Kdrama Review: Que Sera, Sera (2007)

Que Sera, Sera
케세라, 세라
8/10 ♥♥

My tastes in dramas have surely been wandering. I can't keep up with the hype of modern dramas, and while 2007 isn't technically that long ago, for a Kdrama there's a world of difference between this dark melo of the past and the world of today's trendies, including some of the more recent melodramas I've been able to sit through. So while everything I tend to start these days ends up perpetually 'on hold', something about watching this class act from the not so distant past took me back to the days when I had just discovered Kdramas - when every thing was new and wondrous, when dramas could shock me. Unlike my encounters with the first Kdramas of personal experience though, this one even made me a little bit scared.

Que Sera, Sera is sometimes listed as having one of the darkest, twisted plots you can find. Let me tell you something: it fits the bill. Okay maybe not as far as totally sicko, disgusting, or morbid. There's no gore or psycho killers. But there's no villain! And that's kind of the whole point. Our lead man Kang Tae Joon, played by Shinhwa's Eric Moon, is poor. Our lead girl Eun Su (Jung Yu Mi) is also.. get this.. poor. The second leads are not-exactly-siblings Ji Soo and Joon Hyuk (Lee Eun Soon and Lee Kyu Han respectively), the richer duo, and not a single person in this whole drama is happy.  Poor man falls in love with poor girl, but dates rich girl so he can take care of poor girl's debts. Rich girl gets a fake boyfriend to taunt her not-a-brother former lover, and not-brother genuinely falls in love with poor girl. Seemingly standard fare except the cross mixing of these four's relationships with one another are simultaneously exhilarating, and downright disturbing.

Here's just one small reaction hint: It's a kiss scene. Our girl is running out of a hotel room in the rain, trailed by hot Eric Moon who spins her around violently, and she gives in initiating steamy smooching.. I'm sitting on the floor in front of the TV while all this is happening, and my husband just comes in from work through the front door. He finds me, Rosie, sitting stunned, hands covering my mouth. "Good scene?" he asks with a mistakenly placed smirk. "No!" I answer with a horrendous squawk and burst into tears of rage over the events on screen. When did ever a kiss scene go wrong? You'll find out when you watch Que Sera, Sera.

I still have nightmares.

Note to readers - This drama is kind of amazing. Sure it's old and the cinematography and production values are a bit lacking. The second girl a plastic nose identical to a dozen other same era actresses, and every character in the show will at some point make you want to rip your hair out - except where in most Kdramas where it's cliches and crappy plot twists or character non-development that make you want to end your life, here it's because Que Sera Sera has a raw edge to it that I've rarely seen even in the movies, let alone television. And whether or not you like the characters, the actors' portrayals sell the whole thing, and it's impossible to quit and not wonder what on earth is going to happen to them all.

Read for more some SPOILERLY thoughts rambles on the story, the pairings, and the end.

Jdrama Review: Liar Game (2007)

Liar Game

ライアーゲーム
7/10 ♥

Well I finally got around to watching what is hailed in some circles as a classic:  Japanese manga adaption Liar Game.  Having heard much about it and its cast, I was no ends of hyped up and ready to go. I got to cracking, and 5 hours later in whirlwind fashion I’d watched nearly half the drama! Then I took a break and watched some more.  I haven’t marathoned something like that in nearly a month (Full House 2 really doesn’t count), so finding a drama so highly marathonable was a treat to behold, but once I stopped – I stopped. And wondered. And pondered. Why it was seemingly addicting, but not perfect. Intriguing, though somewhat lacking. But ultimately, why I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen. 

The Plot

Ignorantly naïve and honest-to-a-fault Kanzaki Nao (played by Toda Erika) is duped into playing a mysteriously organized ‘Liar Game’ after receiving 100 million yen (or $1,000,000), which she must either keep safe from her opponent and his 100 million yen, or steal his to win the game. She is of course dangerously out of her league, until it’s brought to her attention that a former con-man and genius swindler Akiyama Shinichi (played by the gorgeous Matsuda Shota) might be persuaded to help her out.  Enticed with pity, Akiyama teams up with our ridiculously gullible heroine as they are forced to play, and keep playing a series of rounds, each with higher stakes and more cunning, villainous opponents. 

The Cool Part

The games themselves are a logician’s masterwork.  No twist is foreseeable, and no puzzle unsolvable to the brilliantly minded Akiyama-san.  If you like sitting for half an hour – or two - in complete suspense wondering how on earth they will ever manage to win each round through sheer guile, biting your fingernails in anticipation of victory – well that might explain why it’s so highly marathonable.  Matsuda Shota plays his part to perfection as the ultimate silent type: an analyst of humans, ever noting the depths of lies and secrets, and calculating every possible move before it happens. You’ll find yourself sitting in absolutely stillness waiting for his manipulations to become clear and work their magic.

The Boring Part

You get the feeling after a while that Akiyama-san will always be there to save the day. And then, the suspense becomes merely repetitive.  Having watched half the drama, the pattern for each match firmly memorized, and my brain starting to unravel to keep up with each game’s rules and intricacies, I found myself spacing out.  Fortunately, the drama anticipates just such an outcome. Get lost trying to understand the all the players’ plots and maneuverings?  No sweat! Before the game ends, there’ll be at least a 20 minute step by step account of how everything happened, and why.

The Real Crux of the Matter

Games and plotting aside, there’s something very unique about Liar Game’s premise.  The story isn’t merely about forcing poor innocent, indebted people to play a game, practically to the death, financial death.  Liar Game instead strives to uncover the heart of human nature itself.  As the game’s masterful creator intones:  “Humans are willing to betray each other in order to survive.  Therefore, what’s wrong with deceiving others from the start or living faithfully for your own desires? That’s being human.”

 
The world he paints in one of black and white, where the black-hearted will always win, and the weak and pitiful will always lose.  It’s the cunning versus the trusting, and the pack against the loner, not necessarily evil versus good.  To reach the top, humans should or will be capable of stepping on anyone and anything; survival of the smartest, when the risk is losing everything.  You lie or you lose. 

In Kanzaki Nao, we not only have the most gullible and trusting character ever written; she is an allegory of trust and honesty, absolutely incapable of lying. To the exasperation of the Liar Game Tournament office (or perhaps to their increasing interest), Nao refuses to adhere to their rules.  She tries again and again to prove that with teamwork, everyone can win and advance to the next round, maybe not with a profit, but at least debt free. The catch is, if Nao wins, it will disprove everything our Liar Game creator believes in.  But for how long Nao can keep the players working together is the only true unknown. It’s a question not even solved by the end of drama.  Another season and several movie specials follow Season 1. 

Conclusion

I actually managed to improve my appreciation for the drama in the course of writing this article.  It’s hard to fault Liar Game for any real plot holes, especially when it’s obvious that the entire story has purpose beyond plain entertainment, fun, games or romance.  Are all the concepts expertly done? Not always.  Is it a little cheesy and overly moralistic at times? Absolutely. Will this be my favorite drama of all times, or will I ever rewatch it? No, and most likely not.  But the characters are generally good, and well acted for their roles.  Matsuda Shota is fantastic to watch, especially when he gets his game face on.  I’d like to say that Erika Toda didn’t overly impress me with her acting, but when her character is an allegory, and mostly unrealistic – that’s something I just can’t make a case out of disliking. Did it detract a little bit from my enjoyment overall? Sure, but then it was a fun ride and eventually I will continue the story, and finish the game another day.

Kdrama Review: Seoul's Sad Song (2007)



Seoul’s Sad Song/Conspiracy in the Court

한성별곡
5/10

I must say, I was really looking forward to this drama.  Hearing it win great acclaim amongst a cultish following (despite the low ratings when it was on air), and I was rearing to go.  Plus, it was short! Only 8 episodes long.  Seemed like a quick boost for my dwindling drama-watching habits.  For a quick recap, I’ve only managed to complete some extremely light K-drama entertainment of late (Flower Boy Ramyun Shop and Full House Take 2), and the endlessly long Flames of Desire is fantastic, but highly un-marathonable.  

This is where fusion-sageuk-thriller Seoul’s Sad Song was supposed to come in and save the day.  Only, it didn’t.  What on earth happened!?

First I was lost in the history of the era.  I’m a history graduate though, so that’s never really stopped me before.  Quick Wikipedia checklist of the drama’s main overarching political period? Check.  Okay, then they lost me with the economics of era.  Mercantile affairs, and the political ramifications of possibly re-locating the capital?  I guess I can sort of see how that could affect things.  The problem with the drama’s plot-line however, is that all these threads (politics, and history and economics  are interwoven with great, gaping thread lines around the show’s main “conspiracy” plot, and haphazardly intermingled with the love triangle/square.  I mean, I know Seoul in historical times was small, and everyone who’s anyone probably knows everyone worth knowing, but me, the viewer, had no idea who anybody was, or which side they were on.  For an 8 episode drama, there was so much going on that I basically couldn’t keep up with my list of who’s who. 

At least I figured out who these guys were... by the end of episode 1.

I think Seoul’s Sad Song was hinting at some loftier aspirations:  namely, that not every sageuk drama out there is just about the king and his ministers.  The welfare of the Joseon people, the advancement of well-deserving baseborn officials, and the dreams of these types of people also matter and can make a difference.  Unfortunately, all this was lost on me.  For a conspiracy driven thriller, this whodunit story was chock full of inspirational back stories (that should have warmed me to the characters), chilling twists (that moved me to boredom), and enough metaphorical court language that literally drove me to tears. The following example comes right as a BIG revelation surrounding the king’s secret will has just been unveiled: 

A : “When the wintry gales swelter us, he said that brushes would be swayed by the wind.”

B: “So… did you find any unyielding brushes?”

A: “In the palace, there was not a single one left.”

C: “You insolent slattern! How dare you mutter such insidious drivel!?”

You insolent writers, how dare you not write more clearly!?!

Maybe I’m lazy, or just plain incompetent, but everything in this drama seemed wasted on me. Though, if there’s anything I’ve learned from watching this sageuk (and others for that matter), it’s that women in the palace are more to be feared than the men.  Also, by the state of the practically non-existent but completely soundproof-less walls on traditional Korean homes (of rich and poor alike), it’s amazing that any secrets are ever kept. 

Did I say I hated everything about this drama? Well, it wasn’t all bad. The scenery was nice, I sincerely liked parts of the OST, and this dude below was fun to watch as well.  Oh, he’s no big character; just a henchman who followed around after his master, brandishing his sword at each enemy to cross his path.  Maybe I liked him, because unlike everyone else, he rarely spoke more than two words, so he never had anything to confuse me about.  

Glare at me all you want, just please, don't speak and ruin all of my fantasies.