Reviews

I'M DECEIVED! Haha, Is this a Thriller or a Social Drama? But sure, It's a Test to our Patience ! :(

Oops, The Title, the Cover Photo and the Thriller Tag misled me :|
The Cover photo really has a Spooky Horror or Dark Crime Thriller Vibe and Words like REMOTE, VILLAGE etc in the title & summary made me to EXPECT AN INTERESTING THRILLER n curious to know what happened in the village, haha

God! I'm deceived n disappointed !! :)
IT'S MORE OF A DRAMA THAN A THRILLER.
It's more about what happened in a guy's life than what happened in the village.

***** SOME MORE RANTING:
Dropped it twice n finally completed this in my 3rd try-out, it is that SLOTH PACED! It's really a test to my patience!

(Couldn't drop bcz of my "Watching Tradition" of not to drop any drama /movie, once I start watching, Silly Me! ;)
n for Ryusei, pushed myself to give another try :)

BTW, KDrama Crime Thriller "Doubt" made me to sign up for MDL to rant about its slow pacing.
Now I find it better than this (in terms of pacing, not a comparison of genre or plot), atleast it has interesting thriller elements but here it's just social drama + sloth paced.
God, this would be the end of me by the time, I finish watching this movie🫣)

***** STORY:
Enough of my ranting about pacing :) , Now, about the other elements in the movie:

The storyline is OK.
It's a story of a depressed guy stuck in a village with a stagnant life n how his routine job in a waste dumping facility and his respect in the society bcz of a criminal in the family, affect him and how he tries to change himself with the help of his childhood sweetheart.

The Run Time is too lengthy for this plot & for this slow story progression.

The thriller part is only for few minutes towards the end of the movie, which U can predict very easily, it's obvious whose body is that n who would have murdered.
So, it's just Drama with almost zero thriller elements.

***** POSITIVES:
Ryusei's Character n his STELLAR Performance is the ONLY ONE INTERESTING point that kept me watching this boring tale.

His PERFORMANCE is VERY IMPRESSIVE,
initially as an extremely frustrated with life, helpless n depressed soul and
Later, as a lively, happy & confident person, knowing that there is one person (FL) who loves n supports him and all such changes, Love & Hope have brought in him.
He acted these variations of the emotions in his expressions, VERY WELL.

Special Mention ;) :
Ryusei with facial hair and that messy hairstyle, looks totally like a different person.
I didn't recognise him in the Cover Photo, until I saw the cast list :)
And with clean shave n combed hair, looks like a young handsome hunk :)
When he smiled, he reminded me of
actor Tatsunari Kimura :)

***** SPOILER *****
1)
Throughout the movie, there is just a GLOOMY Vibe but Not any Suspense or anything Mysterious, as expected from a Thriller.

Even about the waste dumping facility, I don't find any Mystery around it.
U can guess that there is some ILLEGAL dumping happening at night that affects the environment n resources of the village, when U see a group of persons working in the night secretly, out of working hours.
(If there are murders n bodies dumped there, it would have been done by 1-2 persons, not a big team, right? )

And so, murder mystery by gangsters is ruled out n there is no suspense & mystery Expected from illegal dumping :|

As said above, found one body in police investigations of illegal dumping, it can be predicted n so No mystery, there too.

2)
Also, There are some UNCLEAR points left without explanations.
For eg, THE ENDING:
What happened to FL's case n the police investigation?
Did ML's dad really commit a crime in the past?
Or like the mayor said in the climax about sacrificing people (for his own selfish sake) but in the name of village's development, did the mayor have a direct role in his dad's death, who is innocent, falsely accused n being disrespected as a criminal all these years?

3)
Also in the end, is the ML, back to his former depressed state?
Bcz his Hair style is messy & down, tears in his eyes n doesn't look into the eye of his police friend, in the climax scene, like how he used to be in the beginning.
When he is lively n happy, he has his hair neatly combed & when depressed, has his hair down with a Messy bedhead hair style.
So, the ML has no peace in life, finally!? :O , What? :)
Poor Yuu (Ryusei's Character)!! :|

Finally, I'm not sure of
what I have watched 😂 or
what the director n story writers want to convey through this story or
what story elements or plot points, I have to take as implied / implicit, without direct explanations in the scenes :o

*****
I'm RATING this as 7 / 10,
just for Ryusei's Performance as a depressed man trying to find a motive to live and
for the Direction, Cinematography, Locations and the BGM which are AMAZING!
(These are the ONLY POSITIVES that I found in this)
Else it would be 5.5 or 6.

Pacing, Story Narration and Story Progression have completely gone WRONG.

If the Pacing and the Run Time are Right, this would be 8 or 8.5 .

*****
If U are a fan of Ryusei or can tolerate extremely slow paced Social Dramas, Watch it at your own risk !! :)

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Hidden gem of a documentary

Hidden Letters is not an academic documentary. Instead it reveals history through the present, following two modern Nushu writers. Except for the opening frames (I'll address those below), the documentary is a delicate and thoughtful exploration of Nushu in its present form.

The documentary explores the modern-day contestation around Nushu – through the women who engage with it – but also the opinions of men who think they know what they're talking about. (It turns out that mansplaining is the same in every language.) Unsurprisingly, it's the discussions between women about Nushu which come across as the most sincere.

The two Nushu writers meet with their own struggles as women, in part related to Nushu and in part related to their existence as women in a patriarchal society. Of course, these two things are enmeshed with one another. It is through their lives that Hidden Letters drives its emotions and messages.

For me, the only downside of this documentary is the opening frames. These are simply lines of text on a black background:

"For thousands of years, women in China were born to obey their husbands, fathers and sons.
Forbidden to read and write, their voices were silenced. Most left no record of their lives."

I'm not sure why Hidden Figures opens with such sa weeping, homogeneising statement (and in English too?). Particularly when what follows is a nuanced and complex insight into the evolution of Nushu. In a historical sense, Nushu itself was limited to the women of the inner chambers (and therefore not relevant to peasant women). But even saying "their voices were silenced" is in direct contradiction to the existence of Nushu itself – as well as other written records left by Chinese women of the past.

I'm not saying that oppression of women didn't exist - on the contrary, it was under such conditions that Nushu came into being – but I think Hidden Figures does itself a bit of injustice by opening with such a reductionist introduction to a deeply complicated form of communication.

That said, I highly recommend this documentary. It's well crafted and provides an intriguing insight into the intersection of Nushu and the everyday struggles of women.

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WATCH IT!!!!

Everything about this movie was perfect. I really like shows and movies which have angst in them and this did not disappoint. From the acring to the vusuals and the background music were amazing. The movie made me feel sad not only due to the bittersweet ending but also for the fact it made me think about all the people who could not truly express themselves due to the fear of being shunned and ridiculed by the society. What more heartbreaking is that this predijuce still prevails in our society even now. I just find so hard to understand why out of everything we could hate and dispice as a society we chose love. And the movie portrays all these emotions beautifully. I recommend everyone watch it, not just BL fans as its a story that needs to experienced by everyone.

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I tried to find more information about Yun Jie. While it is a scripted movie, the cast was almost entirely populated by people with the same family name as the director/writer/producer. The film was not a documentary but with the extremely natural performances showing the difficulty of children and the elderly left behind as parents moved to the larger cities to work, it looked much like one.

Yun Jie takes the news that her parents are leaving their small village to work far away in Guangzhou in stride, scarcely saying good-bye to them. She will remain in their village with her two younger sisters and grandmother. Along with going to school and doing her homework, she babysits, cooks the meals, cleans, helps an aunt garden, and aids her uncle when it’s time to harvest the rice crop. Jie is scolded for her grades dropping, but the tired child struggles to stay away during class and exams. Other grandparents and elders are having a difficult time raising their grandsons, the lack of fathers around causes the boys to act out and even put themselves in dangerous situations. Because teacher pay is extremely low, the turnover rate is high, with the kids receiving a subpar education. Yun Jie has much to do but little to look forward to in her life.

Most of the children in Jie’s village had no parents at home. Any child over 12 was weighing whether to quit school and go to work. The left behind children often felt left adrift. Jie may have spent time with others her age yet she never played and only once cracked a faint smile. Farming was not a sustainable model to feed a family yet still the villagers persisted. The time required to farm and the physical effort put a stress on the young girl already shouldering most of the household duties. Moving to the city didn’t guarantee success for those seeking a better life either. Factories were closing at an alarming rate, reducing job opportunities for the villagers. Lacking a solid education and other skills limited their employment opportunities. At one point, the family attempted to live together in the city. However, the sisters lacked the connections and proper thick red envelopes needed to go to school in Guangzhou. Yun Jie saw her life choices rapidly disappearing.

My heart broke for Yun Jie, the child forced to act like an adult. There were never any comforting cuddles or words and when it rained, she couldn’t even count on a dry bed. None of the grown-ups in her life were cruel, but neither were they a soft place to land when life got hard.

26 May 2025
Trigger warning: A dog being beaten to death, not graphically shown but implied

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GHOST: HYPNOTIZE n BURN EVERYTHING! & Ghosts - One or Two?

GHOST: An Eye for an Eye! So, If U burn me, I'll burn U !! 🤭

Good n a Very Interesting Horror.
Skeptical to watch, since it's a 2000s movie, expecting it to be one more usual boring High school horror but I am wrong! :)
(BTW, I watched this during my college days n had a positive impression all these years n so re-watched now to write a review )

BE AWARE, it contains Content of Bullying, Rape, Mass Murder of Many by Many (Violent & gruesome Deaths by Fire n their Heart-wrenching Wailing)

****
The movie started mediocre n plain, like routine horror movies but as the story progresses, it got Very Interesting n Gripping.

Also, It's not just Horror, there are Reincarnation n Supernatural themes too.

The Ghost murdering people by Hypnosis, is something New :)

Does not contain Scary Jump Scares or Special Horror effects, instead it's a Serious Psychological horror that keeps the Viewer interested with the Suspense n Well Written Plot of present & past stories and keeps curious about what happens next.

***** STORY:
The setting is a All Girls High School in a village, where the local people don't welcome outsiders.

It starts with a transfer girl (Yoo Jin) n two of her friends, being bullied by her classmates. Unable to tolerate the harassment, they use the Ouija board to summon the spirits to create the Bunshinsaba curse to kill the bullying people whose names are written down.

Yoo Jin starts experiencing Haunting from then and around her, deaths of the bullies, happen one by one, by fire, mysteriously as though hypnotized by someone.

The female teacher, the male teacher and his spiritual friend try to help her.
Here it is shown as only one ghost haunting.

After first half of the story, it takes a turn, when the female teacher too, experiences Haunting simultaneously.

So, the Suspense of whether it's one or two ghosts n who possessed whom, is Well Maintained, till the actual n full Past story that had happened 30 years is revealed.
(Can be predicted to some extent that who, out of Yoo Jin n the female teacher, is possessed by whom).

The Past Story of Mom n her blind daughter, 30 years ago, is Terrible and Sad.

The Reincarnation & the Supernatural powers of Mom, to let her blind daughter see, are a Good Surprise in the plot (I didn't expect :) )

Depicts unacceptable levels of Bullying in the past n present stories too.

*****
Direction, Story Writing, Story Narration, Screenplay, Editing n Pacing are Good and Right.

The Narration & the transition of the scenes from the past to present n vice-versa and that of the haunting scenes of two ghosts, back n forth, are smooth.

(Watched a bad print, so cannot really comment on Cinematography or Production, haha).

BGM is right to the haunting scenes.

In the end, Everyone in the village got what they deserved and the ghosts got their revenge.

***** SPOILER *****
The climax scene is little confusing:
Is it a scene from the past when mom n blind daughter are happy in her childhood? (Probably No)

Or The teacher (in present day) has a little kid already (Probably No)

Or The reincarnated mom (as teacher) brought back her blind daughter to life as some random kid? (Maybe Yes. If so, what happened to Yoo Jin in the end, did the blind daughter's spirit leave her or no, is not clear).

*****
My RATING is 8.5 / 10.

Horror Genre Lovers, especially who love to watch every type n a variety of Horror concepts, Watch this, U'll not be bored! :)

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what is this even about?

I didn't know anything about this drama or the fact that it was based off of a manga.

in the very beginning I though the black haired guy kissed the girl and put a spell on her to make her do what he wants regardless of her will power.
I quickly realized that wasn't the case.

the FL is a spineless girl without a personality.
she is caught in between of this power play between the two main guys.
they treat her like a toy: kiss her, boss her around, grab her hair without ever asking how she feels.i don't even know why they are supposed to like her except for her beauty.
it's incomprehensible.

she also hasn't a mind of her own but falls for one or the other according to what guy make a move on her in that moment.

yes I know, it s am adaptation of a shoujou but it lacks everything.

the only good thing i guess are the actors. they are all doing a good job.

dropped at 51/93 minutes mark.

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I needed that

this movie is cheesy, cute and pleasant.
if you are taking a break from more serious dramas o heavy themes , this movie is perfect .

the plot is really simple. junior high schooler wants a boyfriend and after being so unlucky with her peers she falls in love with her math teacher.

she gives her everything to this man to make him fall for her but when the teacher childhood friend shows up, the FL understands that he has to take a different path to be happy.

the FL is hilarious and her character is often overplayed because she is playing a younger version of her self compared to the end of the movie.

the way she freaks out over every gesture of her sensei is so cute.

thanks to her dedication the teacher is able to understand his own desires and take control of his life.

there is nothing sexy or intriguing about their relationship. no kisses of gestures of affection.

this is just a cute fluffy comedy to warm your heart.

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Broken in all the right places

# Nocturnal (2025) Review: Broken in all the right places

**Spoiler warning ahead. Proceed only if you've already watched—or don't mind being broken wide open.**

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## A title lost in translation

There’s something quietly frustrating about mismatched titles. The Korean name for this film, 브로큰 (beurokeun)—Broken—says everything it needs to. It’s raw. It’s thematic. It’s accurate.

And then came Nocturnal. Elegant, perhaps, even poetic. But Nocturnal is the name of a novel within the story, not the story itself. A choice that, while likely made for international appeal, ends up setting the wrong tone and wrong expectations.

If you go in expecting a moody thriller about late-night brooding, you’ll come out thinking the third act forgot to arrive. If they had kept the English title as Broken, the story, pacing, and ending would’ve made more sense.

## Acting and atmosphere

For what it is—a revenge thriller—the film delivers. Solid performances all around, led by an actor who wears his role like it’s grown into his bones—a notorious gangster who had already left that life behind but is forced to return after the death of his younger brother.

It gives off the same energy as John Wick—feared, respected, tried to live a normal life, but got dragged back in. Except instead of a dog, it was his sibling.

The cinematography fits the tone: mysterious, crime, gritty, and fitting for a revenge plot. No complaints there.

## Final thoughts

> When mislabeling ruins the mood

The tragedy here isn’t just in the story—it’s in the mismatch between title and tone. International viewers might be left confused by the final scene. There is a sense of something settling, but it’s jagged and unsatisfying—because it was never meant to be about closure. It was about being Broken.

If they had just stuck with Broken, the pieces would’ve come together. Instead, we’re left with a film that feels unfinished, incomplete—not by design, but by branding.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars (8 if you pretend the title was Broken all along)

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- License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC By-SA) 4.0 International
- By: Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한 (YourOnly.One)
- Date: 2025-05-26

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Meandering but exquisite cinematography

Still not sure how I feel about this film. Although at first glance, Viêt and Nam appears to be a romance, the complex storytelling makes it far bigger than just the story of two miners finding solace in one another.

The film meanders, geographically and temporally, between the search for war martyrs and the vacillation of characters Viêt and Nam as they decide whether to leave the country. This film is exquisitely shot. And honestly, I was so wrapped up in the composition of some scenes that I wasn't really paying much attention to the blurring of reality and dream. You can totally see how this made it to Cannes.

Ultimately, I would say Viêt and Nam is more about the processing of post-war trauma than it is about romantic love. Or rather, the latter is a manifestation of the former.

I have mixed feelings about the ending which, though based on true events, feels trope-y compared to the rest of the film. I also feel like that level of pessimism is a bit of a cop out, regardless of whether its depicted as dream or reality, but happy to be convinced otherwise.

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a good but tiring movie

one of the movies that is hard for me to explain, I try to explain it but I feel empty-headed, might because I still lack insight into it. but still gonna try to explain

its start with a very hard-to-understand scene. because at the beginning it tells the story of Rong's family and their relationship with Dream Interpreter, I don't really understand this part because it's too fast. but finally got the hook when Xiao Lili realized Jinzhen's talent and bring his home

and after that the story start flowed easily. this movie even though at the beginning it was like a flashback POV from another character, but its actually Jinzhen's POV

Our wallflower, Rong Jinzhen. well portrayed because his appearance suit a picture of math genius

this movie is also very epic in terms of cinematography, they break the wall with so many 'weird' but 'out-of-box' style of shot. the depiction of dreams experienced by Rong Jinzhen and Liseiwicz also often makes my head hurt :)

the focus of this film is ultimately not just Jinzhen's genius, but the dynamics of the characters while he tries to decipher, and the competition between Jinzhen and Leisewicz.

Leisewicz even said "Don't do Deciphering, because it will drive you crazy"

with so many numbers, conflicts, and dreams, you can imagine how complicated Rong Jinzhen's head is. and don't forget this is set in the 1940s, a time of war & Chinese revolution. with so much propaganda, spying, missions. complete headache 😭

although heavy, but strangely addictive. the pace is solid, very detailed, and every scene makes you curious about what this is all about

the confusion between dreams and reality, plus Jinzhen's iconic action of playing with lamp, is a distinctive feature of this film

I was actually curious about dream interpretation, because he could dream that deep that he could jump to a certain conclusion

I also thought about what would happen to him without dream interpretation, and it turned out to really happen. you all need to watch until the credit scene ⚠️

my impression of this film is 'just watch it once' because it could be like Rong Jinzhen who gets stressed about ciphers and dreams

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Idealism vs Reality

For the record, I haven't watched the other remakes, so I won't talk about how this adaptation compares to the others. Going into it I thought it was just going to be your typical the guy gets the girl in the end, but in reality, it wasn't. I think the whole theme of the movie was that opposites attract, but they don't actually end up together because they're incompatible. Not going to lie, I was hoping for a happy ending where the ml and fl end up together, but what I think the message the movie is trying to convey is the contrast between idealism and reality. We are led to believe that the ml and fl will get together in the end, but due to some unfortunate disagreements the two had, they don't actually get together but still remain good friends. I really like that trope. I like how the movie is being realistic, and not giving us the ending that we want, instead giving us an ending with closure and realism. But overall, I enjoyed this movie, it was a cute watch. I can't wait for what else Dahyun has in store for us.

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the dunk school of acting

it is i, the niel.

let me just be clear, this was not about day and itt whatsoever. 90% of what's specified in the synopsis doesn't even happen in the first place. an hour and thirty minutes long, and all of it was filler. we get one glimpse of maybe could-be plot in a brief flash before it just crumbles before us.

you look at the synopsis, you assume that the movie is going to be about day and itt, yet what we know about day and itt is almost entirely derived from having read the synopsis prior to watching. day is a freak (derogatory). he goes through the trouble of seeking out itt to get revenge for night, then 2 minutes later slaps night and keeps him locked up in his room.

the acting. woof. i started off noting that the actor who played itt wasn't really doing the best job. i eventually realized that it's the entire cast. i think that there were way too many characters, and way too many people involved with this movie, both on the screen and off of the screen. too many couples, one of which was established with like 2 minutes remaining.

some questions: what is this movie about? what even is the point of any of this? why did itt follow day into his house and accept a random beer from him? what is day's deal? why didn't he also initially go after gear? why are there so many characters? why are they all related? do they have anything going on in their lives? why do they just seemingly stand around together in clusters? how did gear scale the house? why did they introduce a new character over halfway into the movie? why did we get a solid 15-minute montage devoted to jet ski footage? and one last time, what's this movie even about?

don't watch this, even if you're bored. it is nothing like the masterpiece of unforgotten night. i went into this with hope, because it's in the same universe as unforgotten night, and i ended up with a broken heart. blimey!!

best,

the niel.

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Just so much fun

There’s nothing that particularly stands out in this movie, yet it keeps a constant grin on your face…..and seriously we are in the end of May 2025 and there’s been a bunch of real tepid Asian dramas this year.
Imagine desperately searching for something worthwhile to watch - and this movie from 10 years ago, with all its teenage hormonal sexuality , and 3 heartthrobs in their early days lights up your screen ……… oasis!!!!!

The lead actors were great but the supporting cast stole the show.
The director, the parents of WooBin, the chinese restaurant owners…..spot on comic timing!!!

Be warned there are a lot of sexual innuendos….but such a great movie about 20 year olds.

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