Can clichés soar?
Kudos to the creators for putting an elderly man in the front seat of a major drama. We need more stories featuring older people. And it's great to make a story that breaks gender stereotypes, especially in such a patriarchal society. However, that's pretty much where the praise ends.Unfortunately, the story is nothing but clichés and predictableness. It wouldn't have been so terrible if the challenges faced by each character were presented with more depth, but on top of the clichés, the script was so generic that it seemed like every character was saying the same thing over and over again. Every person was simply there to tell us to "do what we truly want to do". Our ballerinos, the former doctor, the failed politician, the ex-football player, the white collar worker, his counsellor wife, and their daughter seeking her first job, had the same challenges and the same script.
Of course, Park In Hwan as our grandpa ballerino is the obvious highlight. Despite the terrible script, he delivered each line with wisdom and quiet, thoughtful strength. His talent came out but he deserved so much better material to showcase what he has to offer. Song Kang as our young ballerino Chae Rok was directed to play his part with too much annoying angst at the beginning and then his transformation didn't even get to breathe. One day he just changes, and the transformation of the entire cast is presented in the same way. There is no real progression. Kim Kwon as the blonde haired punk did well too, despite the shoddy script and lack of dimension in his character. The scene where he is leaning over Chae Rok in the stairwell gave us a glimpse of his acting talents. Finally, the relationship between ballet instructors Seung Joo and So Ri was the only one that provided a tiny bit of interest, but only a few drops.
I started watching this one night when I was absolutely exhausted and wanted something that demanded nothing from me. However, the lack of depth and the absolutely terrible script made it hard to get through. In the end, the talent and time was wasted even though I did smile and tear up a few times. And watching the professional dancers was a treat.
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Now THIS is how you direct, write and produce an outstanding show!
This is by far one of the BEST Kdrama shows ive ever seen. The storyline was unique, warm, engaging and cute lol the acting superb! Wow wow wow! Hands down this show needs to be at the top.The storyline is so heart warming and the character development is so good! The pacing of the show keeps you engaged and I love the relationship between Mr Sim and Chae Rok. Even the cute little things Mr Sim does like his exercising (the funniest moment was when he is at the park on that swinging thing lol) and the loving things he does for his kids.
If you are contemplating watching this, watch it you wont be disappointed!
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Such a Beautiful Masterpiece
First of all, I am not someone who writes a review for any drama or movie I watch, but I felt the strong need to express my emotions for this beautiful masterpiece.Where should I start, a very heartwarming, tear-jerking story about how we all need a Guardian Angle someone to support us as we follow our dreams. Someone to simply tell you "Don't worry I got you". The relationship of Chae-rok and Harabuji is simply like that or to be precise this is kind of the main theme of the story.
This feels like random rambling than a proper review but that's what this drama does to you it glows your heart in the warmest way possible.
All characters main and supporting have a story to tell including the anti-hero characters. I guess that's the beauty of this show.
One more last episode is remaining I hope it will still glow my heart tomorrow.
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We absolutely don't deserve this masterpiece.
This show is such a hidden gem. I cannot even explain it to you how much it means to me. I cried in almost every episode because how deeply it moved me.My favourite characters are obviously Duk Cheol and Chae Rok. Their relationship is so beautifully crafted and every character had such a good character development, especially Beom (the blonde guy) and Seong San.
This show... damn..
Words can't explain how beautiful this show is.
I also loved Hae Nam's character. In the beginning, she was against of Duk Cheol doing ballet but when she finally accepts it, it is the most beautiful thing ever. She's so supportive of her husband; she respects his dreams so much and it's so lovely. I loved Seong Hwan, Eunho and her mom.
Also, we don't deserve to see Song Kang in a ballet costume. He looks like a literal God. It's so cute and adorable that by the end of the show, Chae Rok becomes a family member ❤
I recommend this show to everyone. It's such a masterpiece ?
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Seeking the chance without regret
Beautifully written and directed tale on chasing after your dreams and hopes regardless of external factors, whenever they are your age, family, social expectations or past demons keeping you away from taking that chance.The true star of the show was Shim Deok Chul played by Park In Hwan. Both, how the character was written, and then portrayed on screen made me as a viewer relate to him, empathize with his journey and root for his success even though, practically speaking, we had close to nothing in common. The story was so touching and beautiful that it left me dehydrated because of all the crying (not all the tears were sad).
Acting wise, I had a small beef with Song Kang - his emotional scenes were just… not emotional. The sadness, fear, loss, frustration his character was supposed to feel, were not translated via his acting on screen.
Sadly, Shim Deok Chul arc was both the blessing and the curse of the drama. All the other plot lines felt flat when compared - there were just too many characters that at the end of the day, were relaying the same message. Dropping some characters from the script, and allowing the rest to present better structured and developed plot lines could have potentially elevated the quality of the overall storytelling.
The production quality was, dare I say, perfect. Props to Song Kang double and the director for filming the ballet scenes in a way that was consistent and it did not feel like I’m watching two completely different people doing completely separate takes of the same scene.
The OST is one big bop, having both slower and sentimental songs and faster tracks.
Overall, it was a ride that, at times, was tough to emotionally deal with, but still worth all the tears. It did not leave me completely depressed, as I was fearing, taking into consideration the used themes. What I’ve got was a beautiful conclusion to a beautiful story.
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Magnificently written, directed and performed by all involved.
I can't praise this drama enough. It's a beautifully warm-hearted, soft and cuddly film, with each character given a chance to soar. Even the unsympathetic, hateful ones - or those who at the start seem that way - are revealed as human, with their own strengths and struggles.I seldom ever ever ever award 'marks' this high, but this deserves everything.
It seems to be making less of a splash than other dramas just now, but deserves much more notice. Perhaps because it's shorter, perhaps because there's nothing 'dramatic' going on, perhaps it's the age(s) of the cast.
I don't care. It's honest, emotional, and inspiring.
It may not be flashy (it's not) but it's still a jewel.
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A VERY GREAT SLOW BURN (a review from an amateur but really do love kdramas)
I knew this kdrama would break me and when it did I still was very emotional about it. This was one of the kdramas that would leave you feeling empty when it ended. I know that because it's what happened to me (and still is happening to me wtf, let me move on pls).The main characters and their growth is everything. The OSTs suit to every scene. The cinematography?? Pretty AF. Seriously, this series was just very well-thought, directed, edited and shot.
I loved it all but (this is a good but okay dw) episode 8 made me cry so bad, like ugghhhh the build up to that??? Was f*ckin amazing!!! Now that is what you call a great slow burn. Song Kang doing ballet in that particular episode is now forever engraved in my mind.
Seriously, if you've watched A Moment To Remember and you loved how it emotional it was, then this kdrama is for you. Actually, if you're into slow-paced kdramas that is emotional and the characters have character development and simply a quality content kdrama, this is for you.
I can't express well my love for this kdrama and put it into words but it really was great. I loved it. It was perfect.
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This review may contain spoilers
Honestly, this drama caught me off guard. I initially watched this because I just wanted to see more of Song Kang. But wow, just wow. I'm really glad I did watch it. Even though this drama only had 12 episodes (I only found out it has 12 eps when I was in ep 8, was really bummed when I found out tbh), it made me feel a whole array of emotions. Firstly, it made me feel annoyed how SK and his mentor were treating the grandpa. I felt bad for the Grandpa when he was practicing. I felt happy when he passed the test. I felt disappointed when his family didn't support him. I didn't understand well why the his children were always arguing. I felt angry and sad and hurt when they talked back to their parents (the grandpa and grandma).
There were three things I really loved about this show. 1. The relationship of the grandma and the grandpa - even after all these years they still love and respect each other. 2. The relationship of the Grandpa with his granddaughter - this made me envy them actually. I wish I was that close and open also to my grandparents. 3. Lastly, the wisdom they share - I think this is my most favorite in this show. Because when they share their words of wisdom to one another, you can feel that they are speaking from the heart and not just empty words.
This drama was so realistic, so relatable. I think this is what has drawn me into it. During the first few eps, I was actually not anticipating the end of the drama because in my head, I was anxious that something bad will happen to the grandpa. I'm just glad that they decided to end the drama in the way they did.
Kudos to the team. Now, unto the next drama.
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One word: Beautiful
I think this show aired at the right time for me. I could put myself in the shoes of the granddaughter (and other characters at times), especially because my grandfather also has Alzheimer's (maybe that's also why I caught the hints so early on, too?) and I am having the same thoughts about my future. I think I cried almost every episode after that was initially 'revealed.' I related so much to this show. It was made even better by the wonderful production, the amazing cast, and the enthralling story line. Everyone felt so *real*, so human. It was just wonderful to see how people are so faceted. (This show was character-based, and I loved seeing the character arcs for everyone.) I just really love this drama. It's become my all-time favorite drama now. Up until the last second (literally), I loved everything that they did. The ending was so beautiful. I just (as you can tell) have no words to properly explain how good this show is. I highly recommend it to everyone. It was done so well.Was this review helpful to you?
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The drama that made me cry in episode 1
Navillera is the beautiful, heartwarming story of a man in his twilight years trying to finally pursue his dream. It's a show that embodies the mentality "it's never too late to start." It's also the story of the most unlikely of friendships as SDC, a man in his 70s looking to pursue ballet, and LCR, a man in his 20s who excels at his craft but is too lost and unmotivated to give it his full attention meet. These two make this drama. The supporting cast is amazing, too, with characters that each have their own personal growth and stories throughout the series, but it's the leads that steal the spotlight. Their interactions are some of the most wholesome things I've ever seen, they're inspirational, and seeing them help each other get back up when they've been kicked down is enough to bring you to tears.That brings us to my gripe with this drama. The tears, or lack thereof. This is really going to be dependant on your tastes so you may have liked this, but personally, I was turned off of the series by the shoehorned-in Alzheimer's plot. I'm fine with Alzheimer's being present in dramas and I think it's an important talking point because it affects so many families worldwide, but I wasn't particularly fond of the way it was implemented here. In this drama, Alzheimer's is mainly used to up drama and make the viewer emotionally invested. That's fine in other narratives, but I feel that it just wasn't necessary here. I felt emotional in the early episodes before Alzheimer's became the main focus. I teared up in the beginning because the story was just so beautiful and inspirational. It didn't need more drama, it didn't need more angst and it was already making me cry. Navillera thrives on its very human, everyday atmosphere. Sometimes ordinary life is heartbreaking enough. You don't need to have a terrible illness or disease to go through hardships in life or to make the viewers feel for the characters. So when ballet started taking a backseat to characters having revelations about SDC's condition, characters crying over SDC, and SDC himself reminding us that he doesn't have much time left, my eyes dried up. Yes, it was sad, but it made me feel like those scenes were added just to pull at my emotions, so I didn't get teary-eyed or emotional over it. I haven't caught up with the webcomic yet, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Alzheimer's isn't a plot device in the source material and it was just added into the drama for, well. Drama. Again, I've started reading it but haven't caught up, so I could be wrong here.
I wish that the writer and director were confident enough in their story not to add in little melodramas like that. There were other instances, like with the youngest son's backstory of being a doctor who left his field after his patient died or the situation with LCR's dad, that were just added in for what feels like the same reason, but the Alzheimer's took up a large majority of the plot in the second half of the drama so it was the most glaring. The simple story of a man trying to pursue his own goals at an age where most people would have considered his life over was powerful enough on its own. The relationship between him and LCR as his instructor was amazing and heartwrenching all on its own.
Despite my gripes, I still love the drama. It's different and unique, and I do understand why dramas have such a tendency to fall on these tropes and cliches. It's a drama. It needs to be dramatic. But if the addition of the Alzheimer's subplot doesn't deter you, it's still a great story. The ending is satisfying, not great but it doesn't leave you wanting more, and the characters will stick with you for a long time afterwards. Give it a try.
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Inspirational, Emotional and Hopeful
There are certain movies, series, books, etc. that come into your life at the right time, this series was like that for me, probably at any other time anyway it would have seemed beautiful and emotional, but in the present circumstances of my life and I imagine that in those of many (in partly because of the situation of global chaos that we live today) each of the messages of the series reached me deeply. The series has a very clear and strong message: "It is never too late to start living your dreams", which is presented in a very beautiful way.The great virtue of the series are its characters, they all have something to say, a story to tell, here we do not have villains, or heroes incapable of making mistakes, each one, whether main, secondary or supporting, feels like real people, with problems, guilt and dreams, in each of them you can see your friends, family and yourself reflected.
The series does not throw blame towards anyone, and makes it clear that despite the circumstances in which you exist, at some point you must take responsibility for your own life and decide from there if you are satisfied or not with it and if you should go ahead or give it a spin.
It is so emotional because it touches very sensitive fibers for everyone, in modern life we have less and less time to ask ourselves how “happy” we are with our own life, things move so fast and all the time we have these non-existent voices that demand every more and more of yourself; "You have to study, get the perfect grades, go to college, get the best job, buy more and more and more things to be successful," and in this roller coaster of responsibilities and obligations there is very little room to question whether everything really this makes you feel at peace with yourself, probably not, and you probably only realize it in a strong moment of crisis. Precisely this series, presents this to us, "what if you stop for a moment, just a second, look around and question your own life."
Shim Deok Hwan is one of the best characters I have seen in my life, he is a catalyst character, because rather than developing as such (which if he does) he drives all the characters around him to question everything; Deokhwan lived a life where he could not carry out his great dream but despite that he did not live a bad life, he loved and was loved, he built something good and above all he reached a point where he could leave behind grudges and pain, forgive and understood the decisions of the people around him, but now at this point in his life, in his 70 years, when his obligations and responsibilities to others have been covered, he decides that it is time to move on with his dreams, regardless of what he the rest of the world creates; this is how he embarks on this hopeful journey.
Chae-rok is a beautifully constructed character, initially plunged into a depression, acts rude and cynical but as he begins to spend more time with Deokhwan his barriers are gradually being destroyed, Chae-rok knows what he wants and also knows that he is good at it, but he is alone, his loneliness eats away at him, and also lives with guilt that is not his; in Mr. Shim he finds a family, people who support him and love him unconditionally and little by little he opens up to these people that he loves him, and learns to forgive those who hurt him by discovering how deeply human they are, which eventually gives the strength to fly, to achieve your dreams and push higher and higher. As a symbol, it seems to me, it is much more, it breaks in many ways the stereotypes of "masculinity" of the protagonist to which we are accustomed, he suffers, cries and cries seriously, in an emotional way, in front of other people, he is affectionate and fragile in sometimes, it's refreshing to have characters they exist so naturally in his world.
When you find what makes you happy, what you feel you were born to, it does not mean that the rest will be simple, even if you love it, you will have to work hard every day, to become better little by little, every day will continue to be a struggle, but at least it will feel like it is a fight on the right path and Navillera also presents that, for nobody is easy; Chae-rok is talented, yes, but even so he trains hard and many things are still a challenge for him, the rest of the characters experience a similar struggle.
Eunho and Seong San are two other very interesting characters due to their similarities, despite the age difference neither of them has found what makes them happy, and they live in the "right" way just because they think that's what they should do, their ideal of success is a good education and a good job, It doesn't matter in view of whom should bend the knee, but in the end they discover that it is not what want, that life is more than that, and that maybe it is time to stop a bit, to relax and experience success on your own terms. That's why that last scene of the two of them chatting at last, after spending the whole series without knowing how to communicate is so powerful, now they have each other to support each other in the difficulties they will have along the way.
Seong Gwan is also a character with many nuances, for years he has lived with a very great guilt for not being able to save the life of one of his patients, which prevents him from moving forward, he intends to record a documentary about life of that person to somehow make it important, but throughout history and as he lives more and more with his father, he realizes that instead of just thinking about the life he could not save, he can help others to having more time, he faces himself and his guilt and returns to the job that caused him so much fear, but now from a different perspective to help others.
One last character that I would like to address is Chae-rok's rival: Ho-beom, a young man full of anger, who abandoned his dreams and fills his existence with hedonism and resentment, little by little he comes to understand that everyone continued ahead in his own ways and he is the only one who is being left behind locked in his self-pity and that perhaps it is time to let go, so that he can start living again. As I mentioned, this series does not have villains, they are flesh and blood humans, and as humans we must recognize our ability to do evil, but also our ability to compensate or at least try to do it, we can change and we can be better, forgive ourselves to oneself is sometimes more difficult than to forgive others.
Seung Joo (Ballet teacher), Hae-nam, Seong Suk (Deokhwan's daughter) and Moo Young (Chae-rok's father) are also deep and interesting characters, who face their own challenges and dreams and further enrich the Navillera's world (but if i spoke of everyone, I'll be here for four years).
Each and every one of the characters, you are facing your own losses and broken dreams, but somehow you are all trying to build something else; at the end of the series, all the characters have grown up, but this is not a "they lived happily ever after", no, in the end everyone will have good and bad moments again, face other broken dreams and create new ones, the characters have matured.
Another point that I would like to touch on is the issue of Alzheimer's and old age, in my personal experience, especially with the second point, they are not topics that are very much covered in the Asian series, at least as far as the mainstream is concerned, especially for the importance given to aesthetics and beauty; aging is not a very pleasant process in most cultures and around this a phobia about aging and the people who live it has almost been created; in the series this topic is treated with great dignity, and yes, it is true that as you grow, your body and mind do not have the same capacities as in youth, but this does not mean that you become a useless person, nor does it take away the right to want to achieve your goals, there are venerable people from all ages we should pay attention to; with Alzheimer's a similar situation happens, there are many products that address this issue, some in a good way, others not, some from the perspective of the person and others from that of their close ones, the way in which Navillera does it is a perspective very early in the disease, where we are given glimpses, but in itself we do not see the hardest part of it, but in the same way this is treated with great respect and dignity and where the reactions of the people around the affected person they are very honest.
Finally, the performances, the truth is that everyone does a wonderful job, but for me all the palms go to Park In-hwa and Song Kang; every time Deokhwan went into a crisis, you could feel in his eyes the despair and fear of not knowing who you are, or where you are or who those around you are, I don't think it is an easy job to have convey those emotions to the public. I also think that physically it must have been a demanding role and the performance that he gave us was incredible; speaking of physically demanding, Song Kang… wow, not only in the ballet parts, that despite having a body double for some scenes, he does it wonderfully, but everything else, his acting is impeccable, you feel each of the emotions of his character, you see through his eyes the struggle and pain and passion with which life is faced, and the chemistry between the two actors is so tender that you really feel this kinship between them. I would also like to give a big applause to the montage, for obvious reasons, as neither of the two actors are professional Ballet dancers, the dances themselves are not presented one hundred percent, but because of the way in which the scenes are mounted make you feel the beauty and elegance of the Ballet.
Navillera is a very beautiful series, of course it is optimistic and sweet, but sometimes you need to see things like that, it is a series made with a lot of love, which talks about the deep experience of being human, I hope that people who see it can feel a little of what I felt and how much it inspired me to just keep going, but above all I hope that everyone has the opportunity to find what makes them feel proud of being human and that everyone can fly, even just one once in your life, i hope.
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