lilianaoana

The third Asian legal drama series and this time was a win. Finally.

I won't say it's very good, but it's good enough. It's got some interesting cases and arguments and also a few of those typical exaggerations and histrionics but if I can take it most people can. There are some peculiarities of Korean law and society but these people do act like lawyers. Well, mostly. Was shocked to find there are sellers who bring in the clients and they get paid more than actual lawyers cause they got the connections and the influence. There is backstabbing of the highest order but the bad guys are defeated and removed at the end, quite miraculously I'd say. It touches on current topics - sexual harassment, animal cruelty, modern marriage, arranged marriage, suitability for marriage over love, divorce and remarriage, motherhood, working mothers, age-gap relationships, euthanasia, bullying at school and in the office, special needs children and animals.

It's got likeable characters and annoying villains (some too annoying).

The main relationship, the intern vs. Her stuck-up boss developed steadily and nicely. Despite claims that they did not want to make it a romance they sure did plenty of ambiguous scenes with long, longing stares and hints. She clearly has a crush on him. They even go on a blind date where they discover they were matched together. He is clearly uncomfortable with the idea on principle and he is just beginning to process and heal from his divorce. That plotline was done very well and his relationship to his ex is very insightful and relevant these days.

I did not expect it but the story is so messed up and these people are so effed up that it became sort of fascinating.

The paintings are kind of interesting, people say he is a genius so... The other side of genius is that the family always suffers. The only thing that bothered me here is that the women of the family are overlooked and relegated to secondary characters and they bear the brunt of genius. Zofia is the suffering wife and mother catering to them and making sure they can create and survive. There is one mention in a brief scene that she is a Romance languages graduate or something like that. She doesn't appear to be working, teaching or anything of the sort. She became a housewife for her manbabies. By the end I felt sorry for her retirement stash of paintings, she never got to enjoy that sadly.

Beksinski is a prime example of boomer behaviour, video camera in hand, recording absolutely everything, the most mundane interactions and all the corners of his apartment. Which is probably how this movie could come to be, there must be so much footage of their lives preserved for everyone to see.

Tomek was the most aggravating character in the movie, his father seemed like a sweet man by comparison. I don't know what went wrong there, biology, genetics, nurture I don't know but that certainly was a failed human being right there. Smart, talented, sure, but a monstrous human. Guess he could get a mental diagnosis today to explain the pain away, mine would be extreme a**hole behaviour.

What I also appreciated a lot was the period aspect, it really felt and looked like Communist/Soviet era 70s and 80s, only a little better than in the East. Apartments were larger, but the grey and the dreariness hit the spot. I also liked the synth pop music, see Tomek could actually get a career by talking to people about modern music and movies, which is the dream of any young man out there in probably any generation.

I guess the genius was too big for this family to continue. Some higher power deemed it enough. I would've liked to find out more about Beksinski's sad ironic death though.

The rich lives of children. Enfant de Dieu, des épreuves, les Arabes sont Catholiques - the things these kids come up with... I guess this was before people became obsessed with the concept of trauma. Cause the things they pour into this little girl's head are very traumatic. First her dad who still has serious anger issues over his dead wife repeats to Ponette that her body was all torn up. He drags her around, yells at her and everything. Then there's all the religious stories that do anything but comfort her. Ponette is unable to see god as the rest and refuses the religious teachings about death. But she uses them creatively to keep her mother alive.

I was pretty mad when Ponette's aunt tells her the story of Jesus' resurrection, completely oblivious to the fact that she would easily cling to it and refuse to give up on her mother. I was getting annoyed at all the religious spin by various people and children till it got so ridiculously detailed and creative it became amusing.

I have never seen so many kisses, caresses and hugs between children like that, I wonder if it was a generational thing back then, for sure adults do not touch other people's children anymore. The way Matthias sniffs and kisses Ponette when they see each other at the cemetery is so sweet and feral at the same time. He takes to her so sincerely it's touching. Delphine bullies her a little in the beginning then starts to take care of her at school.

I do not understand how they got these kids to act like this around each other but it's nothing short of miraculous.