Comments on: Dahee Fanel’s 2008 Review [Year in Review, Part 3]

By: ladida

ladida — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:24:13 +0000

Oh, and here’s a pretty in-depth review; it’s long winded, and the writer sounds a little pretentious, but it’s rather informative for anyone who isn’t very familiar with the history of Korean television (i.e. me).

http://twitchfilm.com/news/2008/07/k-drama-reviews-la-dolce-vita.php

By: ladida

ladida — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:08:09 +0000

So I just recently finished La Dolce Vita, and it was so good. My first melodrama ever; I began watching it because of Lee Dong Wook, who I am currently watching in Scent of a Woman; and was drawn in by the wonderful music, the sometimes infuriating plot twists, the techniques used in telling the story, the twisted psyches of all the characters, but most of all, Oh Yun Soo’s character, Hye Jin. The transformation she makes from a shell of a caricature of a housewife in a loveless, pointless, and sometimes abusive marriage, to this vibrant person who wants to determine her own life and acknowledge and try to fulfill her own desires–I love it. And I love that Lee Dong Wook’s character, Joon Soo, didn’t make that happen, that he was just one of the many catalysts that helped her to become who she is at the end of the drama, that ultimately Hye Jin’s happiness is not dependent on someone else, but on herself. Another highlight was how generously Da Ae was written and acted: she wasn’t just the evil or ditzy “other woman,” but actually this fully realized human being who was naive and spiteful and as confused and selfish as any other person, and also able to be surprisingly caring. The relationship between Hye Jin and Joon Soo was at times rawr!, at times sweet, at times rip-you-hair-out infuriating, but always moving. The best part of the show, though, was the ending: those last few minutes, when Hye Jin is lost in her own thoughts, seeing a Joon Soo who isn’t really there, but still smiling, still appreciating his life even though he chose to end it, and respecting that choice–she reminds me of Clarissa Dalloway (one of my favorite literary heroines) in that way, standing at a point in her life with all the decisions she has made in her past making up who she is today, facing a future that’s uncertain, but a future that she chose, and being able to understand that death is not only something horrifying, but something that can be other things, too: banal, miserable, demeaning, and sometimes even affirming and beautiful.

I’m not one of those people who thinks drama is inherently better or more meaningful or has more stake over my emotions than comedy; actually, I find the political power of comedy much more trenchant than drama, so I came to La Dolce Vita expecting hysterics and non sequiturs and maudlin histrionics, and instead what I got was this drama that was so layered and detailed and well made that it made me feel grateful for being able to watch it; I wasn’t just a viewer or a consumer of media, I felt like an organic part of what was going on on my screen. Does that make sense? I don’t know. All I can say is, great drama, definitely something folks should watch, and I hope Lee Dong Wook picks roles like this again.

By: chow shi

chow shi — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:12:19 +0000

I really love your blog. Unlike some people, you certainly know what you are talking about.

P.S.
Do you know where I can fast download La Dolce Vita, and more importantly for free =) ?

I downloaded the first 2 episodes and immediately watched as soon as it was completed. …I’m definitely loving it! i can’t wait any longer for the other episodes. Brilliant acting. It’s not the usual chick flick, cutie acting that we see on some Korean series. Even the simplest scenes touched my heart deeply. The part where Lee Dong-Wook chased after Oh Yoon-Seo @ the terminal. He thought OYS already left . LDW was devastated then suddenly, he saw her. Their eyes met… staring at each other, no words… their eyes said it all! WOW! THAT’S WHAT YOU CALL ACTING, RIGHT THERE! THIS IS DRAMA IN ITS TRUEST SENSE.

However, I’m getting frustrated because there are no seeders. Pls guys, seed the drama.

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:38:11 +0000

I think I’ll read your reviews before I pick which dramas to watch. Again, you have excellent reviews. I hate wasting my time on terrible dramas (i.e. bad acting, bad stories – like East of Eden – the only redemption is Song Seung Heon’s good looks). You didn’t have a lot of positive points about Beethoven Virus – but Kim Myung Min certainly pulled it off -he carried the movie through to the end, so he deserve his award. In spite of the flaws in the drama, it’s still one of my favorites.
Have you seen Takuya Kimura’s dramas? … he has a lot of good ones.

By: Peggy

Peggy — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:28:03 +0000

Hi Dahee,

I thoroughly enjoyed La Dolce Vita. It was a difficult drama to watch. Painful lives are never easy to write about and certainly not easy for actors to get into and make us empathise. I don’t think you have to know anything about these characters as applied to real life. This is a fictional drama and a very deeply thought out plot. In fact if you didn’t watch it closely you could miss the secret things that turned the story here and there.
I was so impressed with Lee dong Wook. I have seen him in other things but I never realised that he had it in him to be such a twisted and sad man. Of course the older actors were there to make him step up and churn his soul out in the role.

there was nothing I really could not take in this drama until the very end when he appeared as if a mirage and that jarred my perception altogether. I wondered if they wanted to show the actor once more rather than the character . Niether were necessary for me.
Apart from that, all I can say is I enjoyed it. I still remember it .and I would watch it again.

By: Eliza

Eliza — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:13:08 +0000

La Dolce Vita is a drama that surely brings a lot of comments and points of view, I assumed based on your age and life’s experiences.

For a never married, non parent young person who still believes that life is not that complicated and is idealist , the characters are disgusting.

For middle-aged people who have been in a marriage where love has gone out the window a long time ago and are trapped in a loveless marriage, things look differently. Perhaps it’s a mutual situation of convenience.

For divorced women who had the courage to leave this kind of marriage even at the expense of losing material comfort and their children, it’s something they can relate to and understand.

You do not have to have a PhD to understand, appreciate or like this drama, just a little of compassion for the characters who suffered for their own selfish reasons, but couldn’t help it. If we were them, would we be able to see what was wrong with us? In real life, people rarely recognize their flaws and change them before things get more complicated and end up in death or divorce,

LDV is a drama that makes you think. As much as I like comedies, tragic dramas like this one remind us that life is complicated and by watching them, we have the opportunity to look into ourselves, learn what needs to be taken from them and make changes accordingly.

Just because one doesn’t like a particular drama, that doesn’t mean it is unwatchable crap to others. Some dramas hit a cord on each of us, others don’t.

Thank goodness threre are plenty of dramas to fit everyone’s taste.

By: sisisome

sisisome — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:26:59 +0000

I am not a Korean and i’m not a big TV Fan.. but… I love “La Dolce Vita”

Totally agreed with your review, esp. on the part about the writer… I’m glad that there’s someone having similar thought… The storyline was just.. perfect… but you really need to put some effort to work that out.. I just love everything out of it.. Each character, each scene, the OST… It’s GREAT~ so I have to say a Big thanks to the team…

I understand that it’s not one of those ‘adorable’ TV series that will touch every single one’s heart.. (the story line limited its market) but for those who likes it, i’m sure it’s one of their Best~

Bittersweet ~

By: Nora Blevins

Nora Blevins — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:21:21 +0000

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By: cathy

cathy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:22:19 +0000

I like iljimae , fun and cute , LJK is good actor , i guess everyone having different tastes .

By: aku-benci-sejarah

aku-benci-sejarah — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:28:06 +0000

i’ve been waiting for your review of Painter of The Wind since 1000 years ago