Kept me glued to my seat for so long that I might need an adhesive remover to get off now—

All in all, Gold Panning has everything I could ever ask for in a mystery drama: a compelling storyline, great execution, perfect cast, beautiful visuals and an amazing musical score that complemented each scene it accompanied.

✦ Story ✦
The unique premise of this drama, which is obviously about the cutthroat industry of gold panning like the title indicates, may or may not appeal to everyone but regardless of whether you're into it or not - this drama's main focus still lies in its premise. To describe it in a simple phrase, Gold Panning is about "Dog-eat-dog world" or "Survival of the fittest" as greed for gold (which everyone believes can grant them a better life) basically drives the actions of all the characters, but despite being greedy, they might not be completely selfish and have their own reasons that are unveiled at a steady pace with each episode.

And one thing that sets it apart from typical mystery/thriller dramas is that Gold Panning doesn't rely solely on gore and body-horror to make the drama dark or depressing. There's slight gore, there's slight body-horror, but neither of them is the main point.

However, this drama demands your full attention. You can't just play it in the background as you do other chores as each scene is crucial, purposely added, and greatly contributes to the plot. Sometimes you might think "what the hell is going on?" (I did too lol) but it's like completing a jigsaw puzzle whose picture you don't know beforehand; You only discover what it's all about after you put more and more pieces in place, and together, they start resembling something. The unpredictability, foreshadowing, and plot-twists here actually make sense in the end and this makes Gold Panning a perfect drama to binge watch as you're never bored while watching it.


✦ Characters ✦
Most of the characters were complex, flawed, morally grey/vague and fleshed out which makes them compelling to watch. I especially loved how the female characters were written, despite neither A Qiu nor A Lai getting much screentime compared to the two main characters, they still managed to be one of the most memorable characters in this drama; I mean, two strong women—one who's a single mother and the other who cross-dresses as a man—working by themselves in a male-dominated field, what can be cooler than that? Not to mention, A Lai has to be the best cross-dressing character I've ever come across. Every character here just felt so humane, so realistic, so alive. I simply loved it.

But talking about the two main characters, Chen Baojin and Wu Jianchao, separately - here's what I personally think of them:

♟ Wu Jianchao — It's the first time I've seen Liao Fan's performance and the amount of screen presence he has accurately described to me why he's known for his acting. His role as Wu Jianchao was so complex that I couldn't figure out if he's the bad guy or one of the good guys most of the time, it just kept me guessing.

♟ Chen Baojin — Chen Feiyu's acting has improved a lot! At first, I thought he can't portray 'vulnerability' during emotional scenes because it always looks as if he's holding back pent up anger (his acting isn't at fault, he just have fierce-looking eyes imo). But then, I realised it's not necessarily a bad thing and only adds to his character. Chen Baojin is a proud, stubborn teenager who's determined to go to any lengths for his main goal, so even when he cries, he doesn't look 'broken' - he looks angry like he's going to seek vengeance and want everyone to suffer tenfold for the suffering they've inflicted on him. In short, Chen Feiyu nailed his role.


✦ Music and Visuals ✦
The music, both instrumental and lyrical, really amplified the ambience that the visuals initiated. I also never felt like skipping the opening and ending themes because they were really addicting.
However, my favourite thing has to be the colouring in this drama, especially how most of the scenes had a tint of gold/yellow (they really stayed true to the title and concept even in terms of visuals) and some certain scenes were black & white - which made them seem more serious and sombre than they would've looked in normal colours. I actually had to delete some photos off my gallery because I took way too many screenshots...

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A Hidden Gem!

TLDR: Insomnia was a breath of fresh air, consistent with its storyline and gripping for all 13 eps. I can't exactly put into words how absorbed I was into the story.

❛ Story ❜
I love plot above all and the plot of this drama is indeed quite amazing, everything is foreshadowed well and it stays interesting till the very end. When I started it, I wasn't expecting it to be THAT good and even managing to grab my attention with just the first episode.

It's really not what it may seem at first; what appears to be somewhat typical mystery drama about a mundane island in the beginning changes into something unexpected and dark. This is the first drama in which I couldn’t afford to fast forward any scenes because each episode of it kept me on edge of my seat and I loved every second of it.

To some, maybe the plot might be a bit predictable, but it doesn't lowers the enjoyment, it only proves that the plot-twists were believable enough for the viewers to catch and not get confused. Because plot-twists aren't supposed to be confusing, they're supposed to either caught you off-guard or make the story more interesting and complicated as new developments take place (at least that's what I believe, since I've watched my fair share of 'mystery' dramas that are a complete mystery for me to understand...)

❛ Characters ❜
The MC is the best thing about this drama. She's smart, strong, and capable without being unrealistically 'superior' (as in intelligence or other aspects) to other characters. She's exactly what we mean when we ask for a 'strong female lead' - someone who's not necessarily fearless or reckless, but brave enough to face her own fears and do the right thing.

As for others, they were great too! The side characters, whether they're likable or despicable, are really well-written and I love how they're written like actual characters rather than just some stepping stones for the MC. The whole cast also did a great job with their performances.

All in all, I'd really recommend everyone to give it a try! don't let the few amount of recognition it got discourage you because as I said before, it's a lot better than it might seem at a first glance.

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Watching this short + sweet drama was akin to eating a piece of chocolate

ᰔ Story ᰔ

❛❛Natsumi, your shoulder was just too comfortable to sleep on. I'm sorry...❜❜

❛❛If you want, I'll lend you my shoulder anytime, whenever you can't fall asleep.❜❜

—And that's how their adorable relationship began.

Natsumi met Haruto (who came along with her friends) when she had a drinking party at her home, she knew him from before but they never interacted until then. After having a few drinks, everyone got drunk and decided to sleep at Natsumi's house, but Haruto ended up resting his head on Natsumi's shoulder while asleep.

Natsumi half-jokingly said the next morning that she can lend her shoulder to him, but only during Wednesdays because she doesn't have to go to her part-time job on that day; However, Haruto takes it seriously and stays at her house every Wednesday, just to innocently sleep on her shoulder.

ᰔ Characters ᰔ

Natsumi - She likes photography and carries around a camera everywhere. She's pretty naive and innocent, but not stupid or annoying. Her internal monologues are always relatable and hilarious. She's overall such an adorable character who you'd want to befriend if she existed in real life!

Haruto - For him every day is special and supposed to be a festival about something, sometimes it's Marimo day, sometimes it's orange day, sometimes it's fish-stick day, sometimes it's dogs-and-cats day, and he makes sure to 'celebrate' each day with the fl. He's bit of an eccentric, knows how to cook, is really caring, and has a positive outlook on life. He's basically the perfect person for the fl.

There's relatively few characters that appear in this drama to begin with and the focus was only on the main characters, but that's exactly why I believe they were quite well-written and the reason this drama didn't feel draggy. There was also no third party trying to separate them or anything, and a tiny misunderstanding between the leads only lasted for a few minutes lol.

ᰔ Visuals/Music ᰔ

The visuals are extremely pleasing to the eyes, the shots are slow and smooth with a tint of warmth, the colour scheme is somewhat autumn based and I personally found it really homely and cozy; it's perfect to watch on a cold day. The bk music and osts also complimented each scene that they accompanied. Despite this drama being pretty short, I'm sure it wasn't low-budget or at least didn't appear to be so.

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"In this vast universe, all mortals' lives move in parallel lines, alone and ahead.

When somehow the lines meet, the moment of encounter, even if it was fleeting, is a miracle."

TLDR: A Balloon's Landing was both beautifully written and beautifully executed. Definitely worth a watch, hell a rewatch even. Also, Guava is the best gps in the history of humanity.

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This movie is about a novel writer, Tianyu, going on a journey to locate the Bay of Vanishing Whales where he believes, and has been told in a letter years ago, that he can find a paradise. Does it sound slightly odd to go looking for a paradise and put your whole faith into a letter? Probably, but once you discover the reason behind this, it no longer sounds as odd. Many of us have moments in our lives where we feel completely lost and emotionally detached from everything (and in what he was suffering from, depersonalisation is common), not so much different from a balloon drifting aimlessly and looking for a place to land, yearning for a place to call home. And all I can say without giving away any spoilers is that, Tianyu is the same and have been feeling this way for quite a long, long time due to his past. Both that letter and the 'paradise' is what tugs at him, becoming his sole focus and (although a bit flimsy) connection to the ground and life itself.

He meets A Xiang in this same journey, perhaps exactly when he needed someone the most. A Xiang who initially started out as the seemingly not-so-reliable tour guide he never asked for, ends up becoming the person who helps him find his landing and feel like he belongs somewhere. These two are opposite in nature yet fit together like puzzle pieces, as differently shaped as these pieces might be (as in different pasts, goals, personalities and perspectives) they still belong to the same jigsaw puzzle; once they meet, they click in place, perfectly. Because some people are just meant to be, and they're definitely one of them.

Storytelling-wise, it was an experience for sure! almost made me feel as if I'm on a journey with Tian Yu rather than just watching this. One of the things I absolutely adore about this movie is that it shows, not just tells. The characters won't grab the camera, look you dead in the eye and say, "I currently feel [insert] emotion, I am [insert] type of person, we are doing [insert] thing." They let their actions speak, their expressions speak, even the shared glances and comforting silences between them speak for itself. All of that makes each scene feel so alive because they actually seem like real people going through real situations, and the entire cast portrayed their characters so naturally which only made it even more believable. Plus, the seamless integration of weighty themes with a touch of humor felt perfectly balanced, it didn't undermine the very sensitive topics it dealt with imo.

It also played gently with the old-time romantic idea of destiny, but without making it the focal point or trying to convince everyone that their entire lives are predetermined, instead it showed that change is possible, that relationships evolve, and that love doesn't need grand declarations to be profound. Honestly, what I saw and felt in this movie was simply love that felt like home, it wasn't the steamy kind, it was simple, quiet, but undeniable love and it goes without saying that both types of love can be beautiful on the screen. Love comes in many shades, there's too many people in this world to expect everyone to love and express their love the exact same way, that's why varieties are important when it comes to movies about love. I wouldn't call the relationship in this movie 'subtle romance' either when it mainly just didn't have any breathless make-out scenes or bed-breaking bedroom encounters that'll make their neighbours think there's an earthquake, because it doesn't really fit my definition of subtle when it had enough intimacy that didn't make it even slightest bit of ambiguous to me. They are 'only friends' the same way historical gay couples are friendship goals to historians and they are about as 'straight' as Sappho’s poems about women. There was no love triangle, no unrequited love, just mutual love for life and each other with the best gps dog (Guava) in the world making a cameo.

Along with that, the cinematography was gorgeous. The beauty of this film lies not only in the characters and their journey but also in how it's all wrapped in the atmosphere of the movie. There's a sense of calmness, like the world outside has been gently paused, allowing the characters to simply be. I especially loved how there wasn't constant background music, sometimes it can be an overkill and there's some scenes that require silence or at least a quieter background. The cinematography, colour grading, and musical score was all perfect, every element of A Balloon’s Landing works in harmony. Watching it felt like curling up in a warm blanket when it's really cold and listening to the soft sound of the fireplace. Just perfect.

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All in all, there's a paradise, but it's not by the Bay of Whales, it’s in this movie.

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