that I kinda felt like we should have seen. There definitely were moments of true suspense and excitement, but also parts that completely lacked any impact, because we weren’t given proper development (or shown them at all). These aspects surely would have been better had they just followed the history. Truthfully, I think this drama was essentially using the politics to create situations of character conflict, with little regard for the merits of the plot points themselves or the overall trajectory of that story aspect. It also seemed averse to introducing any plot line where the female lead could not somehow be inserted into the political maneuverings, despite her lack of status and power (a choice which seems somewhat contradictory to the drama's larger theme of how little agency Joseon palace women were afforded). I can accept this, as I knew from the beginning that this was primarily a romance, not a political epic, but it does somewhat lessen my regard for the quality of the drama’s overall execution. I would have preferred it to simply avoid dealing with politics, rather than give them some focus, but not enough to do it right. Still, it certainly didn’t stop me from obsessing over the main couple and anxiously waiting for the next episodes. If you’re looking for a romantic drama, rest assured, this one will not bore you with lots of scenes of old men discussing tax policies. I also think there was some lack of clarity regarding the timeline. It is not always easy to tell how quickly time is going by and at one point I realized that many more years must have passed than it had felt like when watching the drama. Since this drama covered such a long period of time (pretty much the entirety of the lead characters’ lives), I think it probably could have been longer.

It was definitely a visually appealing drama with beautiful costumes and lovely cinematography. The composition of certain shots was quite striking. Although the soundtrack did not leave a profound impression on me, there were scenes I felt were very much enhanced by the music choices, and I don’t remember any point at which I felt the soundtrack didn’t fit.

This is a drama that had some outstanding moments where all the elements came together to create a breathtaking tension that kept me completely captivated. What happened between those scenes is starting to blur together a bit for me, perhaps because some of the conflicts could be repetitive. Still overall, this is not a drama I will forget anytime soon. Despite its flaws, it was entirely successful in bringing across the emotions and making me invested in the romance. Moreover, Lee Jun Ho’s Yi San is now my standard for idealistic Joseon royal males that all future depictions of this character type will have to live up to or be somewhat of a disappointment. I definitely recommend to fans of historical melodramas.

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I really think Followers is a series worth watching. The fashion, soundtrack, the aesthetic, and more. The series itself starts off slow but picks up by episode two. This series was really good, but there are some things I wanna touch upon.

The only thing about it is that I really wish that the director made it longer in episodes. With only nine episodes, I feel like it had too much going on in the plot and too many characters for just nine episodes. It's hard to focus on all that's going on in a short matter of time. Other than that though I really love the plot. At first, it seems predictable and generic especially with the main character Natsume. But there are plot twists that happen and things that make it more interesting along the way.

The soundtrack was very very good, it really does fit all the scenes. In my opinion, it's very memorable and I love it so much. The acting was also very good, everybody played their characters well and I really loved the lgbtq+ stuff they added in this series. I really love the cast too.

I really would consider rewatching this show again. I also doubt it but I am hoping for a season two.

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really good drama, eng subs don't do it justice :(

Prior to this drama's release, I had heard about the cast and filming of it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the drama, the cast's chemistry, the storyline, and the soundtrack. The writers did an amazing job adapting the novel to the screen, maintaining many key moments from the novel and the two main characters' relationship, while making minor changes to plot and character backgrounds for better story flow and progression. The drama covers the story of romantic, familial, and friend relationships.

I think the story portrays a very realistic relationship between the two main characters. The male lead, Li Xun, and the female lead, Zhu Yun come from very different family backgrounds and experiences, Li Xun a more tragic and Zhu Yun from a loving, well-off family. The story starts as more of a friends-to-lovers trope, but it's very clear how quickly they fall for each other. Zhu Yun, having always been an obedient daughter sees a side that she desires to be in Li Xun, and by being with him, she can rebel and be her "true self." The leads are not actually together for much of the drama, however, the team did a great job illustrating the push-pull of feelings prior to the actual relationship.Both characters have flaws--Li Xun is too closed off, a bit arrogant, and impulsive, but both love each other immensely, shown through LX pushing away ZY to protect her, and ZY still trusting him all throughout. Aside from the obstacles in their relationship, The college segment of the drama was so charming; all characters were lovable and the interactions and work they did remind me much of my own college experiences.

The distinction between the college romance and workplace romance is something I really enjoyed; there was a very obvious character development and while things seem different, they still are the same. LX and ZY still love and trust each other, continuing off from before, LX is still pushing away ZY to protect her, but ZY comes back stronger and determined to help him win his life and dreams back. I really love ZY's character in the way that she is strong and does everything in her power to protect LX because she loves him. I also think that the other coworkers at Feiyang are so funny a highlight of these emotional first few episodes of part 2.

Both lead actors portrayed the characters so well, I truly believe that they were meant to play them. Through behind the scenes clips, you can tell how hard they worked on bringing Li Xun and Zhu Yun to life. Chen Feiyu and Zhang Jingyi had amazing chemistry--there were so many moments in the episodes where they improvised and their interactions felt so natural.

I watched this drama completely in Chinese and had read the novel prior, and the Youtube English subtitles don't do the lines justice, often translated too simply or cliche/cheesy. Many of the lines hold deeper references to the novel and directly relates the personality and character progression, which is lost in these translations. Lighter & Princess is so much more than your standard idol drama; there's a long time span, imperfections in characters and relationships, and growth. While I feel like the ending few episodes of Lighter & Princess were a bit rushed, I'm still amazed by the closing scene, quoted exactly from the novel, with the carousel turning back time through their relationship, the coded heart stops beating, Li Xun's breathing, up to where they first met in college--this time from Li Xun's perspective. Though it's a happy ending, I can't help but feel a little sad every time I see that last clip. I will definitely be rewatching.

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I got a general feeling of what I was getting myself into from the synopsis alone but still had no idea what I was in for.

The title alone ought to be enough warning but as much as I hate to say it I actually enjoyed the movie. It riled me up, it had me on the edge of my seat, it made me mad, furious, it made me sad and emotional. It accomplished the goal all movies ought to - it provoked a reaction and emotional response in the viewer.

That said, however, this is not a light movie to enjoy between your favorite BL drama hiatus or while you're waiting for a new episode or series or even a movie with that general vibe.

"Lost to Shame" will make you upset, especially if you're part of the LGBTQ+ community. If you're heterosexual and a cisgender person you might still enjoy it and even relate to any of the characters or the plot and maybe, hopefully, get some new insight on how this community feels, but I doubt that's the case and if the movie was even aiming to do that in the first place, which it isn't, the parallels between the movie and real life would be ironic to say the least.

The movie's lead is a straight man, an actor, who's playing a transgender woman on a play - his first big role and his first breakthrough in the business. We follow this man through this journey, while he discovers a newfound acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community and in the end... it's up to you to decide how to feel about it.

I'd say this movie follows the structure of a tragedy but that might be me trying to reach too far. I felt honestly upset at the ending, not because it was bad but because it was too real...

This movie appeared as a recommendation when I wanted to follow up "Method", a movie with a similar vibe which I enjoyed a lot. Maybe because I watched "Method" first my analysis of "Lost to Shame" is a bit biased since I'd actually recommend "Method" to people and I even rewatched it, but "Lost to Shame" is a one time experience.

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I watched this drama because my favorite actor Gong Yoo stars in it and I must say that Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy did not disappoint. I LOVED this drama.

This drama made me become a fan of Gong Hyo Jin and it also proved to me how much of great actor Gong Yoo is. Also, I really liked the idea of this drama. This is what made me want to watch it. I like the whole "I'm a teacher and I'm going to change these kids life" story they used. And I liked the dynamic of the older woman younger male relationship (I don't know why but they tend to be my favorites like Dal Ja's Spring and Queen of Reversals. I must be a cougar at heart. Lol)

I loved the relationship that Gong Hyo Jin's character Na Bo Ri grew with her students. I think it was one of the best things about the drama. This drama is not just about her babysitting Park Tae In. This drama focuses on the other students as well and you get a new story each episode. This was something that I looked forward too the most. Expect to laugh and cry while watching this.

You have a great story and great cast with this drama and you'll truly enjoy it. I have re-watched this drama a couple of times and I really think the re-watch value is good. Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy isn't one of those overly emotional dramas where you feel like it was too much to watch again. BTSC is really funny majority of times.

Also I want to mention that Gong Yoo once again does a great job portraying his feelings. It's another reason why I loved him so much in Coffee Prince. His feelings showed throughout this whole drama and I truly felt like I saw him fall in love with Na Bo Ri. So if you like to see a drama where the guy falls helplessly in love with this girl then this is the drama for you.

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unnecessarily slow/too many flashbacks

Overall: all of these stories could have been told in half (or less) of their time and they needed to air two episodes per week instead of spreading the series out over 6 months. Some episodes had way too many flashbacks as well. Aired on iQIYI and re-aired on YouTube.

You Are My Soul Mate eps 7 & 8, 8
A standard Thai BL. Had some stupid poor communication but decent kissing.

Lucky Love eps 9 & 10, 7.5
Standard enemies to lovers. Wanted the new partner to be less aggressive with someone who just got out of an abusive relationship. Content warnings: intimate partner violence, sexual assault, punches/fight, vomiting

Fake Love eps 15 & 16, 7.5
Start at 38:30 in episode 15 and then watch all of episode 16. Standard aggressive pursuer/reluctant pursuee with some nonsense plot things. Content warnings: blackmail, stalking, vomiting, manhandling, non con touching, fight off screen, blood

Marry Go Round eps 3 & 4, 7.5
Nice to have an established couple but we needed more of them and less of the invasive fujoshi character. This is a crack comedy that didn't make me laugh. Note there is an ending scene after the initial credits. Content warnings: homophobia

The Camp Fire eps 11 & 12, 7.5
Slow pacing with some jump scares throughout (you could start at 30 minutes in episode 11 and miss basically nothing). I'm not sure how to feel about the end. Same actors as Love Stage (Thai version). Content warnings: brief scary images/jump scares, death off screen/death/blood (it's complicated)

Right Time, Right Love eps 5 & 6, 7
Bad that his friend asked him to talk it out with his abuser. They really needed a time skip to give some healing time between starting a new relationship. Content warnings: past intimate partner violence, manhandling, mental health struggles

Pisces of Me eps 17 & 18, 7
The incorrect subtitles made this more confusing than it needed to be (ie should have been "our mom" instead of "my mom"). The two guys are fraternal twins, I didn't get incest from the plot. Start ep 17 at 47 minutes and then start ep 18 at 35 minutes. Content warnings: non con kissing, blackmail, fight, a little blood/small injury

1626 eps 19 & 20, 6.5
Way too many flashbacks/forwards. Not a BL unless they were saying "I love you" in morse code.

I Wish You Love eps 23 & 24, 6.5
A guy gets a magical mirror and tracks down the guy who he sees in it, start ep 23 at 25 minutes. No idea why 2 people can't contact each other for years (social media, common friends, going to old addresses, etc) but I set that aside. Confusing way to start the second part. Wish they had made the ending more clear but I can guess what happened. Content warnings: illness, death (implied)

Refund Love eps 21 & 22, 6.5
Flashbacks made up 75% of the plot. Skip all of ep 21 and just watch ep 22. Did like that there was some GL but needed to have more sweet moments/relationship development and less constant flashbacks.

Casanova Begins eps 1 & 2, 6.5
Very confused with who was who and their relationships. Good attempt to try something different but the exposition dump and some nonsense things didn't hook me. Content warnings: death, attempted suicide, manhandling

Friends Forever eps 13 & 14, 6
This is not a romance story but a morality tale. I would have rated this higher if they had tightened the story up and removed the never-ending flashbacks. For the good, a character got actual consequences for his terrible actions. Content warnings: murder, intimate partner violence, coach/university student, drugging, manhandling

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For utter transparency, let me preface this review by saying that I went into this drama a fan of Kim So Hyun and romcoms. I have followed KSH's career trajectory with interest and have a feeling that she is capable of much more than her recent spate of dramas suggest. RADIO ROMANCE had a strong start. I was immediately intrigued by the hero who seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve where the heroine was concerned and the heroine who was so determinedly positive. There were hints of depths and potential for rich conflicts as the two find their rocky way to a romance.

But though the drama teased at a richer story, it failed to deliver. There are many reasons for this but the major one would be that the writing failed the story and the direction didn't do great either. The actors, bless them, tried but when the source material is so cringe-inducing, there is little you can do. A lot of the scenes could have been fleshed out more, elaborated upon to harvest as much emotion out of them as possible but alas. The dialogue was truly atrocious and there was not much of a story once the romance had been established. I feel like KSH got the short end of the stick once again as the female MC had no character/personality beyond the superficial positive/cheerful girl as seen in so many other dramas. There's no depth to her and this is not the actor's fault, mind you. In so many scenes, she has nothing to do but smile and she does so, prettily, but there are only so many scenes this will work in.

Do Joon's character, on the other hand, is richer, more dynamic and grows exponentially from the beginning to the end. Geu Rim, on the other hand, becomes the wish fulfillment of Ji Sooho's character. She has opinions but doesn't voice them and goodness, the romance could have been so much better had the actors been allowed to let their natural chemistry shine through. Instead, whatever chemistry they had was suffocated by the bad dialogue and unnecessarily melodramatic conflicts. However, KSH's inexperience with romance is pretty visible in her acting and I reckon, once she has been in a relationship or two, her acting will improve dramatically. Right now, it felt like she was grasping at depths she didn't really comprehend, if that makes sense.

The love triangle--let's not even speak of it. I feel like this could have been a much drama than it ended up being. Let's hope that whatever KSH picks next delivers what the script offers.

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Great visuals but no plot?

I don’t usually write reviews but I felt like I needed to do it for this one, since I really don’t know how to feel about it...

After watching the trailer I was really excited to watch This movie and in the beginning I did also really like it. The visuals are absolutely *chef’s kiss*. The cinematography, set design, special effects, and styling works really well together to bring this univers to life and I instantly fell in love with it.

I also instantly fell for the main character. He is very charming, which might in part be because Xiao Zhan could make a rock seem charming, and with the introduction he was given its hard not to immediately start rooting for him. However, as the story went on I started getting increasingly more and more frustrated with how passive he is. The main character never seems to really DO anything. Instead things juste sort of happens to him and he never really questions it.
I was also happy to see that the story has several female characters, but all of the side characters feel very underdeveloped. Some of them weren’t even introduced until the last third of the movie, where they were only given a few minutes of screen time.

My biggest problem with the story is the plot - or lack there of... I had to pause the movie somewhere in the middle to go and read what the movie is even supposed to be about, but even then I was watching the movie and thinking “that isn’t what is happening though?”, and when there was only 20 minutes left of the movie I still wasn’t sure what the plot was supposed to be. I spent the whole movie just waiting for it to begin, and it wasn’t until the last 10-15 minutes, that I felt like things were finally starting to get somewhere. I’m excited for the second movie, because the first one left on an interesting note, but I don’t think that this one stands very well on it’s own. I haven’t seen the series, but I definitely got the impression that this story is better suited for a series format rather than for movies.

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Res ipsa loquitur

Joseon Attorney 'appealed' to me because it stars Woo Do Hwan and it’s an historical, two of my favorite things. However, at 16 one-hour episodes it could not ‘sustain’ any level of intensity. Uneven performances and storytelling almost made me hold it in ‘contempt’. Woo Do Hwan’s performance ended up being the ‘grounds’ for me to finish it. Oh yeah, going to be law puns in this review!

Han Su and his buddy Dong Chi come to town looking to make money while plotting revenge on the people responsible for killing Han Su’s parents. Along the way he meets an undercover princess and turns enemies into friends.

I almost dropped this drama after the first episode as I 'judged' it to be cringey in the most 'arbitrary' way. Instead, I bit the bullet and was able to finish the 'rest' of the episodes. As the ‘cases’ became more interesting and the revenge plot deepened, I began to enjoy it more. The romance felt unearned and didn’t ‘exhibit’ much chemistry between Han Su and So Won. My chief ‘complaint’ was that So Won’s character wasn’t written very well. She was earnest but despite saying she trusted Han Su, her ‘actions’ constantly countermanded him. Bona had one expression which made her character even more uninteresting. Yoo Ji Sun had a similar emotional 'delivery' 'issue'. The king was largely ‘incompetent’ needing others to help make 'decisions' and couldn’t ‘bail’ anyone out.

The story 'diminished' in the last few episodes. The king 'rendered a decision' based on 'facts not in evidence' that drastically ‘damaged’ Han Su. In almost no time, Han Su ‘waived’ the ‘offense’ and was back to being buddies with the king. The ‘execution’ of alternating between comedy and drama was not well done. Woo Do Hwan ‘demonstrated’ a wide variety of emotions with his usual skill. The ‘issue’ of going from laughter to tears and back again, and not ‘settling’ on a thematic mood made it difficult for me to care about the characters as I find comedic responses to serious problems distancing. The OST lacked in coherency and was ‘liable’ to cause ‘motion’ sickness as it bounced from music inspired by 1970’s television, to rock, to overtly melodramatic tunes. Trying to fit in as many bromances as possible also ‘challenged’ the veracity of the story.

Joseon Attorney didn’t raise the ‘bar’ for historicals, but I don’t hold it ‘in contempt’ either. I’d make the ‘argument’ it could have been more ‘brief’ instead of dragging out the episodes and I ‘penalized’ it for some of the weaker performances. The drama didn’t do Woo Do Hwan’s talents any ‘justice’ either. After ‘examining the evidence’, my ‘verdict’ is that while it was ‘unobjectionable’, it was not ‘effectual’.

7 July 2024


*res ipsa loquitur-the things speaks for itself

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Given the choices we have out so far for 2019, i would reckon princess silver is the one that i've enjoyed the most thus far! So it is definitely worthy to invest good time and effort to watch it.

The way this drama is shot, from the scenery, sets, soundtrack which were sung by the leads themselves, costumes and of course, the actors are stunningly beautiful. If you are looking for a good romance aspect to the drama, this one has it, but in terms of chemistry between the characters, it is a little more muted as compared to a good chemistry pair up between the leads like that in ashes of love.

If you like untouchable lovers, you'll be able to stomach princess silver. It has similar vibes except that this one has a more consistent flow to the narrative. There's a lot of background that comes in flashbacks for the lead, so you need to be patient for it to come to a rounded conclusion. I do think they did quite a good job of keeping the storyline as tightly knitted as it could get, and did not go off tangent very often, which tends to happen in long drawn dramas.

Overall, i would rate this as one of my top 3 favourite dramas i've managed to catch since 2018. Will surely miss having this drama keep my company on my chill nights and i'm looking forward to more like that for this year!

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I'm sad to see that this Chinese version of Boys Over Flowers isn't as well-liked in other countries. Fun fact: this was actually quite a popular drama in mainland China and launched Zhang Han's career.

This drama was one of the best I've ever watched, and every time I hear the music, a wave of nostalgia comes over me. So what if this drama doesn't adhere to the original BoF plotline? There have been so many versions of the same story already, and I think it's great that this Chinese version is bringing something new to the table!

I've watched the Korean version and this version, and honestly, I think they're both amazing (but I've watched Meteor Shower 2 many more times than BoF!) Zhang Han and Zheng Shuang who play the two main leads are a great on-screen couple, and you can really feel the emotion and love they share. The side characters are all great and many times entertaining. Duan Mu Lei, especially, was cast perfectly and his story is heartbreaking and inspiring--and in my opinion, he's much more attractive than Kim Hyn Joong in BoF :)

I loved this drama much more than the first one (Meteor Shower 1). All the actors are so much more attractive in Meteor Shower 2 and the storyline is more gripping. I think that if you want to get into this Chinese version of BoF, start with this sequel instead of from the beginning.

This drama is the perfect blend between light-heartedness and seriousness--it's not completely a sappy melodrama but it's also not a fluffy, light rom-com drama. It's a great watch for anyone who loves romantic dramas and Boys Over Flowers!

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"Bad things happen, but you can still live" - Joe Lamb, a schoolkid telling an alien how to move on in life; in the hollywood movie 'Super 8'.

Well, 'Re-encounter' takes a step further and asks our lead actress to choose between moving on ahead in life to a better future or to mere exist in the world giving up on dreams and hopes. For her, its easier to just exist and you will understand her choice once you see her story in the early parts of the film. Or you can just read the plot on MDL. It's on you ! But I'll try to convince you to watch this beautiful film without giving any major spoilers.

The film doesn't open with her back story, the viewer gradually finds out soon after first few scenes. The back story is that she was totally abandoned when she was pregnant at 18 and also lost her child on birth. It was like the world closed down on her and there is no one accepting her. So how does one reply back? You would try to live on but it would be damn difficult. This film doesn't show you how our lead went through that phase. It shows you how she deals with the situation she confronts when her past comes back (re-encounter).

Any dog lovers around here? You all will love her. She currently works as a vet's assistant and in her free time goes around and rescues abandoned dogs. Her present life aptly describes how the society is divided. An abandoned woman rescuing abandoned dogs !
The story starts when she is 23 years old and has quietly settled down and her ex-boyfriend comes to visit her with a heart dropping fact. Yeah, FACT.

It's upon her to choose now whether to move on from her own comfort(negative) zone or to just destroy her ex's chance of redemption. Life has given her a chance to abandon him ! How does one respond? If you were in her shoes will you do a tit for tat? The film goes on till the very last scene where her choice is finally revealed. And that is one very good aspect where the writer-director has won my praise. Her action is aptly justified not only in the beginning but in the end as well. The viewer can never really understand what is going on in her mind. The director gives tiny little clues to us so that we could get into her mind and exactly know her state of play.

The plot is an intelligent, well written and displayed with realism. You won't feel as if anyone is acting. You will be in their world. There are fairly countable dialogues. The film is slow paced but it requires to be slow. It is the one of the best indie-films yet so far in my view.

As you watch, you will notice a that the performance given by the two leads only excavates the realism of the narrative. You will be able to understand the loss and pain suffered by each of them which ironically, both of them initially aren't aware of the depths of scars faced by themselves.

The film is a combination of human drama and 'tense' suspense which will make you follow the story until the climax reveals the meaning of how to live even when bad things keep on happening. The film shows metaphorically as to how to treat other's mistake.

If you like this movie, please message me. I guess that then you too will have liked the very last scene.

P.S - This is definitely not a 6-7 rating film. More people need to vote !

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Intelligent and sweet

If you are a fan of intelligent leads, healthy relationships and green flag couples, watch this drama. I stumbled on to this drama because I was looking for other dramas by featuring Zhang Wanyi and I am so glad I did.
The acting from the whole cast is stellar, the villain was human with shades of grey and not just evil alone. The OST is beautiful and the sets gorgeous. In the beginning, I thought it reminded me of The Story of Ming Lan, there are some parallels there, then it stopped doing that in the second episode and became its own show. It's much lighter, sweeter and faster paced than TSoML where I found the atmosphere much more oppressive and gloomy and I definitely enjoyed TRoN more.

The biggest positive for me were the leads who were all in when they thought they were siblings, all in when ML knew they were not siblings and all in when their relationship changes to more. its a healthy, intentional and reciprocal relationship of two equals with small misunderstandings, easily and quickly resolved through honest communication on both their parts. Can we please see more of these???
This drama has very quickly been added to my favourite historical dramas and let me tell you that is no easy feat.

I highly recommend it, whether as an easy binge watch or as a serious drama craving, it satisfies all your drama needs.

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