Regardless of the 16 year old being casted as FL in love mini drama

I actually liked it. The music was good, visuals interesting, acting, except for the underage person, also good. I have not seen the FL in any other role, but I will go back to her roles from the beginning to see what the reason was for casting her here. She has been in the dramas since 2017 so at 17 she has ten years of acting behind her. Still, not impressed here. The miniseries is really an attempt at artistic production, I mean angles of the shots, colors, tempo, choreography of the scenes... it really seems like an art project. I loved the bamboo forest fight as it was a puppet/shadow theatre-like and the use of the color was perfect. You need to watch it closely as the episodes are short and it's really easy to miss some details, so you may want to slow down the play to .75, which I did the second time I watched it. Overall - an interesting mini but don't get your shorts in a knot just because the FL actress is underage and the rest of them, particularly her romantic counterpart, is an adult man.

Leia Mais

just the plot description- watched with really bad Eng Subs, so my apologies....

Hi everybody, MDL does not have the plot listed so here it is:
I watched this drama just to see Li Fei who imho is a darn good actor and should be playing in more mainstream pieces. This was a new FL playing with him and their scenes together were not as good as the ones we already swooned over (ha ha ha, we all know that Mr. Li knows exactly how to fool us into believing he is kissing the females). But back to the plot:
A young FL (14 or so) falls in love with a blind man, who is later cured and reciprocates the affection for FL. But then they get separated because he goes to war. Luckily, he comes back and reunites with FL, but... The old creep of an Emperor hell bent on getting the girl snatches her as his (I guess) concubine. The FL is heartbroken and so is her spirit because of the cruelty of the emperor towards her. As any sexually traumatized person, she only knows sexual acting out, and does so with any man that reminds her of the love she lost. Somewhere there with the lovers there is Crowned Prince (I think) with whom she has some steamy encounters and who clearly is very attracted to her. Then the old creepy Emperor dies, and FL becomes Dowager Empress, so perhaps crown prince saves her from death (?) However, the promiscuity of the Dowager goes on for about 15 years and the whole country hates her for that. Among her lovers there is a man who reminds her so much of her lover that she starts doing things she is unsure about. It doesn't help that she somehow also gets involved with the new Emperor....
Don't hate me for this. Just trying to give the community more info on this mini drama. I will look for better subs in English and then write a review.

Leia Mais

Actually a very nice love story.

What a nice love story with good, bad and ugly parts, but for me (who is hunting for perfect villains) the evil prince was the reason for giving the high rating. Yes, he is that good! Everything that other people wrote so far about this is true: horrible Eng
translation, twists and turns of the plot, bizarre elements, chemistry btwn Xiao Mei and Qing Zhu is good and the sad ending turned happy with the reincarnation makes the viewer satisfied. The complaints about the sadistic SML fell on death ears as the production was really nicely balancing the doses of SML's evilness with ML's goodness. So here is what I loved about this mini drama:
I started watching this after I saw that the ML from Love in a Dream (and he was really tugging at my heart there) was co-starring with my favorite heartthrob Li Fei here. In Love in a Dream Zhang Jin Yun was "the man" all gentleness with chivalry, but meant business with enemies. Here, he is a powerhouse of unscrupulous evil. BRAVO Zhang Jin Yun!!! He is playing such a delicious villain who never disappoints no matter how much we want him to show a bit of humanity, he is a psychopath to the brim and has absolutely no feelings for anyone, because he just wants to exercise his power over FL for fun and personal satisfaction. Unlike other bad characters in other dramas this role is magnificently played without overdoing rolling of the eyes, murderous facial expression and jaw like that of a shark. Humiliation score of the evil prince is 10/10. Even in the last scene with him, where he is trying to get Qing Zhu back his "desperation" has nothing to do with love, but mere need of a narcissist to have another person to torture. WOW! He is full of malice in such a chillingly charming way that I am going to watch him in every production available out there with Eng subs!!! Love Li Fei smiling... but the poor guy seems to be the magnet for being a porcupine - meaning being shot by arrows by his opponents. I am loving it even though things got (or should I say goat LOL) nonsensical in ep 15. And let me tell you about the FL lead... Zhu Li Lan sent me looking up her dramas and I am watching out for all 6 (!) new titles she is starring in as a main actress (no release date available yet). Overall this was really well played, interestingly scripted (if a bit excentric at times) decently made and masterfully acted drama.

Leia Mais

The best contemporary story of urban life in China

The best contemporary story of urban life in China. Real characters, adult relationships, lovely music, breathtaking shots of Beijing and an amazing close up of ugliness of business side of life (corporate scheming!). A poignant review of various social issues so common all over the world, incl. gender, economic and generational gaps, with smart, but vulnerable men and women, downplayed in the way that delivers without making you feel like you are watching propaganda. Instead, we get to watch from a hidden place how China has changed in the past 25 years and experience with the characters a small slice of life that this existence carries for us. Excellent casting. Great directing and editing. I loved cinematography as it fed into my longing for the real China, the one I experienced in person and not via silly cdramas. Comparable only to My Liberation Notes and Go Ahead.

Leia Mais

Kinda boring at this point ep 15

there are two more episodes to go and I am no longer at the edge of my seat. I admit I was watching this drama at first with some reservation as it seemed like a silly mixed identities plot the first few episodes, but it then got interesting with all the courtroom and palace scheming and political duplicity. At ep 14 I started getting tired of never-ending bombs and dire straits that ML was put through. I am sorry but I am not longer able to care how this is going to be resolved. Most of the reviews before me point out the artistry of the ML, but to me the SML, a very young actor, stole the show. He is most believable, most vulnerable character in the entire series, and he plays it VERY well. I will not comment of the +/- of the various characters in this show, they were written as such and so I can only comment on the mastery of the screenwriter to create roles that are either very rich to start with (and we slowly discover their inner workings) or they develop progressively thus giving us a delicious chance to witness that personal growth. In this case, the script falls short in just revealing details of the story that really does not expand our understanding of the characters. I was able to determine who is a good guy and who is a bad guy already, so even switch in the direction does not prove anything, just mundanely proves the already known truths. I still give it high mark because I usually start with 10 for interesting script, fresh ideas in the plot, characters that are not stereotypes and acting mastery. If the FX or cinematography is something memorable and the OST is a part of the characters/situations, then I can keep the 10. Otherwise, I subtract the points. This one has music that I can't recall after 15 episodes. Mediocre script and characters. Acting is good, but visuals are not that great. Frankly, I am ready to go back to The Double as that keeps me entertained at ep 20.

Leia Mais