| SYNOPSIS:
Misfortunate
fate… Are we going to meet each other again in the next
life?
Here are the unfortunate lovers who reincarnate at different
times and keep meeting again and again. Their karma reflects
your own life and love. Their hopeless loves over a thousand
years reveals a heartbreaking love story.
Meeting each other in the next life is a privilege allowed
only to those who do their best in their love in this life.
Are we trying hard enough not to have any regrets in the next
life? This is the story of lovers who meet each other in different
lives and in different times. You will witness their hard
efforts to keep their promises to love each other forever.
What if the fact that I was born, I live and I always fail
at love repeats over the thousands years in different places
and at different times? What if birth and death are only entering
and leaving the stage? Then, my goal in this life is cutting
off that vicious cycle in my painful life.
DRAMA
REVIEW :
Do you
believe in Karma or reincarnation? This MBC 2005 Korean TV
drama series is about 4 people whose lives are interconnected
and entangled in the world of love. Even after thousand years
and 4 cycles of reincarnation, their paths remain crossed
and bound by the seemingly cruel destiny. Would the fulfillment
of the unfinished love promises swore in previous life breaks
this merciless, vicious cycle? Or history would just repeat
itself and continues again in the Next life? Their moment
of the choice determines the outcome.
In
the current cycle, Lee Soo-Hyeon (Park Ye Jin), a neurologist
and her long-time, university boyfriend, Min Ki-Beom (Ryu
Soo-Young), now a surgeon, would have just married. Had not
been that fateful day, Ki-Beom got acquainted with a lady,
Kang Jeong-hwa (Jang Shin Young). Both, even themselves, are
baffled, by the amazing attraction drawn to each other, escalated
to an intimate relationship. She is a café waitress
during day-time while at night, she is active in stage performance
with Ki-Beom’s younger brother, Ki-Soo (Lee Jong-Soo).
The latter falls head over heels over her and is wooing her
but to no avail. For she has found the man of her destiny,
Ki-Beom, who is irreplaceable place in her heart. But she
did not know both are actually brothers. Things get even more
complicated as Ki-Soo introduces Jeong-hwa to Soo-Hyeon, who
later becomes her doctor curing her severe insomnia sickness.
Journey
to the past begins from Jeong-hwa’s treatment sessions
alone with Soo-Hyeon. From her hypnosis, she begins to feel
and see clearly her previous lives that involved all of them.
The
4 cycles covered over different era periods – swordsman/martial
arts, conservative Confucius scholarly, historical, nationalistic
times.
This
proves to be a real massive challenge for the whole production
crew from the director, scriptwriter, costume designer etc,
in maintaining the coherency of the script. Luckily, a constant
development pace is kept. Neither is too fast or too draggy
to boredom. Just a slight hiccup towards the second half in
which there is an abrupt shuttle to the present that instantaneously
breaks the flow.
The
drama series rely much on a dream sequence, signaled by a
dissolve, often on the face of a person whose flashback or
past live is to be witnessed. It gets repetitive.
With
such plot spanning over from ancient to historical to pre-modern
to modern days, it definitely tested how versatile the whole
cast, especially the 4 lead roles, can be in their acting
skills. A majority of the Korean TV drama local fans who have
grown accustomed to familiar faces like Bae Yong-Joon, would
find them unfamiliar. But do not dismiss them because of that.
Perhaps
you might find your heart stolen by the arresting smile of
Ryu Soo-Young but of course, his convincing impressive performance
in his portrayal of a Confucius gentlemanly scholar, the next
moment, a valiant Mongolian warrior, then a patriotic post-war
reporter and finally, a modern-day surgeon, that shows that
he has more than his superficially good looks to offer to
the audience.
Another
chameleon-like, who glides smoothly from her historical to
modern professional portrayal is graceful Park Ye Jin while
bambi-eyed, sweet Jang Shin Young slightly pales in comparison.
Apparently, her too-contemporary looks is already a lethal
poison and her further undisguised tinted hair in historical
period tilts the scale to the unconvincing side. Who knows
she might be the next Song Hye Kyo?
A
waste that there is just not enough room for Lee Jong-Soo
to showcase his full potential.
After
all the painstakingly illustration of the love quadrangles,
the story ends with a test of mind-tussle between This or
That for the audience.
RATING
:
(A
mixture of curiosity, fascination towards love definition
and vows over the realms of time)
Review
by Alicia Tee
|
