Unlike those popular Korean dramas, this one doesn't get much Internet coverage. If this is a measure for its lukewarm reception, then it is underrated.
Though it is another Cinderella story flooding the Korean television screen, and the heroine is no more than a vase as an secretary, this one stands out from its competitors with a tight script and consistent performance from the leading couple. Though it is a case of selling old medicine in a new bottle, it works.
September 26, 2011
Women in the Sun
Despite some oversights in the script, this is a great drama on thirst for love, sibling rivalry, revenge and redemption, with convincing performance from all on board.
A media icon, the heroine has everything one could ever dreamt of: intelligence, glamour, an affluent and intellectual background, and engaged to a handsome and successful acquisition professional. She is also a role model for her unusually strong work ethics. Behind the scene though, she looks pensive, sad and insecure, with secrets to hide; not only she is adopted, she had, 20 years ago, tried and succeeded in abandoning the daughter of her foster parents, the cause of her well-disguised guilt, self-imposed isolation, and a dedication to redemption by way of devoting herself to work and good cause. Despite being engaged, she never shares her secrets with her fiancé, whom she barely sees much thanks to their devotion to their careers.
Far away from the spotlight and in a rare moment of being her true self, down and lonesome, she is chanced upon by an expat when paying a farewell visit her dying mother in Hong Kong, and through him, she is reunited, unknowingly, with her sister she would never like to meet again. The sisters hit it off nearly straightaway, and soon the real identity of this new friend is unveiled and from then on it is a string of events that see the role model of all Korean schoolgirls sparing no tricks to stop that truth from being known by anyone.
What is most amazing is when the truth is discovered by the victim and later shared with her orphan friend, all he asks of her is but forgiveness on the evil sister; he accepts the impostor unconditionally and the drama finishes with hints that they are a happy and contented couple. On the other hand, the other couple - the victim and her love interest since childhood, are separated again, as if they don't deserve to have the same blessing from the audience.
Hats off to Kim Ji-soo who also stars in This Charming Girl. It isn't a typical 'adorable' figure one normally come across in Korean drama. She carries the role competently. The scene stealer though is Lee Ha-na who plays the victim, especially in the second half of the series.
A media icon, the heroine has everything one could ever dreamt of: intelligence, glamour, an affluent and intellectual background, and engaged to a handsome and successful acquisition professional. She is also a role model for her unusually strong work ethics. Behind the scene though, she looks pensive, sad and insecure, with secrets to hide; not only she is adopted, she had, 20 years ago, tried and succeeded in abandoning the daughter of her foster parents, the cause of her well-disguised guilt, self-imposed isolation, and a dedication to redemption by way of devoting herself to work and good cause. Despite being engaged, she never shares her secrets with her fiancé, whom she barely sees much thanks to their devotion to their careers.
Far away from the spotlight and in a rare moment of being her true self, down and lonesome, she is chanced upon by an expat when paying a farewell visit her dying mother in Hong Kong, and through him, she is reunited, unknowingly, with her sister she would never like to meet again. The sisters hit it off nearly straightaway, and soon the real identity of this new friend is unveiled and from then on it is a string of events that see the role model of all Korean schoolgirls sparing no tricks to stop that truth from being known by anyone.
What is most amazing is when the truth is discovered by the victim and later shared with her orphan friend, all he asks of her is but forgiveness on the evil sister; he accepts the impostor unconditionally and the drama finishes with hints that they are a happy and contented couple. On the other hand, the other couple - the victim and her love interest since childhood, are separated again, as if they don't deserve to have the same blessing from the audience.
Hats off to Kim Ji-soo who also stars in This Charming Girl. It isn't a typical 'adorable' figure one normally come across in Korean drama. She carries the role competently. The scene stealer though is Lee Ha-na who plays the victim, especially in the second half of the series.
September 09, 2011
The good, the bad, the weird
With two of the best Korean actors (Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun) on board, the film, on paper, appealed to me instantly. Yet like a lot of films with high profile actors and yet following a strict genre framework, it didn't work for me. It was a poor copycat of an typical western. And the character played by Lee was a total failure. This was particularly poignant after watching his subtle performance in The Harmonium in My Memory barely 24 hours ago.
September 08, 2011
The harmonium in my memory
I have seen her in The Housemaid, then, My Dear Enemy. It was the early stage of my encounter with Korean media products, and since her character in The Housemaid was a bit confusing to say the lest, I regarded her one of those fading actresses who conveniently resorted to nude scenes to boost her career. She won me over in the sleeper My Dear Enemy, however. Compared to her many colleagues with immaculate skin and an attractive defined face, she seems 'plain' as a leading lady yet strong enough to carry a film through to success.
It was however her earlier work, The Harmonium in My Memory (1999) that opened my eye to her versatile talents. Here, she was a shy yet headstrong overage village girl who fell for a young trainee teacher from Seoul, and would do anything to turn his head and win his affection. With hindsight, her range and composure reminds me of Isabelle Huppert who is never shy of taking a complicated or even despicable role.
It was not just her natural performance that made this film such a warm and enjoyable experience. Lee Byung-hun, one of the most versatile Korean actors, was in a role similar to his later ones in Once in a Summer (a university student in a remote village), and Bunjee Jumping of Their Own (a school teacher who discovers his hidden self through a student). His underrated performance was just right for the film.
It was however her earlier work, The Harmonium in My Memory (1999) that opened my eye to her versatile talents. Here, she was a shy yet headstrong overage village girl who fell for a young trainee teacher from Seoul, and would do anything to turn his head and win his affection. With hindsight, her range and composure reminds me of Isabelle Huppert who is never shy of taking a complicated or even despicable role.
It was not just her natural performance that made this film such a warm and enjoyable experience. Lee Byung-hun, one of the most versatile Korean actors, was in a role similar to his later ones in Once in a Summer (a university student in a remote village), and Bunjee Jumping of Their Own (a school teacher who discovers his hidden self through a student). His underrated performance was just right for the film.
September 07, 2011
If you die before me, I will kill you
This is possibly the best quote from the Korean film More than Blue.
The story is related twice - first from the eyes of the dying, and apparently lovelorn K, then that of blissfully 'innocent' Cream. While the structure might have taken inspiration from the 2002 French film He Loves Me, He Loves Me not, it feels refreshing and gripping as it is in the latter part we realise how little both K and we know about Cream, who otherwise might have appeared heartlessly indifferent to K's care, affection and love. The scene following her accidental discovery of K's fatal illness is most heartbreaking: there she is standing on her own in a cold day - with the background dissolving to darkness, and in her front, a car is driving away with K looking back with her deceased mother and sister.
More than Blue provides ample room for Kwon Sang-woo to showcase his versatility as an actor in this considerate and gentle character K. His confident performance has certainly added emotional depth to the sad romance between two orphans.
The story is related twice - first from the eyes of the dying, and apparently lovelorn K, then that of blissfully 'innocent' Cream. While the structure might have taken inspiration from the 2002 French film He Loves Me, He Loves Me not, it feels refreshing and gripping as it is in the latter part we realise how little both K and we know about Cream, who otherwise might have appeared heartlessly indifferent to K's care, affection and love. The scene following her accidental discovery of K's fatal illness is most heartbreaking: there she is standing on her own in a cold day - with the background dissolving to darkness, and in her front, a car is driving away with K looking back with her deceased mother and sister.
More than Blue provides ample room for Kwon Sang-woo to showcase his versatility as an actor in this considerate and gentle character K. His confident performance has certainly added emotional depth to the sad romance between two orphans.
September 06, 2011
She is on duty
Watched She is on Duty last night starring two of my favourite Korean actors, Kim Sun-ah and Gong Yoo, and was saddened by how an underdeveloped script could 'bury' one's acting talents.
Made in the same year that would shoot her to international stardom by television drama My Lovely Sam-soon, the film invited comparison to Kim's performance between the two. Although different in profession, the two roles were similar in characters; brash and determined to get their ways. However while she was pulling off one after another comic moments in the drama, she seemed half-hearted in her performance in the film, albeit with identical body languages. It was a crying shame to see an actress with such immaculate comic timing was acting like a dummy in the film.
Gong Yoo, who had mesmerising chemistry with his leading lady Yoon Eun-hye in Coffee Prince, also seemed a bit absent-minded and at times appeared to be waiting for the cue to start acting.
It is a bigger surprise to learn that I had never taken note of his role in My Tutor Friend, which I enjoyed a lot, especially the first half. There he is simply overshadowed by the unbeatable and quirky leading couple played brilliantly by Kwon Sang-woo and Kim Ha-neul.
Made in the same year that would shoot her to international stardom by television drama My Lovely Sam-soon, the film invited comparison to Kim's performance between the two. Although different in profession, the two roles were similar in characters; brash and determined to get their ways. However while she was pulling off one after another comic moments in the drama, she seemed half-hearted in her performance in the film, albeit with identical body languages. It was a crying shame to see an actress with such immaculate comic timing was acting like a dummy in the film.
Gong Yoo, who had mesmerising chemistry with his leading lady Yoon Eun-hye in Coffee Prince, also seemed a bit absent-minded and at times appeared to be waiting for the cue to start acting.
It is a bigger surprise to learn that I had never taken note of his role in My Tutor Friend, which I enjoyed a lot, especially the first half. There he is simply overshadowed by the unbeatable and quirky leading couple played brilliantly by Kwon Sang-woo and Kim Ha-neul.
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