This review may contain spoilers
More than a remake. Delicate timbre. Powerful. Reckoning with the void of a luxury-branded world
"Pale Moon" develops a particularly delicate timbre. Fine personality portraits, none of them smooth and pore-deep clean, but rather inwardly crumpled people with dreams and weaknesses, people who sometimes make questionable decisions, who don't stick to the rules, who succumb to the temptation to take the chance to realize their dreams.A little 'noir' here and there. In any case, emotionally dense. Unexcitedly emotional. Quiet and yet powerful.
The KDrama is based on a Japanese Original (Mitsuyo Kakuta), which was successful as a series and movie, too. This is now a South Korean remake. Apparently, Kim Seo-hyung was immediately (after she saw the original in 2015) determined to play the female lead in any potential South Korean remake. You can tell, she is breathing her role.
The original novel is about the embezzlement of bank funds as actually happened in Japan. In South Korea, the list of embezzlement in billions is also long and the remake is accordingly well placed.
However, the South Korean remake is about more than misappropriation of wealth on a large scale. This is generally about lies, deceit and deception - even on a smaller, manageable, interpersonal level. However, it is also about human vulnerability, the cracks in the facade.
The story unfolds against the background of unstoppable consumption - a veritable frenzy of consumption that has long since left any connection or grounding behind. A life-style in a parallel world, that only a few can really afford. This world of luxury, which initially seems appealing, develops an intoxicating, addictive character and ultimately catapults itself into the void. What remains when the lover equips the lover with the designer goods from head to toe, from the car to the house including the interior and the laptop, too? Alert, alert: the luxurious world of matter - initially well camouflaged as the lifestyle of your dreams - becomes an ugly parasite that feeds on substantial emotions, liveliness and passion, but in the end leaves nothing behind...
In the field of tension between the dreary normality of a boring everyday life that is perhaps pimped out on the outside, but emotionally rather empty, almost everyone here is willing to deviate from the path of virtue in order to get a piece of the promisingly dazzling consumer cake.
Nevertheless, the story also tells of the sincere moments of perception and recognition of unsightly vulnerability. These are the moments when sincere encounter happens to become possible. On the outside, these are not the nice, shiny TaDa moments, but on the inside they provide light and warmth, they nourish the soul, like water making flowers bloom. Moments that cannot be bought with money. Moments that are among the most worthless in the dazzling world of consumption, shunned, despised, marginalized, excluded.
In this way, "Paper Moon" is an intelligent approach of reckoning with the consumer-driven social reality in which 'appearance' takes the place of 'being'. Quietly and constantly the KDrama is reminiscent of the basic in human, which has nothing to do with staged perfection, but rather with irrational impulses and irreconcilable paradox. At most, beauty in ´being human´ unfolds when weaknesses become strengths, when ruptures make the whole, when betrayal opens the door to freedom, when loss becomes the gate to abundance, when I find myself by losing myself, etc.
Since we are all human, we can remember (that we are like that too) and empathize and accept ourselves (and others!) even in our (their) 'ugliness', 'despair' and 'failure'. That makes life truly valuable and remains as a valuable experience, even if any material value has long since disappeared.
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SIDE NOTE: -------- 'Paper Moon' vs. 'Pale Moon' ----------
The original title "Paper Moon" was for the international title particularly changed from "Paper Moon" to "Pale Moon" in order to create a certain degree of selectivity from the Japanese original. The story may be remade, but it's retold in characteristic korean-style. Successfully so. And if you like, the changed nuance in the title already testifies to a finely nuanced, additional facet within the KDrama production.
The term "PAPER MOON" refers to a fake, oversized crescent made of cardboard, which became fashionable at the time, with the advent of photography, as a specific variant of (cheap but effective) portrait background. At fairs, etc., photographers as a special gag offered the cheerful visitors unforgettable portrait photography in front of an artificial crescent moon made of cardboard. The happy couples (but also everyone else who had their picture taken) floated optically above the clouds, removed from everyday life, yet oh so close to the (artificially fake) sky... A reMINDer, documenting a very special moment.
Since then, the meaning of the ´paper moon´ generally refers to an object with the help of which a void is filled with fictitious, purely optically reality – a make believe. However, the emptiness is still there. The symbol, enriched with meaning, inspired many a great work. One of them is the piece of music "It's only a Paper Moon" (originally "If you believed in me"), which summarizes the basic idea or the basic feeling in a striking way - as a tightrope walk between hope and hopelessness...
"Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world (=circus attraction)
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believe in me"
...The unreal reality, the deception, the lie, all of this could be true if only one can convince the others that it is so.
"PALE MOON" on the other hand refers more to the real, pale (full) moon in the night sky, which is repeatedly staged in this KDrama. It's not dazzling like the radiant, all-illuminating, blinding sun, and not loud and spectacular like fireworks, (and not as big and dominant next to me as a paper crescent moon). The pale (full) moon only shimmers in the dark hours of the day. It may light the way and also cast shadows, yet from my perspective it is just tiny and far away.
Nevertheless, despite appearing almost fragile and delicate, is solidly stands there like a vague, quiet, soothing reminder of something truly beautiful and valuable. Something that is there repeatedly, with beautiful regularity - remaining, just being, no matter what. Something to relate to. Far away it may be, yet emotionally quite substantial - and thus close to the HEART.
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Surprisingly AMAZING!!!!
I am usually attracted to dramas where the main character goes through some sort of transformative journey. Pale Moon is very far from being one of those, but it is still amazing.The main female character is a rarity in these type of stories, she goes from being a good friend and a trophy wife to embezzling money and cheating on her husband with a handsome young guy without losing her essence throughout. I find that aspect of the drama very fascinating.
She does horrible things for the right reasons, or so it seems, which is very strange because you’ll have people saying that stealing money is a crime and cheating on your spouse is morally wrong, but somehow here is totally justified and to some extent needed. So is she a bad or a good person? I guess that’s up to the viewer to decide.
In my book Pale Moon is a master piece!!!!
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Captivating
I found myself captivated from the start due to Kim Seo Hyung’s sheer presence. She’s a favorite actress of mine anyway, but her portrayal of a self-esteem stripped demure housewife at the outset was believable and quite jarring. Her character’s development and actions were an understandable and seamlessly woven together tapestry of chain events.The husband, (played brilliantly by Gong Jung Hwan), was astonishingly one of of the most calm (usually), callous and selfish characters I’ve ever seen. At one point I became convinced that the character had to have studied all the ways to strip a person’s soul of any self-worth.
Lee Shi Hoo was another important character, and his arc was poignant, though disappointingly familiar.
I felt the elder actor’s performances shone brightly and I appreciated the sympathy or lack of sympathy each invoked due to their role’s character.
I now realize this is a remake, so as such, my only criticism is probably not valid: I would have preferred a more complete ending. We do get a lot of closure, so I am thankful for that. But I still have questions. That said, I definitely recommend this and would watch again.
*Be aware of a couple of racy scenes that are brief, and in my opinion, shouldn’t shock the senses of your average adult who recognizes and appreciates that attraction and intimacy are things that don’t belong to only one gender or age group.
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Theft At Dawn
While I appreciate its shorter runtime of 10 episodes but I wish it was even shorter for a tighter package. Some side plots didn't fit the narrative and were a mere distraction, such as the female lead's friends personal affairs, not even a good filler. The middle parts were filled with padded sequences. It took a long time before actually getting into what the synopsis describes. From this kind of plot around embezzlement, I would expect somewhat a smarter play and a deeper plot but the drama kept things mostly at a surface-level and borderline making stupid mistakes intentionally to create some tension and invoke a reaction from the viewers. I really like what Kim Seo Hyung has been doing in the past few years, leading projects of characters that fit her are infinitely better than older supporting roles. Anyway, the drama may not rank high but still offers a decent viewing experience for those willing to explore something different.Was this review helpful to you?
more than what meets the eye
was watching without subs at first, got about halfway through then dropped it. recently picked it up again as i saw it was on viki, and i was amazed at how much depth this story truly holds.it is not simply a story of a woman cheating on her wife. it’s an in depth critique of capitalism, class and consumerist culture, and how they affect human relationships.
although it didn’t all pan out the way i wished for, everything came together perfectly to form a subtle, intricate masterpiece.
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Pleasant surprise
Stumbled upon this on Viki. Gave it a try because there's not much out right now and I'm a fan of the FL after watching Mine.Her story is written good to great. Her acting is great. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters growth. I would've enjoyed a little more back story to understand how she became so timid/controllable.
The ending could've been detailed a little better. I recommend this show if you enjoy character development.
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Drop what you are doing and watch
A masterful exploration of the psychological and social role of money. This show expertly explores how money functions as a both builder and destroyer of relationships, and how acquiring and either lavishly spending or hoarding it becomes central to a person's sense of self and understanding of the world. It functions both as a tense and riveting thriller and a tender, haunting look at loneliness and the need for human connection. The cinematography and the set design are gorgeous. Every character no matter how small feels richly conceived with a vivid internal life. Flawlessly acted, plotted, and paced, I cannot rave about this show enough.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Masterfully acted by the female lead and visually stunning
This show at times felt like a thriller, at times like a Korean take on Sex and the City, at times like an indie production. It especially got me when it went all poetic and symbolic about FL's inner metamorphosis and conveyed it with imagery (even if as simple as showing her crossing the street on a red light for the first time in her life as symbolic of her committing an act of transgression towards cheating, but also towards a more free, self-oriented life).Beautifully filmed and masterfully acted by the female lead. In fact, this was the best piece of acting performed by an actress I've ever watched on a kdrama. Other actors also did a good job (kudos especially to the men playing FL's husband, her newly found lover and the lady portraying the female manager at the bank). However, Kim Seo Hyung is just in a class of her own.
She can convey different types of emotions with just a subtle change in her expression. Sure, I appreciate the actors that go all out too, but I feel real mastery shines through when you're able to hit the right emotions, without overstating them. Kim perfected this craft.
This drama has a lot of layers. It functions partially as an unconventional cautionary tale. Showing how easy it is to fall off tracks, committing one transgression after another, even if they're motivated by compassion, kindness, or understandable feelings of wanting to be respected, loved, appreciated, or simply... alive.
It also shows you that even the most appealing form of escapism at the end of the day is still that: escapism (even if you call it an "oasis"). If you don't deal with the source of your problems or emptiness in your life, shopping or a younger lover can only do this much.
It's also a story of a woman who is a bit... strange: very smart and yet super gullible, disillusioned with life and yet hopeful, committing illegal acts yet almost too kind for this world. This duality makes her a really bizarre but admittedly interesting character.
Finally, it can also be read as a social commentary on how people obsessively value material possessions and care about status, labels, and appearances. If there is one shared theme for every character's story in this drama, it is money.
For me, I absolutely enjoyed every aspect of this show.
The main romance portrayed in this drama is happening between FL and a man younger than her by, I would assume, at least 15 years. It quickly turns into a very weird dynamic, and money is a big part of it. Also, it's an adulterous relationship, to put it bluntly. In that respect, it's no grand love story.
And yet I found myself catching my breath in anticipation when these two appeared on screen, especially at the beginning of their romance. There was something very sensual and almost spiritual about their encounters.
I loved the scene when Yi Hwa and her soon-to-be lover are both walking down the street on its two opposite sides, stealing glances at one another. While they do so, FL does this movement of caressing the wet branches of nearby bushes with her fingers while walking. It's all very sensual.
The beginnings of their romance are filmed in a stunning way. The imagery, coupled with music and the actors' performances make it seem like these two are pulled towards each other by some magnetic force.
If I were to complain about anything, I'd say that the side characters' stories got a rather rushed development towards the end of the drama. Ep. 10 definitely felt like the creators tried to give everyone a life changing event, even if at the risk of it looking unnatural.
Still, I really enjoyed this drama. At times, I almost felt entranced by the acting, soundtrack, and cinematography. Other times, I was pausing the video out of anxiety of what was going to happen. And sometimes, I just felt genuinely sad for the characters (especially Ga Eul whom I'd grown to really like).
This was cross-posted with Viki.
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A Feminist Thought Drama
PALE MOON is a K-Drama that features blended elements of both the romance and thriller genres. While quite a bit slower in terms of pacing, (especially for a thriller!) it is a shorter series than typical k-drama series (10 episodes as opposed to 16 + episodes).This series is a female centric series and can be considered a bit of an examination of feminist school of thought, with main themes such as the trodden housewife / middle aged woman seeking new life purpose, learning new skills and advancing herself, finding worth in herself; a woman developing herself to be independent and professional, seeking her own desires and identity; a woman under the control of her husband that struggles to break free despite the societal constraints.
While the characters choices are morally and ethically gray and debatable, the psychological aspects made this an interesting process and excellent food for thought, as well as a conversation starter.
This is the kind of drama that could have done without the romance plot, in my opinion. I understand they wanted that dimension, a love interest, but I felt it wasn't truly believable, interesting or even all that necessary.
Aside from the fact I’m not a fan of infidelity, on screen or otherwise, I do feel it slightly detracted from the impact of the other aspects of this series or perhaps the chemistry was lacking, rather than having the FL find love, strength and happiness on her own and in herself, becoming independent first (and then romance later on, if necessary at all). Also, it does tend to make it difficult to root for any MC (male or female) that practices infidelity.
However, I was happy to see a middle-aged, slightly older female lead and romantic interest. In many other dramas, the middle-aged female in this age range usually turns out to be some kind of villain archetype.
Overall, this was a refreshing change of pace from some of the more overplayed romance drama themes out there, but I do feel like it could have been a bit more of exciting (for a thriller series) as well as adding much more depth, on the psychological and emotional levels as well. This series was still a very well made show and worth the watch. Glad to see drama's switching things up.
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