Janet Wachter

This adaptation of Persuasion is brilliant!!! I have loved most Austen adaptations except for the turgid ones from decades past, so my bias is in favor of each fan writer, film maker, whoever, to make Jane her/ his own. This enriches us all. Austen’s work is universal, not a museum piece. Go for it people! What are all these devotee reviewers talking about this adaptation being untrue to the author?? We need more not fewer clever people interpreting Austen. The bold film maker combined the somber heroine with Jane Austen’s ironic comedic personality. Thank God!!!! I have been reading and re-reading Jane Austen’s novels since about 1975. I’ve also read all the biographies. My favorite is Lucy Worsley’s “At Home With Jane Austen”. Jane, friends, family, and culture come to life. Claire Tomlin’s is exhaustive and fine but not as delightful as Worsley’s. The family’s various biographies have almost nothing of value, portraying her as a rather blank pious woman. Nothing much has changed, has it? Jane Austen said in one of her letters that she was Anne Elliott, but not as good Anne. Her family teases her about her over indulgence in evening glasses of wine and her hangovers. They tease her about her temper. Jane’s letters reveal a lively hilarious comedienne. The comments of her family often refer to this aspect of her character. Her mother’s comments about their various trips and visits describe Jane as sometimes the only happy or comfortable guest as she was, even in horrid weather, laughing constantly and btw, had gotten everyone else laughing too. If Jane was relaxed, wit and jokes naturally oozed out of her says Worsley. Otherwise, she could be distant and cold as described by strangers. So, I was delighted to see creative people boldly combine Jane’s heroine and with Janes’s own delightful personality. Dakota Johnson, bless her, nailed her character perfectly! All the actors were very very good. Anne’s sisters and father were perfect! The screen play took liberties with the plot, simplifying her cousin’s actions to protect his future hoped for inheritance. It was a disappointing decision, probably financially motivated to cut costs. The scenery was painterly, the costumes and sets inspired.

It's funny, one reviewer couldn't say enough good things about this series. I strongly disagree and I wonder if this reviewer is legitimate. I know people's tastes differ, but there simply is not much here. Did we watch the same series? The overall unifying vibe is heavy, turgid, unimaginative, predictable and extremely dull. Actress Son mostly has a frown on her face. She is not that type of actress who can carry a heavy spirit. Ugh. I had to watch each episode in multiple sittings because it was so darned boring. I'm a big fan of all the actors and actresses. They do extremely well when given good writing. I don't even know who wrote this and I don't care. Even if S. Korea's greatest talent wrote it...it should have been ditched. Ouch. Mrs. Son, in every series I've seen her in, captures my interest immediately and completely. That is who she is. Not in this one. I don't even like her in this one. Once in a while, Son's genuine smile reminded me of how much I really do like this performer. Shessh, bad writing can ruin us all. The visuals in this series are very rich. The visuals earned the 2 stars. They work well except they perhaps contribute to the sense of empty materialism. There is nothing more depressing than hangin' out with vapid smug people. That is how these people struck me: The new S. Korean nuveau riche. Shallow and pretentious is just not pretty no matter how many wrinkles you make disappear. As I said, I am in love with K- food, cooking, drama, skin care, and the general high energy, strength, and optimism of the beautiful Korean spirit. However, this series turned me off so much that I'm sick of the "always be selling" mentality we see here and in other Korean products. Give it break. Give us a break or you will burn us out and we will abandon you. I watched every minute of this one but I won't make that mistake again. The whole thing puts me in a lousy mood.

The Audible podcast presentation "West Cork" covers more material. But it is also all over the place, interviewing so many witnesses at length that it can be confusing. It was good though. After listening to accounts for hours, I finally had to stop and take notes to sort out the presentation in my mind. In so doing, I was surprised to note that Ian Bailey confessed to killing Sophie about 7 different times. Screaming and crying sometimes, cold as ice at others. What a freak. For each confession, Bailey made excuses later--he was being sarcastic, he was drunk, he was joking etc. Ha-ha. However, it was good to see this documentary film, good to see the witnesses rather than just hear the witnesses, but it does not include the evidenciary material that the podcast did. After listening, watching, and reading articles online, esp. in the Irish Times, it's a no-brainer. The murder is solved, the French Court, a different system than the U.K, Ireland, or the U.S., convicted Ian Bailey in a routine way. That means it's a solved murder. And, the Irish Guards gathered a mountain of evidence to make that conviction possible, which the French court used, adding some of it's own investigatory work to the mix. But the Guards work is what solved the crime. For example, the Guards immediately started investigating 53 men, all local because the crime was in such a remote place, only the locals knew it's location. Many locals got lost traveling to the location later. They Guards immediately eliminated all women suspects because none were strong enough to do the crime. For example, a huge concrete block was hurled at Sophie's head, crushing her skull. Her face was so battered it was clear she was attacked with great force. The Guards interviewed and investigated 52 male persons of interest. They were left with only 1 man who had means, motive, opportunity, who lived nearby, who had scratches identical to the victimes, who constinuously confessed to the murder and later retracked his confessions, who is to this day obcessed with it, and who burned a mattress, bedding, and clothing including boots later the same morning. Who burns beds and clothing on Christmas morning? Who burns large leather boots? Murders clean up their crimes asap, or their less insane sobbered up partners do it for them. I guess we all picture in our minds that Ian came home drunk, raving mad and bloody and collasped on their bed, contaminating it with Sophie's blood. That is why the mattress was soon dragged outside and burned. That was Jules's impulse. Both Ian and Jules lied about Ian's alibi at first and later retracted it. He was gone from their bedroom in the middle of the night. No alibi. He roamed around the windswept landscape in the middle of the night. Truely a crazy man. Ian and Jules are not forthright poeple. Seeminly, they would rather lie than tell the truth. I read recenly online that Jules has finally asked Ian to move out. We'll see it that takes. Jules wants her children to visit her again, so she is kicking Ian out. She waited, she said, many years because she didn't want anyone to think Ian did it. Yes, true, it will be bad for Jules for Ian to be found guilty of the murder. Jules being an accessory after the murder is protecting herself now.

I genuinely liked these actors and appreciate their fine performances. I continue to be amazed and impressed by South Korean actors. The plotting is generally very good in South Korean dramas, but this one has some issues. All plots have weaknesses but this one has more than its share. First, aren't we all sick to death of phycho's ruling the world? We just experienced 4 years under a big weirdo in America and it's boring. Additionally, the time line of the plot is all messed up and many facts defy logic. For example, the miracle drugs and cures of the future couldn't happen because everything had been blown to bits since the present time. When did all the scientific research, delicate manufacture and storage of meds, and supply chain perfection happen? It didn't. Most importantly to me, the story reads like yet another rough allegory of N. Korean's Kim Jung-un firing atomic missels on S. Korea. Perhaps this fear has less foundation that it appears to have. As a foreigner, it looks like S. Korea is powerful and wealthy and N. Korea of dying. It was like that in our cold war years. America got wealthier and more powerful as we participated in the world economy, while our scary enemy supposedly got bigger. That fear fueled writers, Presidents, and general's pronouncements about our shaky future. In reality, as Pres. Regan was scaring the American public calling the Evil Empire, the U.S.S.R. was, in reality, going bankrupt and physcially crumbling from within. What's different, of course, about S. Korea's situation is its proximity to N. Korea. And what about the ending? Uh??? The writer is fixing everything by saying it was a dream? Seriously--a 16 episode dream?

Netflix partnering with Korean productions keeps hitting homeruns! They are producing some of the most edifying, high-end entertainment there is. I never expected to watch 16 episodes of a video game series but, in this series, time travel and video-games-becoming-real gets new life. Having said that, the plot has some issues. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the series however; if anything, it gave me plenty to work out while I was watching the handsome athletic Hyun win battle after endless battle. Is he the Gary Cooper of Korea? Back in the day, before my time, Americans watched the tall, handsome, charming Cooper in cowboy film after cowboy film. Men liked him as well or better than women because they wanted to be him, wanted tips! The whole virus/bug theme was either not solid or not well presented. We just had to give up and surrender to the writer the willing suspension of disbelief. On top of that, there was the horrifying product liablity issues. Yoo trying to fix-it instead of pitching a fit and having it shut down didn't work for me. Beoing just did that and killed over 300 people, so there is that social wrong playing in my head during the whole series. What highly intelligent person would do that? Dumbells do it because they lack courage, creativity and other resources. But not this guy, not our hero, however confident and arrogant his character is, he is not a dumbell! The good looks of these two leading actors, Hyun and Park, blend visually. I love seeing them together on camera. And of course their characters thematically compliment each other. And, both are good atheletes. He's just amazing and it was fun watching her sprinting after her man in heels. She is a gazelle on camera! Having said that, the whole romance connection as written was thin and sad. It was more important to kill a hundred more people than to develop a plausible romantic connection. Even my dear husband, a true man from Mars, looked at me at one point and asked, "Is this what Korean women have to put up with?" My answer was no, they wouldn't! Nonetheless, these two very gifted actors gave it their all and made a great series. One of the lovely things about watching Korean dramas is that we get to see how much Korean people love families. Of course, like all families everywhere, there is tension, but it is fascinating to watch Koreans work out their brand of family/relationship tension and competing interests. They are passionate, entertaining, colorful and creative. Their brand of Asia culture is different from the others we've observed, perhaps being more direct and earthy?, while still being repressed enough to be a decent Asian culture but not so repressed that the writers/characters allow it to destroy all happiness. Speaking of culture, this series had very little bowing--more nodding than actual bowing. As efficient as Koreans are, I expect bowing to take up less and less production time. But did a bean counter somewhere delete too much of this custom? If yes, then shame on them. One of the English language songs that plays when Park in on camera, ever anxious over her impoverished love life while sprinting after her man is: "My Heart Is You." But, shouldn't it be "My Heart Is Yoo?" Was that intentional? Ha! Good job!

Turns out that Netflix's decision to produce content was brilliant. I am now able to find many more series and programs that I enjoy. The various Korean dramas, including this one, have been a rich and wonderful source of high quality entertainment. While "One Spring Night" is less flashy than some of the other dramas, it is, in some ways, more compelling. These writers and actors are as intellectual and philosophical as their Korean ancestors. This series has surprised me by presenting an unpretentious layered, nuanced study of ordinary characters finding the strength to make painful decisions that promise to make their lives more worthwhile. This effort, by the way, turns the ordinary character into an extradordinary one. Voila! Cool theme. This idea runs through out the characters lives but particularly focuses on the male and female leads. Both 35 year olds have experienced suffering from relationships. His despair and her deep disastisfaction coupled with both characters hesitation to hurt others starts the action of the series. The male lead is a normal guy who lacks confidence even though he is tall, accomplished and bright with movie-star-handsome good looks? Okay. She presents as an unhappy or tough (?) off-putting tiny but powerful woman. Was it the prickly librarian personality thing happening? I soon realized that of course a pretty, competant woman who is nonetheless being marginalized by her romantic situation, is no fun to be around! Nor should she be. So, the writer and the actress acurately, skillfully convey this annoying space for a person to inhabit. Revealing each character's less than charming side is a skill most writers don't possess, but this one does! These characters grow and gradually become more genuinely charming. How wonderful is that? Experiencing this character arc deepens our understanding of human nature, even may make us self reflective. The actors and actresses here are highly skilled. I - mean - all - of - them. The male lead inhabits his character with mature restraint. Thankfully, none of these actors distract us by overacting. And, because, the viewer is drawn in, it is easy to get so involved in their performances that one forgets that one can't understand what they are saying -- forgets to read the subtitles and has to rewind to catch the precise meaning. Now that's good acting!!! The original soundtrack is brilliant. All 5 songs are works of art, deepening our understanding of the story and our attachment to the characters. I'd rather have 5 great songs that fit perfectly into the story than lots of noisy racket that forces the action. The music accurately reflects the themes of the sudden surprise of love and the enduring quality of true attachement. The theme song, Spring Rain by Oscar Dunbar is a true beauty, a masterpiece. It captures the emotional tone of the film with images that are iconic to this story. It speaks of spring, new life, beginnings. It cheers the couple forward. It even describes life locking one in and the new love opening the door. And the first line, "Look of life", defines the whole story by analogizing that we as humans are part of nature, we are part of life, not separate from it. It recalls to us that the interactions between a loving couple uniting with good will work mystically, offering instinctual hunches that should be examined and that can be trusted. If you're in love, this will speak to you. If you've never been in love, it may give you a window to what it looks like. Enjoy this one! It is food for the soul and so worth the ride!

Waiting for Season 3! This is the most sophisticated South Korean t.v. series I have seen. It is beautifully and carefully made. Even the opening credits are inspiring! I enjoy having to work a little to understand the plot. The subtitles are very well done. All the acting is remarkably subtle and nuanced with the male and female leads striking just the right note, creating a plausible partnership. The cold male and warm female duo is an old troupe that works well here and endears us to both characters. We always want to see more of them. When they are on camera together, we are carried along with the plot. South Koreans are producing my favorite series lately. I am very eager to see more of their work.