_Rosie
I stumbled across this drama never thinking I would really like it that much I had read the synopsis in MDL & was intrigued, anyway I was hooked from the first episode (which is rare). The main actors played their roles really well sweet without being saccharine.
What I liked best about it was the story yes its a a makjang & if you don't like that then steer clear, I personally love makjangs :D
The story had twists & turns & always kept you glued to your seat breathless with anticipation as to what would happen next. I found myself shouting at the screen at the near misses/missed opportunities for the protagonists & I am sure you will as well.
The whole look of the drama looks a little dated (fashion wise) as it is from 2004 but that didn't really phase me.
I have given a low score to the music simply because it wasn't particularly memorable to me.
Also a low re-watch score as I rarely re-watch dramas as I have too many to watch on my Plan To Watch List.
If you like dramatic, fast-paced storylines with lots of cliff hangers & good acting then this is the drama for you.
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Its only 10 episodes of about 50 minutes each - it is concise although I did find the last episode a little rushed and would have preferred more time spent on the resolution of the story.
The side characters were engaging and hilarious. My personal favourite was Seung Hee's inept boss. There are also a few funny cameos along the way. The acting by the main characters was good and believable.
This drama's depiction of a relationship seemed REAL and not like the stylised, overly romantic, fantasy type romances usually depicted in Kdramas. It shows the characters from the very first meeting to gradually forming a relationship over a period of several years with all the accompanying ups and downs of life, I really liked this aspect.
The music - I remember a couple of pleasant tracks but nothing particularly striking.
My rewatch score is always low as I never re-watch dramas.
I enjoyed it overall and wish more people would discover this little gem.
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The first 8 episodes with the young/teen cast were sensational. All the young actors were excellent in portraying their characters. Kim Yoo Jung is cemented forever as the finest young Korean actress, in my book, with her touching and brave performance as the young Hae Joo/Yoo Jin. The story is set around the shipping industry, with revenge, love triangle & birth secrets galore. After episode 8 the story leaps forward 15 years later & at that point the story continues until the end of the drama.
Most of the actors in the adult cast do a very good job. Lee Deok Hwa as the pantomime villain “thug with a rug” as I dubbed him. Kim Gyu Chul as the weak, slimey butler forever in Jang Do Hyuns power. I hated them both, which was the point.
I loved Hae Joo’s adopted dad, he was wonderful and the love they shared was so moving to see. At first I didn’t think I would like the character of Hae Joo’s adopted mom but the journey she took was lovely to see. Lee Bong Hee and the Chun family ensemble provided some truly hilarious moments and much needed comic relief with all the drama going on. The Prosecutor was an admirable character, someone striving to right wrongs to the best of his ability throughout.
Chang Hee (young) I loved but I was not so enamoured with the adult version, he seemed to be weak and ineffectual even as a successful adult. I don’t blame the actor, more the writers for his lack of character development. Kang San on the other hand was played beautifully by Kim Jae Won as the happy go lucky guy hiding all his pain behind a façade of a clown.
The biggest weak link for me was adult Hae Joo (admittedly I have not seen this actress in anything else so cannot write her off completely) but in this drama she evoked no emotions from me whatsoever (except annoyance). The young Hae Joo was so excellent and the adult Hae Joo failed to live up to that promise quite spectacularly. Another weak link was Hae Joo's biological mother she just seemed to be a useless, weak woman who collapsed to the floor at any given opportunity, she did redeem herself slightly in later episodes, but her whole relationship with Do Hyun was a mystery to me.
I tend not to re-watch so that mark is always low for me.
The music/score was good, The main theme song I didn't like too much and started getting on my nerves in the end.
If you like melodramas this is well worth a watch the story moves at a fairly brisk pace (although it could have done without the extension).
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I liked the story it was compelling and well thought out. The dialogues particularly resonated with me. I really admired the direction and cinematography too, as it took risks at times and was little unusual for a sageuk.
It was interesting to see the story from the servants perspective, all too often in sageuks the servants are just minor background characters and here we see their daily struggles, desires and hopes.
The acting of the whole cast was brilliant. The only exception being Oh Ji Ho who was quite wooden and emotionless throughout, (I have seen him in other dramas and he is similar) although it suited his character somewhat in this drama so I am willing to overlook it on this occasion.
Special mention to Jung Yoo Mi who was outstanding she played the character of In Yub perfectly. She goes from being a rich, privileged young woman who has a dramatic fall from grace and becomes a servant when her father is accused of treason. She managed to imbue warmth into her character so that even when she was rich and conceited you still felt affection for her, It felt like she wasn't evil or malicious but rather ignorant and oblivious to the plight of others around her. She really comes into her own when she falls on hard times and her struggle and endurance is admirable.
This was my first time seeing Kim Dong Wook act in a drama. He played Eun Ki and I am very impressed with him. His character probably went through the most upheaval next to In Yub and his nuanced performance stole the show. Part of that was the writing, he was given some wonderful poignant lines but of course a lot hinges on the delivery, in which he excelled!
There aren't any songs in this drama which is unusual for a sageuk as they tend to have ballads but the music that is used throughout is beautiful and fits very well.
Overall if you like sageuks this is one of the best that I have seen. I cannot say anymore without spoiling :)
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What makes it special is the grandmother who is mute I understand that this woman was not an actress & was chosen specifically to play this role. All I can say is she did an amazing job.
The bulk of the film is set in the rural community showing the ups and downs between the Grandmother & Grandson, slowly he comes to realise how much she cares for him & he also starts to care for her. Its a slow paced, gentle and poignant film that will leave you with a lump in your throat. I really enjoyed it & recommend it to everyone.
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Junichi is to all intents and purposes a loser and lowlife. He is a nightclub scout which means he talks girls and women he meets on the street into working for the nightclub and/or adult video industry. Nanami on the other hand is a straight laced music teacher at a girls school. She leads a very staid and mundane life. She is looking for excitement and something different. She has a chance meeting with Junichi which then leads her to have a conflict with the decisions she has made in her life.
Around the same time her father arranges a marriage meeting for her with a colleague from his office. This man is really keen on getting married to her and so she sees a normal ordinary life stretching out and on the other hand a life of danger and unpredictability with Junichi. The story then follows her inner struggle in doing what her parents and society expect her to do and what she really wants.
Junichi for all his street smart conman ways is quite naive and vulnerable. People use him and take advantage of him. He assumes responsibility for his friend who looks up to him as a role model. It is apparent from the odd comment that Junichi would have liked to better himself but unfortunately society has labelled him as a lowlife loser and he has found it difficult to break free from the only life he knows.
The acting by Sorimachi Takashi, who incidentally I had never seen before, was excellent. He played the character with a lot of swagger and cocky confidence which is masking an inner hurt and vulnerability. Nanami is played by Tsuruta Mayu and she played her role well too.
Do not be put off by the fact that this is an old drama 1999. It does not feel as dated as more recent K dramas I have seen. The story is very good and the romance between the main couple is compelling.
The music - we have some classical pieces as obviously she is a piano teacher. And also some nice instrumentals. The main theme song is a song by Shania Twain which sort of fits the mood of the drama I suppose although it's a genre of music which doesn't really appeal to me.
All in all I would highly recommend this drama...... that is if you can find it!
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OK now to the film itself it came on TV & I decided to record & watch later. I don't think I would have have heard of this movie on MDL etc. & got round to watching it thanks to FilmFour.
The story is about Sang Hoon, a debt collector & thug. On the face of it he is a vicious low life & a thoroughly unlikeable character....that is, until we get to know his back story and see glimpses of his vulnerability behind the tough guy façade. He meets a schoolgirl by a chance violent encounter and they form an unlikely friendship. She too is living a wretched and solitary existence and these two kindred spirits find solace with each other.
This film is an unrelenting, brutal and visceral tour de force. I would not recommend it to the faint hearted. The main actor, Yang Ik June, was simply outstanding in his role. I had seen him in a supporting role in Innocent Man, but in this he was so impressive, no hammy over acting like a lesser actor might have done. He played the role with a calm desperation, its like he became Sang Hoon.
There is very little music/OST in this film and I think that just adds to the gritty realism of this film.
My re-watch score is (as always) low this is not a reflection of the film but the fact that I rarely ever re-watch.
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The thriller aspect with kidnapper storyline just becomes tiresome halfway through, with the usual moronic police investigation/constant mistakes in capturing the uninspired villain.
I found the comedy scenes totally unfunny and embarrassing.
The romance was ruined for me by the coy and overly cutesy acting by Park Bo Young. I am not a fan of ayego.
My biggest problem with this drama was the main female lead Do Bong Soon. I disliked her thoroughly and cannot understand how others found her likable and described her as an admirable strong woman. For me she is nothing but a two-faced, passive aggressive bully. She casually assaults people and then acts all sweet and innocent as if butter wouldn't melt. I found her hypocrisy a total turn off. She is smug and rude to her superiors at work. She bullied and assaulted people everywhere she went, if it had been a man doing these things everyone would have been up in arms . By the end of the drama I started to dislike the actress as well - as it is her portrayal not just the writing that i found so unpleasant.
Other things I did not like:-
- the contrived love triangle which went nowhere and made me question why it was introduced it in the first place.
- the way DBS mother treated her husband was totally unacceptable. If I were him I would have divorced that useless harridan in an instant.
- the main male lead's besotted act went rapidly from cute to cringe.
- the cliched depiction of the gay character.
All in all an utter disappointment I had looked forward to this drama as the 3 main leads were all on my like list but after this debacle I will have to rethink my stance.
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Although at the beginning I found the lead girls acting and mannerisms annoying to the extreme, she started calming down about half way through the drama.
The mother is the character that ended up annoying me the most, Her behaviour and actions were inexplicable. She wasn’t evil or good just strange & indifferent. She changed her views without any epiphanys or learning new facts. The premise of the drama was that the mother wanted to get her 4 single daughters married off. She does absolutely nothing to bring this about & when two of her daughters find prospective bridegrooms she objects to them both. She should have been a character that is sympathetic but I am afraid I just found her odd.
I would have liked more of the story to focus on all the sisters romances rather than focusing on non-existent family feuds & a birth secret storyline which goes absolutely nowhere.
The shining beacon in this drama is Lee Kyu Han, his acting both the excellent comedic turn and dramatic was a joy to watch. He is the reason I kept watching and I would urge anyone to give this drama a go if just for him.
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The three main players are Chan, his litle sister Soi & their dog Hearty. All three are absolutely fantastic in each of their roles. The bond between the three of them is shown so well in the first half of this film.
I don't want to spoil you but something really unexpected happens which is totally heartbreaking, I don't think I have recovered yet from THAT event. What follows is both tragic and uplifting.
I think if you aren't moved to tears by this film or at least get a lump in your throat then you must be dead inside like Chandler Bing hahaha
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I loved the story and the acting, especially Kimura Takuya as Satonaka Halu, he displayed humour, strength of character & vulnerability so well. The mix of sport & drama & romance was perfectly balanced. I loved the characterisations & the camaraderie between the ice hockey players.
I am not a fan of Queen but that song Born to Love You is stuck in my head for several days after I finished this drama lol.
My re-watch score is always low as I never re-watch dramas as a rule.
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I wasn't a huge fan of Hana Kimi but I had high expectations of the Korean version but sadly I am left disappointed. At least in Hana Kimi the girl had a feasible reason for wanting to come to the school (she felt responsible for causing Oguri Shun to get injured) so she comes to his school in Japan to help him get back into athletics. This part of the story was omitted from the Korean version, so there was no real reason for Jae Hee to come to Korea other than she had a schoolgirl crush on Tae Joon, this was a totally lame and flawed concept. If that was the case most school girls would track down their idols & stalk them merrily to their hearts content. We all have people we admire or look up to but we don’t think the logical step is to insinuate ourselves into their lives by any method possible.
The bulk of the drama had no real story, nothing really happened. Also there wasn't much chemistry between the main leads, it all seemed forced and awkward, such a shame when there was so much potential.
I disliked the last episode I found Jae Hee's actions lacking in common sense, even for a Kdrama heroine, I don't want to say why in case of spoilers. Why do the writer's make the heroines vapid and selfish?
Also despite the huge deception there appear to be no repercussions...ridiculous. But this is Kdramas after all....anything goes :D
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The story itself is angsty and a little too drawn out. The initial meeting when Kang Wook is a student meets and falls in love with his new teacher Joo Wol all that happens within the first four episodes I wish they had spent longer on developing this part of the story. Then the tragic event happens and Kang Wook ends up in prison, by ep 6 he is out and the story resumes from where they all are in their lives at that point, 5 years later.
Lee sun Gyun played his role as Prosecutor & second male lead well. I didn’t like the characters of Kang Woo’s two classmates who are obsessively in love with people who don’t return their feelings a familiar theme in Kdramas.
MUSIC: I loved the theme song it fit perfectly with the mood of this drama. There is a sad ballad played in the later episodes which I also liked. There is also a lullaby which Kang Wook sings in a an angry heart rending way when he is in prison (its in episode 5) I found this scene so moving and poignant.
Overall I think this is an underrated drama and I would recommend it to fans of angst-ridden, romantic melodramas. But it is drawn out & felt like there wasn’t “enough meat on the bones.” It could have been so much better if they had more story/dialogue to pad out the 16 episodes or alternatively if it had fewer episodes. Its still well worth a watch though.
A couple of my favourite moments were right at the end of the last episode they show their very first meeting captured in the photograph, linking back to the early episodes of the drama, so sweet. I also loved the way the episodes ended with the red string showing how their fates are intertwined.
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The other review on here already gives you a detailed synopsis of the story etc. so I will not tread over old ground. In a nutshell its a Korean espionage thriller with plenty of action and drama.
The action scenes are some of the best I have seen & I have seen a lot of action films. The acting by the lead guy is understated and very real. Admittedly some of the non-Korean "actors" are not so proficient but I will glance over it on this occasion.
The whole film is shot & edited very well, the pacing of the story is excellent. I watched the whole film with baited breath. A real roller-coaster of a ride which will give you adrenalin highs and leave you emotionally drained by the end.
It reminded me a lot of The Bourne Identity and if you liked that I am certain you will like this too.
My re-watch score is low only because I tend not to re-watch films/dramas as a rule.
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I feel it is my civic duty to write a review warning people to give this drama a wide berth. I started it because of the short episode count and thought it might be cute, enjoyable fluff...... I was wrong. The writing is dire. Its like a 10 year old girl wrote some of these scenarios, its juvenile to the point of being cringeworthy.
**Slight scene spoiler***
There is one scene where the lead female who we understand is in her early 20's has a cold and finds herself abandoned on a busy street with no money. She calls for help and her 2 earnest suitors dash off to rescue her like shes tied to a bomb that will explode in 5 minutes. She could have just flagged down a taxi and made her own way home ...this whole scene was just too embarrassing for words. And before you defend it by saying this sort of stuff happens a lot in Kdramas yes it does but the dialogue and acting made this scene (as well many others) particularly awkward.
The rest of the plot just meanders about and goes nowhere. One aspect that annoyed me the most was the angst was so fake and and engineered.; For example- girl likes boy - boy pretends he doesn't like her back - boy now tells girl he likes her but she rejects him this scenario was repeated like a washing machine set on an endless cycle. There was no real reason or explanation for this back and forth and it rendered the whole trope redundant.
I'm all for dramatic angst but it needs to be done well and in this drama sadly that wasn't the case.
The acting was pretty dismal too but I didn't go into this drama expecting an acting masterclass so I will let that slide.
The music might be the only positive note (pun intended) but most of it wasn't really to my taste. If you like Glee/High School Musical kind of singing then this drama might be for you.
So to recap ....I want my 12 hours back!!!!!!
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