choupettechou
Nostalgia of first love ...
Ok, so let's start with the basics...the storyline of this drama is very classic Mills and Boons, thus very stereotypical and we can all guess the outcome, despite the unnecessary later part twists and turns.
The production sets are not extremely expensive, mostly filmed in a hospital room, a small working class apartment amongst others...
The OST does not really engage nor elevate the scenes...
So what makes this drama so special:
1. The dialogues and the quietness of the scenes... as viewers, we are given insights of the thoughts of the actors. We can follow through their choices, their motivations, their fears, their way of rationalising their decisions. We become them...
2. The actors are phenomenal in their rendition of the characters. Emotions just ooze out of their eyes and body expressions. Lin Xiao Ran is really that exhausted by life woman and overwrought mom struggling for her child to get better as the meaning of her life depends on him. Wallace Chung is a really nice person who cannot get over this 'betrayed love' but who accepts the truth and does not force nor press on this woman to resume their love as if nothing has changed nor happened. The second leads add freshness to the drama...love the profound yet simple dialogues of the SFL when she discusses with the ML.
3. The cinematography is stunning as it really uses dark, narrow and almost stifling spaces to show the living conditions of the FL while the open yet stark white light of the ML's apartment as a means of translating the barren existence of the later. Yet, as the drama progresses, the lights and dark moods change.
4. The direction of the drama is so cohesive in managing all these small details. The director and production/editing team do not spend time on artifices nor on melodrama, nor over-the-top scenes to elevate it but rather, they delve into these details, on the lengths of the take of scenes to keep the focus on the drama.
All in all, this drama does its job very well, that is to make us question emotions, relationships, choices we make, etc.
Alas, can first loves really be trusted? Can first loves be recovered again and can it evolve in the future or should we keep these beautiful feelings of first loves in the nostalgic and perfect realm?
The production sets are not extremely expensive, mostly filmed in a hospital room, a small working class apartment amongst others...
The OST does not really engage nor elevate the scenes...
So what makes this drama so special:
1. The dialogues and the quietness of the scenes... as viewers, we are given insights of the thoughts of the actors. We can follow through their choices, their motivations, their fears, their way of rationalising their decisions. We become them...
2. The actors are phenomenal in their rendition of the characters. Emotions just ooze out of their eyes and body expressions. Lin Xiao Ran is really that exhausted by life woman and overwrought mom struggling for her child to get better as the meaning of her life depends on him. Wallace Chung is a really nice person who cannot get over this 'betrayed love' but who accepts the truth and does not force nor press on this woman to resume their love as if nothing has changed nor happened. The second leads add freshness to the drama...love the profound yet simple dialogues of the SFL when she discusses with the ML.
3. The cinematography is stunning as it really uses dark, narrow and almost stifling spaces to show the living conditions of the FL while the open yet stark white light of the ML's apartment as a means of translating the barren existence of the later. Yet, as the drama progresses, the lights and dark moods change.
4. The direction of the drama is so cohesive in managing all these small details. The director and production/editing team do not spend time on artifices nor on melodrama, nor over-the-top scenes to elevate it but rather, they delve into these details, on the lengths of the take of scenes to keep the focus on the drama.
All in all, this drama does its job very well, that is to make us question emotions, relationships, choices we make, etc.
Alas, can first loves really be trusted? Can first loves be recovered again and can it evolve in the future or should we keep these beautiful feelings of first loves in the nostalgic and perfect realm?
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