Pam Tate

My first real disappointment after watching twenty or so Chinese Dramas. The Long Ballad was too too long, first time I've felt that way! Usually the more episodes the better for me. The dialogue is too expositional, repetitive and didactic. "Give peace a chance " over and over and over. Diralba gives an infuriatingly one note performance with absolutely no chemistry or romance with Leo Wu, who tried his best with his wooden scene partner. Beautifully shot but what's with all the hand clenching? Surely we can trust the actors to convey that feeling through expression or some less obvious action. And when the payoff kiss between Leo and Diralba finally happens, the camera pulls focus onto those two yellow birds, which was disgusting. Best scenes were between Leo and Young Khan and A Duo's death scene. All that said, I'm anxious to begin another series to feed my new CD addiction.