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I also thought it is a good idea to put a person who is autistic in the centre of the story. There were however some aspects that were a little too stereotyped for my taste, such as the extreme savant story. On the other hand the struggle in the world of work was quite realistic, at least in terms of the concept/idea.
Medically, some things were a bit cringe-worthy (it’s my job) though they always seem to do that in tv series with a medical / hospital background ;) ;) and I’ve seen worse depictions in tv series!! Maybe I’ll become a medical advisor for tv shows and films in my next life :-)
But then it’s not a documentary - so again, overall, I enjoyed this show!
I watched it a while ago now so not remembering all the details of the story line. I might rewatch it at some stage.
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So because of that I cannot remember absolutely everything about it but I liked it a lot and would rewatch it if I had the chance.
It is very well done visually, great colours and filming overall done beautifully. The ideas / concepts that are brought up are very fascinating also and I think it’s one of those films where you can find new things and meanings on rewatching it!
It’s very eccentric and unusual. I sometimes dislike series or films that are extremely unrealistic or in a way not related to life / but mostly I find this annoying in fairy tale style romance settings, so this wasn’t the case here.
In this film things are very over the top, but in a good way. There are lots of dreams, hallucinations, seeing things from the state of mind and emotions of a person. But this was so well done and actually very related to life and experiences that are very human rather than superhuman.
I would add that this film is also not for the faint hearted. There is some violence and the setting is a psychiatric hospital so that could be hard for watchers depending on your background.
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I like that they address difficult topics such as being a foreigner/immigrant and how it affects you when you first move away from your home country, how these things change over time and how they change you as a person in relation to others from your home country and to yourself as well as to the new country.
Then it is interesting in the storyline how they make it a recurring thing with the younger generation also going abroad and their experience being very different but also similar. And then of course the topic of Japanese colonial rule in Korea was also a big part in the series - that adds an extra layer of complexity and depth.
I like that there is a strong female character in the centre of this and that we see her at an old age too!
Also, it is visually done very very well!!
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I like films and tv shows that have a background or topic that is based on topics that affect everyone in real life, so this is definitely a bonus watching this tv series!! After all mostly you don’t have that much extraordinary happenings or out of this world romance in your life. (Those can be good to watch sometimes, but they never affect me as much.)
The main character and his colleagues develop so much. You get to see flash backs in time bit by bit with the episodes.
I liked the difficult topics - for example career changes, social issues, bullying, corruption - mixed with the particular humour of this show.
I’m not from Korea so the work place drama side was very interesting to watch!!
Of course some things are universal about bosses and subordinates… (my area of of work is quite hierarchical as well with an extremely long training pathway and lots of trappings along the way so I can empathise for sure…) also and you really feel for the characters.
Then there is the aspect of leaving your dream career and how you deal with this in your life. How you are deeply affected by it and how it can destroy you or make you stronger.
I did also enjoy the soundtrack in this and I’ve actually listened to it quite a bit after finishing the series.
Finally, this reminded me of when I tried to learn Go when I was about 18 or 19 years old… incredibly hard!!
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It is one of those that stays with you for quite some time for sure. I finished it this week and and need to take a bit of a break from watching other films and series now I think. (That’s not a bad thing at all!)
The topics that are covered - death, grieving, loneliness, outsiders of society, and also autism - are addressed really well despite it being a relatively short series and relatively short episodes. I actually think in this case it is better left short. Sometimes less is more (such as when things are better expressed with less words or less details).
I think even though it is set in South Korea the topics are universally important and present in most countries in one form or another.
The topics are really heavy (it made me cry a lot… I felt really affected by the stories (of the dead people you meet in every episode) / the story (of the main characters) but also remembering people I lost in the last few years and thinking about people I come across day to day /at work whose stories I don’t know…….. CLOSE very long brackets :) :). ). but there are a few funny moments which is nice also - this contrast makes it even better to appreciate both the funny and sad moments.
I love classical music and I liked the bit when we see what music pieces Geu-ru (I’m not sure what the correct spelling is) plays during each job cleaning out a deceased person’s room/flat. I also liked the music/theme that was made for the film (I assume it was, as opposed to the pieces that were existing music pieces, but I have not found the soundtrack anywhere).
The series was not patronising towards autistic people which was well done too. It could have been very off-putting if they would not have got this right.
Finally, the actors were great!
Overall, this is my favourite Korean series watched ever so far.
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