Belle âme – Google

I love the story (thanks to the scriptwriter/s), all the actors led by my favorite Jung Hae-in, one of the ultimate actors of Korea, the director and everyone who was part of the making of this series. Honestly, watching this was an emotionally draining experience for me and even as I let myself believe that this is fiction, yet everything that happened is real out there, then and now. My highest respect goes to soldiers and trainees who survived the harsh, brutal realities of life in the military.

The Manila, Philippines scenes of the alleged assassination of Wansoo in a shopping mall in Makati is baloney. Except for the City of Dreams casino, the rest was not shot in the Philippines. The buildings, the scenery was definitely some place else. I stayed in the Philippines for more than 10 years so I know those places well to identify them. Even the color of the taxi, pink and green? Incredible!

I re-watched this show after almost 10 years. I have to admit, the first time I binge watched this in 2014, I found it refreshing, funny and I did enjoy. But when I made a repeat, I found some scenes repulsive. These were the scenes when Eun Chan (Yoon Eun-hye) was eating. The way she eats comes as repulsive and disgusting. Her background was they're not dirt poor, the house they're living in was okay, she looked decent yet she eats like a pig like she's got no breeding nor manners. It's not funny, I really find it distasteful even if she looks cute doing it. So I skip these scenes fast forward. Over all, I still love everyone in the show and I miss Lee Sun-kyun.

This series has a nice, neat, and well developed plot and executed in good pace. All the characters are laudable in their acting and most of the funny moments in the story are a perfect and rare mixture of humor and romance. Though this is not a very unique story, very simple and predictable, but definitely not boring, conferring diverse issues on loyalty, friendship, corruption, politics, art. It's quite refreshing and a complete departure from other Korean romance-comedy shows that always have "stupid stuff" that are incredulous and irritating. The bloopers of Moo hak are ludicrous and his sheepish looks when he's being corrected is comical. Starting with a light touch, the story thereafter became serious but without it's funny spins Hwang Bo-ra (Ms. Yeo) is awesome, so grand acting out her character. Finally, Park Gyu-young and Kim Min-jae absolutely look good together. I've been a great fan of Min-jae after watching his shows Poong, Flower Crew, Brahms. He lives and breathes his character. His looks is definitely not mundane. (Spoiler: what's with Kim Da-li's hairstyle??? They think the curls made her look cuter? It's disgusting to look at and even emphasized the fact that she's obviously older than Moo hak. Even without those obnoxious curls, she'll be beautiful.)

So, Hyun Bin is still on top of the chart when it comes to looks and acting. In the beginning, I loved the plot, focusing on friendship, getting over a painful past and detailed discussions on personality disorders, BUT... I got so bored as I went from one episode to the next. I would often utter "stupid" as I watched scenes. Frustrated as to understand what was going through the writer's mind, I finally gave up, skipped episodes 14-19, fast forward to Episode 20 to end my watch. My spoiler review: I hate Kdramas when it comes to continuity of scenes and sometimes "stupid stuff" like in Episode 10. A normal person finding himself in a closed building with glass windows will automatically break one of the windows when there's a gas leak. Mr. Gu and Jang Hana actual dumb like it had to take someone like Robin to think of breaking the glass window. And you break the widow using your fist not your arm. And here comes the scene when the bandage was on the wrist part with no cuts seen on the fist. Funny but stupid. When Dr. Yoon confronts Dr. Kang bringing her cookies and tea, her hands were tied, resting on her lap. In Episode 11, while they were again discussing Seo-jin, her hands were tied at the back. Continuity please! Sorry for this spoiler. It's hard for someone like me who has worked for television shows and editing dramas after the shoot not to notice these inconsistencies but it really bothered me no end. Much as I enjoyed watching Hyun Bin, this show and its writer is completely lost somewhere and thus, made it boring and annoying. Giving so much time to Dr. Yoon and the abduction of Dr. Kang is a dimwit's idea. I got so miffed because for me, the plot became predictable. I have nothing against the character of Jang Hana but her facial expression is apathetic. Aside from the fact that it was obvious that there was no chemistry between her and Hyun Bin, till the end, I could not fathom her true character or feelings: Robin or Seo-jin? And finally...the wedding? It's ludicrous!

I just finished watching this show on Netflix and from start to finish I was completely hooked. It's a total package that speaks of family, friendship, puppy love, and even pain that one goes through with realities of life. The relationship and love and bond in the family of Sang Zhi and Sang Yan is amazingly perfect. Chen Zheyuan and Victor Ma's portrayal of what best friends should be is beyond compare. Their scenes together with actress Zhao Lusi never failed to leave a smile on my face. They're adorable. This show definitely is a must watch (highly recommended if you haven't seen it yet)!

Giving it a 4 star rating, it's good to recommended watching the series. It's a total entertainment and exposé on family ties, injustice, betrayal, corruption, with light comedy on the side. Everyone's acting their roles to a T. However, the sight of Kim Yeo-jin as a former prosecutor and later a lawyer for a corrupt corporation is thumbs down. She looked dirty and so unruly with her hair even when attending formal functions. A corrupt lawyer could also look elegant and not unkempt like what she portrays 😁 Song Joong-ki is at his top element as usual and I'd rate Kwak Dong-yeon second best for his portrayal of a dumb corporate leader. His facial expression says it all. As a former scriptwriter, the first few sciences in Episode 20 is sloppy. Vincenzo who is smart and quick witted was momentarily dulled by his emotions. Unbelievable plot. So many missed chances of preventing Han seok to be killed by his bother. There really is no perfect script. 🙂 It's still a 4-star though.