novichi

The first time I watched this, I hated it and left it halfway. Mainly because I was bothered by how the lead actress was made to wear low cut tops and short shorts, and then the half-nude sex scenes. I have something against making actors and actresses display themselves more than necessary simply to satisfy/entertain viewers/producers/directors who need to see an actor/actress naked or half-naked to enjoy a show.

Anyway, saw this pop up again on my list and decided to give it another shot. Skipping forward scenes where actress is in revealing outfits so that I could finish the movie without much discomfort (which also means I might have missed some dialogues), I finished it and liked the message behind it - we're okay.

It's only human to wonder about what ifs and question our life choices. At the end of it all, we can't turn back time, and even if we could we would still be questioning our choices. This movie is quite personal to me as well because well, I chose not to have a child despite being able to, and now that I am way past child-bearing age I do sometimes wonder what if I chose to have children. I also chose a low income over a high income career because having my personal time without ever having to think about work held a higher value to me. How my life would be like, and if I would have liked my life better than I do now, I think about that sometimes. But at the end of the day, like the movie, I'm okay. And I think if I had chosen differently, I would have been okay too. I only need to trust that I can take care of myself, no matter what choices I make and what life throws.

There are some sayings I like which were reflected well in this movie, "Optimism is a belief that the odds of a good outcome are in your favor over time, even when there will be setbacks along the way." "When planning, we focus on what we want to do and can do, neglecting the plans and skills of others whose decisions might affect our outcomes." "Both in explaining the past and in predicting the future, we focus on the causal role of skill and neglect the role of luck."

A great hook from start to finish. To be honest, after 4 episodes I googled the ending to know who the ultimate villain was. Still did not spoil the series for me. Characters here are all wonderful. My favourite mad dog here was Park Ong-Chul (played by Ma Dong-Seok). He was strong, relentless and injected humour. Storyline and overall cast gave a down to earth feel. Superb artistic cinematography. Most Korean action dramas tend to overdo with the camera effects including hand-held effects. This one was done creatively and pleasing on the eyes. Definitely a worthy addition to this list. ❤