Drama: PinocchioGenre: Romantic drama with fantasy elements
Starring: Lee Jong Suk, Park Shin Hye
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
So here's one that Megs, my also kdrama inflicted sister, told me about WAY in the beginning, but I just now finally got to. And I'm so sad I waited so long! This is now one of my favorites! What an interesting thought provoking beautiful story.
The premise, (and the fantasy element mentioned above) is that people in this otherwise normal world, can't lie because when they do, they hiccup and give themselves away. They have what is called the Pinocchio Syndrome. And our leading lady is inflicted.
So first of all, this makes the romance interesting because she, you know, can't lie to him. And can't say that no, she doesn't like him when in fact she totally does. I LOVE this! It makes everyone have to deal with stuff then and there instead of just mess around!
The story starts when our leading man is a young boy and his fire fighting father dies in a big terrible fire. And then is framed for it and blamed as the cause. By a Pinocchio who can't lie, and thus the world takes his word for the truth. This event destroys our poor boy's family and he ends up an orphan basically, and is taken in by a loving kind old grandpa (ah... PINOCCHIO/GEPETTO!! IT JUST HIT ME!) And this grandpa raises him. Well, the grandpa's older son also comes to live with him, as does that son's daughter. So the boy and girl are raised together like family.
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| Our characters when they are in high school. |
The boy blames the press for this above tragedy, for not looking into thing and for not investigating the truth. And for manipulating things to fit what they want. And so it's pretty crazy that this boy (and this girl) grow up to become reporters. And so most of the drama is them on their internship basically, learning how to be reporters and learning about how to tell the truth... or lie... as the case may be. (Which is also another interesting thing for our Pinocchio girl to deal with... being a reporter who can't lie.)
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| Grown up and trying to be good reporters! |
And it's about revenge. And about forgiveness. And redemption. And...love and family... and so may wonderful beautiful things. I got teary so many times during this one! So many! Which is a good thing because you know it's moving and heart wrenching! Yes. It is.
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| The grandpa is one of my all time favorite characters. |
The leading guy is one of my favorites. He's a guy who, I've decided, has to sort of grow on you, but dang, once he does, he is set. His acting so amazing. I just, I'm just always blown away. And the girl is one of Korea's favorite leading girls too and I've seen her now in several dramas and she's also always spot on.
Anyway. Mark it down for one of the best ones!
I can't find a good trailer for it but here's the sappy song with sappy clips one that I love so much!
This one sounds so weird but actually really cute. I'm telling you, one of these days I'm going to start watching these!
ReplyDeleteThis one sounds fun. Someday I'll watch another kdrama.
ReplyDeleteLOL! You guys and your somedays and one days! :) I'm guessing you just don't want to be ruined for everything else that's out there...which, you know, is understandable and stuff. 'Cause, it happens.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear that you love Pinocchio as well since it's one of my favorite dramas as well because it's just such a beautiful story that has characters that you can't help but find yourself invested in and it's themes are ones that get you even more engaged with the story. This drama is actually one I watched fairly early on in my drama watching and while I love it a part of me regrets watching it so early on because I find that there are very few dramas that are better than this one, so I feel like it made my expectations a bit too high in the long run.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I love that Park Hye Ryun(the writer of this drama) does is that she likes to add one little fantasy element to her dramas so that she can use that element to further highlight the themes of her drama with this one she made it so In Ha couldn't lie because she want to emphasis the importance of the truth but also to show that the truth can be subjective at times and in her drama I Hear Your Voice the male lead can read people's minds because one the important themes in that drama is listening to people when no one else will. I love that this writer adds one little fantasy element to her stories to highlight certain aspects of her themes and characters but then keeps her stories pretty grounded in reality which makes you more engaged in the story.
I really love the affect that In ha being unable to lie has on the romance story line because it makes it move a long at a quicker pace because she's unable to hid her feelings from anyone once she realizes them but on the other hand I also like that first part of the series Dal po couldn't tell the truth about many things since despite hating lying he has been forced into a situation where he feels like he has to lie to survive, I think the contrast between the two is something that made the story and their relationship very interesting.
I find it interesting that when talking about Dal po's backstory that you focused more on how a pinocchio's word ended up villainzing his father rather than how the press's treatment ended up destroying his family by spreading unproven information because they knew that would give their network better ratings. The take way I get from the back story and really the series as a whole is that a reporter needs to be careful about what kind of information that they spread because the public trusts them to be telling the truth and that a reporter has a duty to find and report the truth regardless of whether or not it's what people want to hear. I really loved seeing our main characters learn what it means to be a reporter and I love that they learned many lessons along the way and that they learned that the truth isn't always simple and that a reporter's job isn't always an easy one.
Part 2
DeleteThis drama is a series that is just so good at getting you invested in everything that is going on it and I think that this largely because Park Hye Ryun dramas are ones that are always written in a way that is earnest and heartfelt which is something that just gets the audience emotionally invested in everyone and not just the leads.
I'm so happy to hear that Lee Jong Suk is now one of your favorite actors because he has been one of my favorites since I first saw him in I Hear Your Voice but I feel like it's not that he takes awhile to grow on you it's that in W there was something I bit emotionally distant about the way that Kang Chul was written which made it a bit harder to connect to his characters although his acting was still great in that drama I didn't feel as connected to his characters as I did in Pinocchio, I Hear Your Voice and School 2013. The thing I love about Lee Jong suk is the way he just throws himself into a role so completely and I find that there is something so emotionally driven about his performance that it makes his characters stick with you long after you finish watching the drama. One of my favorite acting scenes of his in this drama the job interview scene at the end of episode four when his character has to watch the news reporters about his father and then finds out his father has been dead all these years and then completely looses it at In ha when she tries to defend the reporters, the emotions in that scene are just well portrayed. . I'm curious which scene made you realize that Lee Jong Suk is a really good actor I remember mine was at the end of episode 4 of I Hear Your Voice that scene is one that I don't think I can ever forget largely because of his emotional intensity.
I'm really happy to hear that your a fan of Park Shin Hye because she's one of my favorite actress as well and I never hear you talk about favorite kdrama actresses so I'm really curious about who your favorites are. Park Shin-hye and Park Min Young are my two favorites although I do have a lot more of them I love as well.
I really love your review of Pinocchio and I know that my comment is already super long so I won't give my recommendation for I Hear Your Voice here like I promised I would but just knows it's by the same writer and stars Lee Jong suk and I love it even more than this series.
Lillylilac: AH!!! I love all this! Thanks so much for the long comment! :) I Hear Your Voice sounds awesome and I will definitely be adding that to my list! I don't know what has grabbed me about Lee Jong Suk. He is just, so... intense. I love it. His eyes, they way he tilts his head and looks deep into... whoever he is looking at. (Which as a viewer you feel it's you!!) My favorite scene that just killed me emotionally was when he was telling his "father" (the grandpa) the truth about himself. I don't want to give it away in case someone reads this who doesn't want spoilers. But you know the scene? Oh my, but that was crazy good. He was amazing in the scene you mentioned too. I can't wait to watch more from him. Isn't he in a new one soon too? As for actresses, I haven't memorized their names like I have with the guys... gah. So bad of me! But yes I like Park Shin Hye, and the girl that does She Was Pretty and Kill Me Heal Me, and the one that just acted in Strong Women (I know she has been in a ton but I haven't seen them) and the one from Healer (and I think also City Hunter.) So far those are my favorites. Oh, I know Suzy too and she was amazing in Uncontrollably Fond, which brings up Kim Woo Bin. Sob. Dang, I hope he makes it....
ReplyDeleteThanks again for talking dramas with me. Keep it up!
I'm happy to hear that you're putting I Hear Your Voice on your to watch list since it is the best drama that I watched so far. Lee Jong suk really puts his all into his work and it shows which leads to great performances. Lee Jong suk's next drama While You Were Sleeping, premieres in September and it's by the same writer as this drama and I Hear Your Voice so I'm super excited to watch it. I haven't seen the actress from She Was Pretty and Kill Me, Heal Me in anything but I love Park Min Young(City Hunter and Healer), I'm liking Park Bo Young(Strong Woman) in Oh My Ghostess and I hear she was in the movie Hot Young Bloods with Lee Jong suk and I adore Suzy because of Dream High and I'm looking forward to seeing her in While You Were Sleeping. I'm a bit concerned for Kim Woo Bin as well but hopeful he'll be okay, also I think that you should check out School 2013 one day since your a big fan of his and Lee Jong suk, they're both excellent in that drama.
DeleteYes, Lee Jong Suk... you don't know how dangerous he is until it is far too late and you already love him!!!! Like... his eyes and smile can rival Chang Wook's, but you don't know it until you are already dead... For example, in that absolutely frustrating webdrama Seven First Kisses... I'm sorry, I want Lee Jong Suk to be my boyfriend... (wait what???? Over JCW) ... uh yeah... He is just so likeable!!! ANYWAY!!! I AM SO GLAD YOU LOVED THIS ONE!!! Because I did too!!!! Also I Hear Your Voice is on my list too!
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