I love a melodrama that tells a story in the long mini-series format. In this regard, I have discovered some gems in some recent South Korean TV mini-series. The basic melodrama is the oft repeated formula: Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy gets Girl Back, and this may recur again. Human relations can be complex even if only the boy and girl are involved, but this complexity increases as more people are involved. If personality dynamics are properly depicted in a valid manner, and if the production is skillful, powerful emotions can be evoked in the viewer. In this way we can live many lifetimes through movies, in our one lifetime - greatly enriching our experience.
These South Korean productions (on Netflix streaming) are first class with excellent production and direction, some terrific casting and acting (particularly from some of the females who give some world class performances), brilliant musical accompaniment and staging. What makes these so good is the way they skillfully evoke deep emotion in the viewer. South Korean movie making is impressive.
However, the following caveats must be considered. They are subtitled and some people hate this. The South Korean cultural norms, values and sanctions may sometimes seems silly or old fashioned to the USA viewer. The families are close knit and decisions by an individual may be subject to family approval. Social distance is maintained where formal speech is used, and personal speech forms are reserved for close friends or family. There is a strong work ethic and community cooperation/unity - sometimes reminiscence of old Capra films.
Also, in order for the sometimes complicated sub-plots to work, people fail to communicate with each other as might be expected, keeping many in the dark as to what others are doing. This leads to misunderstandings and error judgments of some people which sometimes seems unlikely by USA cultural standards. The viewer may wonder at times why good but trusting people are so easily manipulated and deceived by bad and selfish people, but con artists do often succeed (just look at politicians for example). This poetic license of implausibility is needed to develop the story - just accept it even though unlikely at times. Taking these factors into account will help you become involved and emotionally engrossed. It was hard for me to quit watching at times so I binged watched.
I would rank these as follows but tastes differ and your rankings might not agree: 1 - 4 (hard to say which is best)
Shining Inheritance
When a Man Loves
That Winter, The Wind Blows
Secret Garden
5. Five Fingers
6. The Scent of a Woman
7. The Great Queen Seondeok
8. A Hundred Years Inheritance
9. Lie To me
10. Roof Top Prince
11. Dr. Jin
12. The Great Doctor
"That Winter...." is story of good and evil, a poignant story of love overcoming sociopathy (criminality and hate), nicely paced and developed, engrossing and involving thanks to great acting, music and production/direction. However, the ending is flawed because of what is left out, requiring the viewer to fill in the blanks. To help you fill in the blanks without any spoiling, let me offer this: The stabbing death only seems to be, the void of the scene is that the person was saved and lived, but this fact was concealed to call off those wanting the death. Without this info the ending seems perhaps strange.
Another reviewer unjustifiably denigrates this series.
First, this reviewer states a dislike for love melodramas preferring comedy. Such a preference can cause a negative prejudice toward "When Winter Comes...., and if you have this prejudice you can find fault with this one.
Second, if you have extremely strong feelings against incest you will be disturbed with any mild hints of mild and false incest as in this series, but there is no incest at all in this series. Psychologically, most people have instincts against incest, but some people lack such negative incest instincts and there are cases of happy incestuous relations that cause no harm whatsoever. Most cases are harmful, where trauma was induced by one of the partners who forced/coerced incest onto the other unwilling partner.
Third, the negative reviewer questions how the evil nanny (erroneously described as the "stepmother" by the negative reviewer)does harm to the girl yet later loves her greatly. Here you have to understand the evil-good character transition of the nanny who was initially hired to take care of the girl and sexually service the father. She was an outcast from her family and desperately needed the nanny job and thus degraded herself. She committed evil toward the girl in order to create a continuing need for employment as a nanny and be in a family. With time she comes to truly love the girl, and secure an important job in the company, and then becomes good rather than evil. Morality is a luxury - Dr. Arthur Wells. As this love and relationship developed over the years the nanny felt guilty but became devoted to the girl. We sometimes hurt the one we love, feel guilty, and become more loving as a result - it happens.
Fourth, the negative reviewer wonders how the hired hit man threatens to kill the other man in order to collect a debt for the hit man's gangster boss (who ordered the other man killed out of the gangster's jealousy over his girlfriend who was in love with the man to be killed, using the framed debt as an excuse). What is the problem in this for the negative reviewer? What is also overlooked in this is that the hit man has extra incentive to kill the other man since that man is blamed by the hit man for the death of someone the hit man loved. Did the negative reviewer really watch the series?
