If I were to describe this story, I'd say, imagine tossing a stone into a pond. This drama is about the ripples extending outwards from the stone; but not only are we looking at these ripples, we are also prompted to ask ourselves why the stone was tossed in the first place. It's of interest to note that the title is translated literally as, "The Distance Between Us and Evil," which really says a lot, because a major theme in this series is examining the distance between labels: good/evil, victim/perpetrator. In the end, the story serves as a wakeup call for society, a reminder that we all tread between the lines.
I would recommend this to those who prefer serious, heavy dramas that bring important topics to the table and enjoy character studies. This is produced by HBO Asia, so those with HBO subscriptions may be able to access it; if not, hopefully subtitles surface soon.
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After watching "我們與惡的距離" (The World Between Us), I mostly feel impressed. Impressed because I'm familiar with the building blocks of fictional stories, and I think this is one of the best I've seen in years!
Right from the start, I was shocked (as in upset), then surprised, quickly angry/frustrated after that and eventually reached some form of acceptance, and from that point on, mostly cruised until the end with the occasional bout of wonder and surprise, but always, always impressed.
Most of the main characters (except for the young man suffering from schizophrenia) had flaws, qualities and circumstances that fueled their growth in a way that made sense. They sometimes surprised or frustrated me, but I loved each and everyone of them and really enjoyed the journey they each went through, even if it was painful at times.
Ironically, my favorite character is the one played by - arguably - one of the least talented actress/actor of the six I have in mind, but she was perfect for it.
I could write a lot more about this story, about how it portrayed human frailty so well, how it showed what makes us great and how small we can get. About how choosing to set many of the main characters in the world of the media was brilliant in this day and age. I could go over all that, but I don't want to bore you with things that are best left for you to discover...
I will leave you with a few more words on the casting, an example of character growth and a note on my favorite character.
The casting was excellent, and that includes supporting characters. Yes, most characters are attractive, but the type of beauty works for each.
Just to give you an idea of what I mean, physically swapping the husband working for the Herald and the lawyer wouldn't have worked as well, though the two actors have the needed dramatic range.
Similarly, the soft and slightly plump pampered young lady works, just like the thin, sophisticated, physically assertive female news director does.
About the pampered young woman, it was fascinating to see how her mother (so astute), her father (with his narrow view about providing) and her husband (with his moral compass) all helped her - through their very different opinions and actions - get where she needed to be. And this isn't the most impressive growth in the story...
Unlike other characters whose lives were tragically affected before the events depicted in the story, my favorite character's world comes crashing in front of us. Although a hardworking person, there was some naivete/simplicity about her, and that gradually gets crushed. She digs into herself to find a way out, while pulling others up with her. In that, she's also different.
The story wasn't perfect, but its flaws can easily be overlooked, which is why it will stay with me for a long time.
It is a pity though that because of the way media markets work, this one will not be as widely distributed as some other better known but less compelling Korean or Chinese alternatives...
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This review may contain spoilers
The world between us -- how different are you and I? Are we really that different?
I'm really starting to fall in love with Taiwan dramas.... Firstly, their drama titles are so meaningful. The Chinese and English titles do not have the same meaning. But when you combine both meanings together, you get a deeper understanding of what the drama is about. So this drama's Chinese title is 我们与恶的距离 which means "the distance between us and evil". English title "The World Between Us" tells us the drama would cover on some life issues, on what separates/ divides you and I, and we will see at least 2 POVs. When we combine both meanings together, it is really saying "What are the differences between you and I? Are we as innocent of wrong-doings (evil) as we thought?" There is a line in this drama: “ 到底什么是好人，什么是坏人，你有标准答案吗？" What defines a good person, what defines a bad person, is there a standard answer?The basic premise of the plot: an on-going trial to decide the fate of a cinema mass-shooting murderer. The convicted murderer has refused psychiatric assessment, which his lawyer has been pursuing for. So the lawyer tried to reach out to the father of one of the victims (who is the CEO of a media company), and the murderer's parents, hoping to get their support to get the public to consider on the murderer's mental health and to get the parents to persuade the murderer to agree to psychiatric assessment. From there, it goes into the lives of these different groups of people:- the victims' families, the murderer's family, and the lawyer representing the murderer.
The life issues that this drama explores are:- 1) mental health sufferers and what are (some of) the obstacles that they face 2) the damage caused due to a sudden, senseless loss of a family member, and how to recover from this 3) what the family of a mass murderer has to deal with, and how they can move on from it 4) and the stress that the community lawyer and his family has to face, due to defending someone who is perceived to be ‘better off dead'.
It is amazing how well the director and scriptwriters manage to pack in such heavy topics in just 10 episodes. The script is very well-written and plot developments are not exaggerated and with good pacing. The dialogues are natural and with the good acting, makes this a very convincing watch. Initially it felt like a documentary, but by ep 2 or so, you would be gripped into the story and couldn't care less if the cinematography is not as stylish as some other dramas.... I must praise the writing on the media work part: the setting, camera work and terminologies in the dialogues are very professional. I do not work in the media industry so I do not know how accurate was the portrayal, but it is enough to make me believe in the characters **thumbs up**
So why am I rating this only 9.5? Around ep 7 or 8, the pacing kind of slowdown a bit, there was some drag and a bromance scene that I felt was unnecessary, hence the 0.5 point deduction. It is a happy conclusion, everything works out for everyone. Although a bit too 'neat', it gives positive energy into an otherwise heavy theme.
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A show that makes you think for once
I REALLY loved the world between us! Most of my experiences with Taiwanese dramas have been on the substantially lighter side (family dramas/romance with heavy dosages of comedy), so it was a much-welcome change in pace. And not only does it stand out amongst its own kind- Asian dramas in general hardly ever make you feel uncomfortably aware of the kinds of prejudice their own cultures carry, particularly towards the mentally ill. And when they are represented, those characters are always unreasonably attractive, perhaps to still appeal to a wider audience. What that does, though, is prevent said audience from being able to come to terms with those who actually have mental illnesses in real life and simply look like us. This drama really did a great job of overcoming that obstacle, as well as honing in on that discomfort of the "ugly" truths in society and the underlying issues with our values and our perceptions. It dealt with some really deep topics, such as grief, overcoming trauma, relationships, the way media shapes our perception, etc. And the acting was top-notch!However, the ending did feel a tad too neat and some of the resolutions too quickly resolved. Although they did show the importance of mental health, I do wish they had shown more of the psychiatric/therapy side of things, especially since it's essentially taboo in our culture. But to be fair these weren't huge issues. I still think this show was really well-done (loved the concept for the opening scenes/title sequence). Highly recommend for anyone craving a fast-paced, thought-provoking story.
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As said in other reviews the drama is very thought provoking.
It questions the values of society : justice, family, love, health...
The World Between Us reminds me somewhat of one of my favorites TV series : The Wire. The two series are very different but they share a similar inspiration I think.
Although some actors are idols, the show is nothing glamourous : it is filmed almost like a documentary.
From the perspective of an european person, one can only wonder if the taiwanese society is realistically pictured in this drama because of important cultural differences : how the media and public opinion hold the family responsible, the death penalty, the social pressure in general...
In the show we just follow the characters and watch them overcome the hurdles life throws at them.
The pace is steady, there is no great intrigue or resolution, nor is it necessary in this show.
Every character is touching and realistic. The acting is on point, the writing is flawless.
The music is okay and adds just the necessary emotional touch (If you are like me, that will help you cry as in any good asian drama).
In short this drama is a gem and a must watch, in a genre on its own : entertaining but serious and thought provoking.
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One of the best Taiwanese drama that I've watched
I don't understand why this has a low rating in this website. I personally think that this series is a masterpiece. I don't usually watch this kind of drama but this one is an exception. After watching episode 1 it got me ask myself a lot of things, every episodes always leave me with tears. This is definitely one of my favorite drama of all time. I'm not really good at leaving reviews but I think everyone should try to watch this one. The actors are 10/10, actually everything is 10/10 for me, even the OST of this drama. The series made me cry in every episodes, it made me ask myself, it makes me look at different respectives. No wonder that this has such a high rating in Taiwan and China, this is absolutely a masterpiece.Was this review helpful to you?
Touched my soul
First let's discuss about the name of thedrama. The world between us is a
poorly translated name. The good
translation of the name is " the
difference between us and evil" and I
think that is such a thoughtful name cuz
it really suits the drama. The drama
indirectly talks about how we should
not give in to our evil side. Every one
has a evil side and a good side and that
we should listen to to the good side not
like the killer two years ago, who gave
in to his bad side and chased so many
problems. The drama is like
contradicting the difference between
the murderer and his victims and how a
lot of murderer are themselves victims
and how many people become the
victims of social media and media. It's
just a great representation of that and
the name suits so much. You'd
understand if you watch the drama.
Also did I mention that I love this drama?
Like really really love it! Lol ok so on a
serious note, as I mentioned before this
drama is a serious one. Like really
serious one. It doesn’t have any kind of
romance so if you want one please
watch something else. This drama is
about the lives of the victim and their
families and murderer’s family and the
struggles they have to face, the
struggles people with mental illness
have to face, how the media shows only
bad things about mentally ill people and
a very important question; should we
forgive a killer just because he has
mental illness?
The drama shows how hard it is to live
in Taiwan if your son is a killer. I just
don’t understand. What is their fault if
their kid became a killer? What is their
fault if their kid was mentally ill? They
didn’t wanted him to be a killer! As the
mother said in the drama “no parent
would raise their child for 20 years just
to make him a killer”. I know that
parents are supposed to teach their
kids manners and all but I don’t think
its their fault that their child chose to
be a killer. They raised him like a
normal child so why do they have to
face all the hate that they get from the
media, the people and the victim’s
family. I can understand that the
victim families resent them but why
do people bully them and make it for
them to live? Like its so unfair and the
worst part about it is this happens in
real life too. I can’t say about every
country or every case but this has had
happened in real life too and its sick
how people blame the parents if the
child did something wrong. I am really
glad that the drama decided to show
us their feelings, their emotions, how
they never ever wanted their child to be
like this and how much regret they
have. Every day they try to over-analyze
and wonder what they did wrong in
raising their child and what they should
have done. The sister too wonders how
her brother was just like a normal kid
at first and how he changed after that
and how she could’ve stopped him
from doing such a sin. All those
feelings they showed us. It made me
cry so like prepare your tissues lol
The other thing they is show how much
pain a mother feels when she loose her
child, the regret, the resentment and
the sorrow. The pain of not being able
to let go of the past. The drama shows
her emotions very well.
Another thing the drama showed which
is major thing this drama is the life
about mentally ill people and how hard
it is for them to live in this society.
Especially because the media portrays
them us killer and us public simply
believes them and starts to hate on
them but the truth us far away from
that. Not every mentally ill person is a
killer. According to me and this drama
they are strong and brave people who
are able to live even though it is so
hard. They are truly inspiring and yet
media label them as bad people. The
drama talked about this issue in detail.
As how if media stops making them
the villain then it would probably be
nice and that if the government and us
people try to understand them how
better the world would become. How
we should try to understand them cuz
they deserve it guys… they truly do.
This is one of the few drama I’ve seen
that has shown mental illness and
schizophornia so correctly. For the
people who don’t know what
schizophornia is, let me explain.
Schizophornia is of different types and
people with this disease has split mind
and can't differentiate between the
reality and the imagination inside their
head. In simple language, the people
who have schizophornia hears voices
inside their head that aren’t real and
often times they tell them bad things
like “you are useless” and “ you should
die”etc etc… they get hallucinations too
so a lot of people think that they are
talking to ghosts which isn’t true. It is
hard to explain the disease through
words but the disease is really scary.
You can click Here to get more
information, I got it from here too.
So I hope you have the slightest idea of
how scary schizophornia is and the
chances of getting cured are very less.
Wang she in the drama really explained
it well ( no wonder he is my twin lol )
but I don’t wanna spoil it for you guys
so watch it for yourself. The drama
represented the disease so well.
Honestly the drama is a whole package
of things I wanted the world, normal
people to know. Most of the normal
people treat mentally ill people like
trash and gets scared of them. The
drama in depth explains how they
should be treated by us and how mental
illness shouldn’t be a taboo it is,
specially in asia.
Now the last question
: should we forgive a killer just
because he/ she is mentally ill?
Personally, I think no. no matter what the
situation is I think a crime is a crime
and he/she should not be forgiven no
matter what but… as wang she in the
drama said, giving punishment or
putting a mentally ill person in jail is
useless. A jail is a place for people who
have done crimes, it’s a place to make
them a better person but how just how
can a mentally ill person become better
when he/she doesn’t even realizes they
have done a crime! Their life would be
the same inside/outside the prison. The
main difference is that if they received
better treatment, they can be cured,
once they are cured put them in jail! No
objection from me and wang she but
like putting a sick person in jail is just
pointless. Of course that is entirely my
opinion and we can have different
opinions. As in the drama, song quoa
an said in the drama “ I wanna forgive
you but I can’t, I just can’t, I am so sorry
I am not that noble” yep that’s me. So
the answer is that a killer shouldn’t be
forgiven no matter what. ( that's my and
only my opinion )
Overall the drama is one of the best I’ve
seen. Yes its depressing but please do
watch it cuz the life lesson it gives are
amazing. I love this drama 10000!!!
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Thoughtful and heart-breaking
Wow. This drama is pretty much flawless, from the acting, the plot developments, the pacing...everything just felt so real, whether it was showing grief, anger, relief, determination, fear, etc. Every scene of this drama was just so filled with emotion, whether it was a fight scene or just a conversation between two friends.I'm usually not a huge fan of ensemble dramas because characters are covered unequally but that wasn't the situation with this drama at all. Every character was super fleshed out, both in terms of how they were linked to the shooting and who they were generally as people. I still had my favorite subplots — Li Da-Chih and Sung Chiao-An were undoubtedly the two most intriguing characters with the most unique relationship dynamic, and seeing their character development happen so realistically, so subtly, so painfully, was amazing.
If you're the type of viewer who wants answers (this drama introduces some questions about the shooter's motives) then this might not be satisfying for you — but if you let this drama to do what it's meant to, which is focus on the aftermath and the grief and the emotions, then this is an amazing watch.
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Ready to face the dark side of life?
This drama will open your eyes and mind to the real world of psychological killings. Acting is superb. Storyline is riveting! The stories of victims and perpetrators are so well portrayed, moving you from empathy for one group to blind retribution for the other. Closure for everyone is nicely done at the last episode giving us “hope is beyond the clouds”..... Love the daughter of the SBC mother. She will steal your heart with her smile and for her no-nonsense words. Watch and be educated! Watch and cry!Was this review helpful to you?
Definitely worth the watch!!
This was an excellent series. I usually don't watch this type of series - specifically mass shootings, as the stories covered in the news are so upsetting and makes me unsettled. But this is truly something that everyone should watch. So I highly recommend it.The story was well thought out by the writer to provide maximum impact within the 10 episodes. For one I think this was just right as more episodes would have taken away the crucial points and message for everyone, be it for the victims family/friends, the family/friends of the killer, the staff at news agencies, the lawyers and the doctors, etcetera etcetera. And of course more episodes would have been more emotionally draining with more crying etcetera etcetera...
A perspective from almost all parties involved which gives us a better understanding of what people go through in such difficult circumstances.
The acting was great and actually felt like a recording of actual events. Each character, in whatever situation was chosen perfectly in my opinion which includes the supporting cast.
The Production and Visual effects were also well done.
Ost and sound effects: Must be honest and say that the story and acting was so compelling that I can't even remember whether there were any songs:)
Rewatch value is actually very low, I learnt a lot but won't necessarily rewatch as I cried too much. But this shouldn't be detrimental in deciding whether to watch it or not. This is just my personal feelings regarding the emotionally draining content. Still a must watch.
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