THE LOVELY BONES [Book][Eng]

Written by Funn Lim

"I myself find it an ok read but not earth shattering good that I can't put down the book."



SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

LANGUAGE

English

PUBLISHED IN

2002

AUTHOR

Alice Sebold

OFFICIAL PLOT & REVIEW

From Amazon.com

On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."

The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings

REVIEW

I read the book The Lovely Bones in anticipation of the movie by Peter Jackson and I found myself skipping the later parts more often than I thought I would. Put it this way, it is not as terrible as Twilight but it isn't as good as Jeffrey Archer or Stephen King sort of books. In fact it is quite an effort for a first timer but I just couldn't understand...

1. if you're 14, raped, brutally murdered,chopped to pieces and obviously dead, wouldn't you want to find God and just ask "Why me Man? Why?". The book never even point to that, maybe avoiding the trappings of religious overtures BUT heaven is a very religious concept. How can this girl be so cool with her death?

2. She may not be able to do anything much to those who are alive but she has never tried to see if she can haunt her killer, not once. I would definitely try to scare him, and even if I can't I would make up a fuss why I can't.

3. She doesn't seem to hate her killer enough. She seems...zen like about her death.

4. The book did describe one of the most difficult scene, the luring of the girl,rape and the aftermath. The rape a bit but nothing tasteless like for publicity sort of way. BUT the book missed the opportunity to describe how she felt at dying time. Her rape was given a few paragraphs but her moment of death, one sentence. After that she was in Heaven but very little to describe how she felt in her dying moment, her adjusting to the death. The book did say she can go to heaven proper sort of thing if she were to accept her death and let the living live their lives which she couldn't until the end but the problem is she didn't seem to be the sort who can't let go. Her role is more as an observer and I hope the movie will make her an active participant.

5. Her father who was convinced the killer is her killer suddenly stopped being convinced and a decade or so passed and the killer dies but not from the act of revenge by his father. Such a devastating death and not one para to describe perhaps the father's rage. And I mean RAGE, not anger. I am disappointed after a while everybody seems to let her death go whilst the grief lingers. No no no! Anger comes first, anger fuels grief!

6. Her mother has an affair with the detective but the book justified it as a meaningless sort of sex, like letting go sort of sex. The mother walked out of the family and children for a decade or so and the book justified it as well coping with the protaganist's death. The only one to show any backbone and anger to the mother's abandonment was the young son. The protaganist decided not to judge her mother as she observed the mother's actions. I find this hard to believe. Why is it when a child dies the father deals with grief with thoughts of murder but the mother goes on to have sex and leaves the family? And the anger is just touch and go. There's an happy ending for the mother. I find the mother irresponsible, living in her own la-la land and very annoying.

7. The police did not even investigate. I mean the killer killed I think more than 5 girls or so. The detective was too busy having sex with the mother. When he found out there may be connections to other murders, nothing much was done to track him down. I mean useless detective.

8. The heroine fell to earth and entered another body after a decade or so observing her family, friends and first love and what did she do? She rushed to have sex with her one time first puppy love. Only later she remembered to call her brother but that was too late. She had to go. So...not going after your killer, not seeking your beloved daddy to give him one last hug, not see your sister and say good bye but sex.

9. This book also talks about her friends and I find them irrelevant and boring because one girl wasn't even her best friend. A whole large part was about her younger sister but that was a fluke. It was more on her younger sister's love life and when she did do something for the dead like stalking the killer, it ended abruptly. She didn't even seek the killer out later on. It ws like suddenly she just let go.

10. The killer saw the younger sister stalking him and what did he do? Nothing. Very anti climax.

11. The killer's end, so no justice. So did she move the icicle or what? More like just pure luck he lived for many years and just die falling down. I want a violent end and I want justice. It was like none. And this is a child rapist and killer mind you.

12. If you find the killer's story more interesting than the protaganist, surely the author has failed. And indeed, I find the killer more interesting. I find the heroine bland, her family bland, her story in the after life bland, and not very descriptive.

13. And the final ending, whilst reaching the end where the protaganist herself was able to let go of her family and move on as her family so easily did, I find it again bland. What is acutely missing is confusion, anger or rather maybe the author didn't describe it well.

14. One part I was moved and touched was a one paragraph of her dog, dead of old age finding her in her version of Heaven, where only those who has in common or truly seek can find each other and obviously the dog was seeking her. Other than that, bland.

15. The worst part was her falling down to earth and her mind was sex.

16. The entire book, like how a female author would write is all about feelings, how I feel, how they feel, how he feels. With all the feelings, I still feel the book empty in soul. It is like missing something and after thinking about it I realise I may have set the standard too high as this was her first effort. But penmanship is so important and I find the book badly paced. After like halfway through it was like suddenly the author ran out of things to say and so just went on to reach the target of a novel or number of pictures.

VERDICT

Most fantastic debut? Nope. Great story? Nope. If I remember correctly there was a similar sort of storyline in Christopher Pike's Remember Me, which was a shorter and more exciting book, more of a thriller than a philosophical one which this present book tries to be. Interesting read? Yes, until halfway. Will the movie be better? It seems the movie cut out several pivotal scenes.

My point is read and judge for yourself. I myself find it an ok read but not earth shattering good that I can't put down the book. That honour goes to the recent book I read, Jeffrey Archer's Prisoner Of Birth. Now that is one hell of a book and definitely a page turner but in the true Archer way, his ending as in the last chapter always kinda suck but every page before the last page was indeed a page turner!

Not this present book though.

INTERESTING STUFF

The entire story here. MAJOR SPOILERS!

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DAL JA'S SPRING [TV[[Kr]

Written by Funn Lim


But even with 2 boring actors and some very awful performances can't take away the power of Chae Rim's infectious charm factor.





SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

Also known as
The Spring of Oh Dal Ja
달자의 봄

Released in
2007

No. of Episodes
22, too long

Cast-Character
Chae Rim as Oh Dal Ja
Lee Min Ki as Kang Tae Bong
Lee Hyun Woo as Uhm Gi Joong
Lee Hye Young as Wee Seon Joo
Gong Hyung Jin as Shin Sae Do
Seo Yeong Hee as Jang Soo Jin
Kil Yong Woo as Kang (Tae Bong's father)
Kwon Ki Sun as Yeong Shim (Tae Bong's mother)
Kim Na Woon as Go Shil Jang (Oh Dal Ja's sunbae)
Jang Young Nam as Uhm Gi Joong's wife
Lee Kyung Jin as Jung Ae (Dal Ja's mother)
Kim Young Ok as Dal Ja's grandmother
Kim Sung Kyum as Tae Bong's grandfather
Oh Kyung Soo as Nam Dae Soo (the department director)
Kim Jae Wook as Choon Ha (Tae Bong's friend)
Seo Yeong as Hong Ji Hee
Kim In Tae as Sae Do's father

Plot
Taken from Dramawiki

Dalja’s Spring’ is the story of Dalja, a 33-year old single at a crossroad of whether to remain single or get married before she gets older. The drama aims to comically and candidly portray the reality and undying pursuit of romance of a thirty something single woman.

The love triangle of Dalja, Taebong and Gijoong brews conflicts over love versus marriage. Taebong, a hunk six years younger than Dalja, works as substitute dates and becomes Dalja’s fake boyfriend. Gijoong is the type who dreams of an ideal and rational courtship. The drama also highlights the life and work of women in their thirties through Dalja who is a talented managing director at a home shopping channel.

My Comments
When I started watching this series about 2 episodes into the series, my reaction was like the following:-

Chae Rim
What on earth happened to her face?? My God, how she has aged? What hideously over made up face is that? More work done on her face?

Lee Hye Young
Really so much work done to her face to the point she can only sneer

The guys
Quality of men in Korean drama series has declined over the years. Gong Hyung Jin doesn't strike me as a love interest, Lee Min Ki has only one expression throughout and Lee Hyun Woo is as interesting as a piece of wood.

Yes, I was concentrating on the actors that I kinda neglected on the plot a bit. After I got past the shock of seeing Chae Rim caked in inches make ups and when she wore less and less make up as the series went on and looking fresher and more youthful than her age, doesn't look much older than in All About Eve and looking past at the quality of men, I began to appreciate the story itself.

It is those type of stories about a woman in her early 30s discovering herself as she faces problems at work, colleagues and more importantly, her impending spinsterhood. It is not original, it is not even Bridget Jones' Diary but it is I must stress entertaining to the core.

The entire reason for that is quite simply because of the charming and immensely likeable Chae Rim. I only saw her in All About Eve and nothing else. Once I got past the horror of her deep voice which I now associate as deep husky voice which is rather nice actually, past her make up where she looks her best without much of it, and even her rather interesting curly hair that no one seems to like in the series (funny stuff whenever the elders comment on her hair), I enjoyed the series because and only because of her. I love the way she laughs, a bit hearty laugh, and when she laughs she lits up. She has this ability to make you like her, to make you cheer for her and feel for her as she stumble her way in love and in career. I can see this as a perfect casting decision because Dal Ja could gave been annoying with her constant voiceovers telling us how she feels but Chae Rim is just so effective as a genuinely likeable person. I don't know about you but when she laughs, I laugh along. Something very infectious about her, at least in this series. Imagine the entire series, story, plot, moments all dependant on one single character and one actress who if wrongly cast would have been disastrous so to me this is perfect casting. Read that this was her first role since her divorce. immediately my mind went .. "Divorce?! Ok, Jang Donggun not married yet right? RIGHT?" but it is just pure fantasy. I wish Jang Donggun would step down from his high horse and go back to TV just once and reunite with Chae Rim just once more because I feel whenever I see Gong Hyung Jin's character as the producer, I could only think of Jang Donggun who he himself has a winning smile. Such wishful thinking!

Remember I lamented on the fact the guys are either dull, bad actors or just plain weird? That is not to say Gong Hyung Jin is the bad actor. He is in fact very funny. It took some time to warm to him but again this is also a likeable character. One of the funniest scene had to be the one where Dalja and Sae Do woke up in the morning with Tae Bong, in a changed shorts sitting down looking at them calmly. Dalja screamed, since she was in bed with Sae Do. Sae Do screamed looking at Tae Bong's changed pants, thinking that they were so drunk the night before they had a threesome and it included Tae Bong with Sae Do! Dalja thought she slept with 2 guys and she screamed. And the screamed and screamed and cried and all until Tae Bong sighed and explained what happened. They were just so drunk they passed out, but before that someone I think Dalja vommitted on Tae Bong's pants! That was such a funny and witty scene and their reaction was so funny. I warmed to Gong Hyung Jin after that because even if he doesn't look the part, he is one funny actor.

And there is no way would I believe Sae Do is supposed to be 33, same age as Dalja. In fact Dalja, Sae Do and Lee Hye Young are all supposed to be 33 years old. Maybe Dalja but the other 2, kinda stretching it isn't it? Sae Do should be older or at least cast a younger actor. Lee Min Ki is supposed to be 6 years younger, that makes him 27 and he looks a tad younger than 27 though.

Putting aside the unbelievability that is their ages, let's talk about the plot.

It is witty, yes, sporadically though. Whenever the story focuses on Dalja and her observation of all things surrounding her, it is funny. I like the scene where she was so upset she ate 3 dinners in one night, causing stomach cramp and in the most unromantic date ever, she and Tae Bong sat before the doctor who explained her pain came from too much wastes in her stomach. That was crude and yet brilliantly written. Others such as Dalja's ending observation, always with "I am 33 years old and ---" which will summarise the next episode's plot. I like the story of scary possessive mothers that only Koreans can depict so well, fun loving cuddly grandfathers and what is missing is of course violent teachers or seniors which I often see in other Korean series. They will not hesitate to knock your head if you have been rude. I also like the scene where Dalja considered Chairman Uhm Gi Joong and went to see his really clean house but very nice one and how she thought this is not the sort of love she wants as even if she is 33, she wants to be romanced, she wants to be wooed whilst the Chairman was talking why he liked her so is because being older she is more mature and need not be pleased with girlish stuff. When he walked out, she has left the building! Very real I must say because I would too. So what if this guy is terribly rich? He is also terribly boring.

That is not to say Tae Bong is exciting. He seems to have a secret past and indeed he is trying to escape from his overpossessive scary mother and he was a high flying M&A (Mergers & Acquisition) hot shot lawyer but left his career in the hopes of becoming a chef. So he has no money, at one point even lived with Dalja which is a big taboo for an unmarried woman even if she is 33 and considered way past the marriage age. However I don't quite believe this part. In fact I think it is insane to show Tae Bong given a huge office room, huge salary and what nots. Never once did the series ever show him in action as the M&A lawyer. It is just said and frankly I didn't find Tae Bong looking like one. Why not make him a doctor? Or something? But Dalja's reaction when he agreed to go back to work in a legal firm was very funny; her running up the stairs like Rocky and screaming "LAW FIRM!! LAW FIRM!!". It is like she hit the jacjkpot; young handsome guy in love with her, and a hotshot lawyer as well!

But before long the story went downhill as it dragged on on Dalja's insecurities and Tae Bong's non-expressive looks. Of course he is in love with her, of course he wanted to propose to her but Lee Min Ki is such an inadequate actor, I can't see all that at all. It went on and on and then Dalja left, speed forward 2 years later and we have this scene of Tae Bong cyling, seeing Dalja and going after her and what nots. It dragged on and on again. Interestingly or rather lazily, everybody looks the same, even Dalja and her hair. I thought her hair is an indication of her clinging to her youth or expectations of a girl in her heart so if she were to mature 2 years later, at least give her a different hairstyle. Truthfully, the story should have ended 5 episodes before. It was very draggy and the pace suffered and therefore the quality suffered. From laugh out loud moments and reflective ones, the series suddenly turned dead serious and seems like it took itself much too seriously. But the earlier parts were witty actually.

In this series which features women as the main theme, like I said before Dalja stood out. Another that I can't help but fix my eyes on is Wee Seon Joo, the cold top host of the informercial programs. I like the way she walks, the way she dresses, conservatively but very fashionable as she is. I like her story as she grew from lonely, cold and impersonal to somewhat nicer, warmer and more involved in others. One very funny scene was when she was sick, and Dalja, a naturally caring person went to see her together with Sae Do and decided to cook Kimchi porridge for her and so asked her toyboy for hire Tae Bong to buy the ingredients. The music was from Dae Janggeum (Jewel In The Palace) as she chopped, cooked, stirred, etc and then the guys were then making faces and said "What's that smell?" and the expression would mean Dalja isn't Janggeum! They tasted the porridge and thought it awful. And they argued on her virtues as a cook whilst Seon Joo lies in bed, and you would think she felt this was an intrusion but she actually smiled, enjoying the warm and noisy atmosphere in her once cold apartment. She actually complimented Dalja on the porridge which made Dalja very happy and the men go "WHAT?!" Her love affair with Sae Do is quite interesting as well, with some adult dialogues thrown into it, which makes it believable. The character of Seon Joo in the end learn that she doesn't have to put up defences, a wall to repel people but to accept and learn to be loved. I like her ending with Sae Do and how they ended. I must of course talk about the actress Lee Hye Young who has obviously made at least 1 trip to the fantastic korean cosmestic surgeon. She looks weird but in the end I decided she also looks very fashionable and is effective as someone in the fashion industry even if she looks weird. Acting wise, I find her entertaining and again effective. From unlikeable to likeable, she gives Seon Joo a personality but stop short of being a bitch which I never thought Seon Joo was one which means the actress gave a winning performance.

The actors however for a variety of reason just suck.

Like I said, acting wise, Gong Hyung Jin is good. But talk about wrong casting! He's too old for this role and frankly may I be honest, not very good looking at all. Like I said quality of men in Korean TV series has gone down. Gone are the days or charismatic leads like Bae Yongjun, Jang Donggun and Kim Seung Woo. May not be handsomest but charismatic, dominates the screen. In retrospect of course the actor can't dominate because Daljs is supposed to dominate the screen but when they're together I don't feel the golden couple sort of feel.

Lee Min Ki has the personality of a drying paint on a wall. That is my opinion. Is he handsome? I thought Hyun Bin is more handsome in that regards if you must ask about younger actors paired with older actresses. Lee Min Ki is definitely more sullen, but is acting as a guy with an attitude just about looking as sullen as possible? Even when he kissed, I felt like what a boring kiss. When he hugged, what a boring hug. When he confess or rather stare, I thought his mind must be blank because I felt nothing. Acting wise, he has 2 expressions; sullen and more suillen. That's it. He's like brooding all the time to the point if I were Dalja I would have said "Oi! Snap out of it!" His chemistry with Chae Rim? None whatsoever. He is a sore point in this series.

But none so sore than the chairman Uhm Gi Joong himself. If his chairman is supposed to be dead boring, yes Lee Hyun Woo gave a great performance then. Because if Lee Min Ki is sullen and more sullen, Lee Hyun Woo is walking mannequin. He has no expression. Not even handsome in my opinion. Not even alive probably. Did the producers just thaw him out for this performance? Awful performance. Exceedingly awful.

If I got the name right, then Seo Yeong is the one playing the rival of Dalja for Tae Bong's attention and she is super annoying. The character is super annoying and the actress is god awful as well. I love the scene where Tae Bong's very opinionated mother just told her straight in the face "Find another guy. Tae Bong is not for you" as she realised Tae Bong loves Dalja eventhough she didn't like that fact at all.

The older actors are the ones that are livelier, more colourful and deadpan funny. I really enjoyed the performance of the actress who plays Dalja's supervisor. I have never heard a Korean speak more slowly and with deadpan look. But don't mistake her deadpan look as bad acting because her eyes shows emotions unlikes that 2 guys. The actress who plays Tae Bong's mother is great as well, love her interaction with Dalja ("Please cut your hair! What sort of a hair is that?!") and her colleagues as well.

I also like the fact that each episodes has different artwork in it. I mean the following ...



I also like the music and the soundtrack. But what I didn't like was that the preview for each episode is a bit too revealing. Should leave some room for suspense.

Verdict
A very entertaining series with some great witty moments with the wonderful Chae Rim leading this series (this is what I meant as carrying the shoulders). However it suffered from bad pacing and much too serious content towards the end. It should have stopped earlier as well. But even with 2 boring actors and some very awful performances can't take away the power of Chae Rim's infectious charm factor. Watch this for her.

Interesting Fact
What is this Korean obsession with age? Several series, age is often emphasised. Like Dalja and her 33 years of age. That isn't old. But series went on and on and on and on about her 33 years of age. Quite tiresome after a while.

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MY NAME IS KIM SAM SOON [TV][Kr]

Written by Bridget Au


"The best Korean romantic comedy of all time."





SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

Korean Title
“Nae Ireum-eun Gim Sam-sun” (direct translation)

Alt English Title
My Lovely Sam Soon

No. of episodes
16

Released In
2005

Cast
Kim Sun Ah as Sam Soon
Hyun Bin as Jin Hun
Jung Ryo Won as Hee Jin
Daniel Henney as Henry
Kim Ja Ok as Sam Soon's mom
Lee Ah Hyun as Sam Soon's sister
Na Moon Hee as Jin Hun's mom
Suh Ji Hee as Mi Joo
Lee Kyu Han as Hyun Woo
Kim Hyun Jung as Jang Young Ja

Foreword
Sometimes things really do live up to the hype. The best Korean romantic comedy of all time.

Review
South Korea’s answer to Bridget Jones’ Diary, My Name is Kim Sam Soon took Asia by storm, and rightfully so. While not flawless, the good far outweighs the bad, enough that you forget about the flaws. Most of the good stems from the fact that all the elements of a solid, entertaining series is found here: a strong script, a relatable contemporary subject matter (the social stigma of a 30-year-old spinster who is plump and not very pretty), well-written characters, brilliant performances by the main and supporting cast, and a healthy balance between drama and comedy. Most importantly, it knows its genre and sticks to it.

Most of the flaws of the series lie with Jin Hun’s character. Sure, he’s tall, handsome, and rich, but he also happens to be an ass. But hey – they works for some girls. However, though he treats Sam Soon like dirt half the time (kicking her bike, yelling at her) and never tells her she’s not fat later on when they start dating, there are some redeeming factors to his ungentlemanly behaviour.

Another key flaw is Henry’s lack of professionalism. Doctors are not supposed to fall in love with their patients. When he kisses Hee Jin on the forehead, I was thinking, OK, this guy is someone she met in the U.S. and now he’s followed her back to Korea. Then when he reveals to Jin Hun that he’s her doctor, I had the same expression on my face as Jin Hun: “What?! Really?!”

Aside from those two flaws, though, MNiKSS is worth every bit of success it’s gotten.

Breathlessly engaging and hilarious.

Evaluation of Cast & Characters
Kim Sun Ah
In one of the later episodes, Jin Hun tells Sam Soon: “You’re attractive. You don’t know how attractive you are, and that is your greatest attraction”. This summarizes Kim’s performance in a nutshell. She gives her character the very lack of self-awareness and honest simple-mindedness that makes her such a loveable character. Most importantly, she is relatable. I have watched some of Kim’s more recent performances (When It’s At Night, City Hall) and none of them hold a candle to her Sam Soon. Her performance anchors the series and without her, believe me, MNiKSS would not be half as successful. Kim is Sam Soon - undeniably charming, brutally frank, and endearingly unfeminine. Her swift delivery of lines and insults combine to make this a flawless performance.

Hyun Bin
He has his work cut out for him in this series because Kim is absolutely winning as Sam Soon. And though Jin Hun is a major ass through most of the first half of the series, Hyun plays him with a smart-aleck, deadpan arrogance that works for the character. Hyun is at his best when throwing the tantrums; the way he widens his eyes in complete fury is, I have to admit, very entertaining. He also has terrific oddball chemistry with nuna Kim; their interaction is heartfelt, funny and a very realistic portrayal of a younger man / older woman romance. He also makes a perfect couple with Jung. An excellent performance overall.

Jung Ryo Won
I fell in love with her after watching Which Star Are You From, and though in MNiKSS she plays the girl who comes back for her man even though he’s already in love with someone else, I liked her performance. She looks way too thin (but I suppose it works for her character since Hee Jin is sick), but there is a lovely elegance and classiness about her that I like and that is appropriate for the character. Jung is a very pretty crier, like many Korean actresses. Her absolute best scene was when she tearfully looked at Jin Hyun when he said that Sam Soon was his girlfriend. They weren’t pleading tears; it was an expression of quiet determination to not let the tears fall, yet the hurt was clear in her eyes.

She speaks very good English too, with an Aussie twang.

Daniel Henney
With a disarming smile and what is easily the most chiselled face in Asian drama, Daniel’s looks help him greatly in his depiction of Prince Charming Henry. He is adequate in the dramatic moments, has very good chemistry with Jung, but his one flaw in here is that he doesn’t look angry enough when he’s supposed to be. His absolute best scenes, however, were those with Kim. These two are so remarkably different in appearance and demeanor that the scenes where they get to know each other and bond over being “second choice” were absolutely hysterical.

Supporting Cast
The supporting cast delivers some of the best performances I’ve seen from second-line actors. Kim Ja Ok and Na Moon Hee are absolutely terrific as the mothers, eyes twinkling when things are going their way but loud and brash when things are not. Lee Ah Hyun doesn’t look remotely related to Kim, but she displays a feistiness that is somewhat different from Sam Soon’s. Lee Kyu Han’s performance made you want to slap him, which is exactly what Hyun Woo is – a jerk. A special mention to Kim Hyun Jung who is hilarious as Young-na, and Suh Ji Hee who is cheek-pinchingly adorable as Mi Joo.

Best Scenes
When Jin Hun pushes down the door to the bathroom stall and Sam Soon is sobbing with mascara running down her face. He asks her “Are you a pervert?” A priceless introduction between the leads.

Drunk Sam Soon goes to the ATM machine with Jin Hun in tow. She tells him “Don’t look!” and then drunkenly reads out the numbers as she types it into the machine. I cracked up.
Sam Soon goes to Jin Hun’s house as his fake girlfriend and when his mom asks if she loves him, she nods solemnly and then the camera pans down to her hands, which she is using to make the shape of a heart. The poker-faced Kim and the unexpectedness of the scene was hilarious. I almost died laughing.

When Sam Soon stares at Jin Hun and thinks to herself: “He’s really good-looking. How did he come from Mrs. Blowfish?” That nickname just killed me.

Any scenes between Henry and Sam Soon. There is nothing quite like language barrier humour and these scenes were hysterical.

The infamous karaoke scene when Jin Hun tries to win Sam Soon’s mom and sister over. This was preceded by a 10-second scene where Jin Hun Googles “how to get your mother-in-law to like you”.
Any scenes between Jin Hun and Mi Joo. There is clear affection between the two actors and Mi Joo is too cute for words.

When Jin Hun orders Sam Soon to not change her name, and she tells him with a deadpan serious look on her face: “If you change your name to Sam Shik, then I won’t change my name to Sam Soon”.

To Watch or Not To Watch, That is the Question
If you haven’t watched this yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. A must-watch for anyone who has ever felt fat, ugly, stupid or old.

Rating
5/5

Through the Grapevine

This series won a slew of awards, including Best Drama, Best Screenplay, Most Popular Couple and Best Cast at the 42nd Paeksang Awards and Best Mini-Series at the 2006 Seoul Drama Awards. Awards received at the 2005 MBC Awards include: New Actor (Daniel Henney), Popularity Award, Best Couple, Excellence Award, and Top Excellence Male & Female.

Daniel Henney and Jung Ryo Won are actually very good friends in real life, and Hyun Bin is now dating the darling of Korean drama, Song Hye Kyo.

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A JOURNEY CALLED LIFE [TVB]

Written by Funn Lim





However one of the best female character to have written in recent TVB memory has to be Sze Ka Ka and the credit goes to Linda Chung for giving perhaps her best performance todate and her breakthrough performance for playing against type.











SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

Released on
2008

Episodes 
20

Cast-Character
Kent Cheng as Kam Shek
Steven Ma as Sing Yat On
Linda Chung as Sze Ka Ka
Fala Chen as Sing Mei Sum
Raymond Cho as Kam Wing Loi
Angelina Lo as Chin Sau Ching
Mary Hon as Ho Bo Ling
Helena Wong as Sing Mei Yee
Kwok Fung as Sze Lap Chi
Helen Ma as Yeung Dai Fun
Eric Li as Cheung Chun Wing
Stephen Wong as Cheung Chun Hing
Minnie Cheung as Cheung Lai Kuen
Hoffman Cheng as Cheung Chan Keung
Halina Tam as Tin Na
Johnson Law as Chu Tin Chak
Elaine Yiu as Ching Hoi Shan
Cheng Tse Sing as Tung Ka Cheung
Johnny Ngan as Cho Tim
Queenie Chu as Keung Ma Kei
Yvonne Ho as Gloria
Amy Ng as a make-up lady
Shermon Tang as Stephy (eps14 & 20)
Claire Yiu as Doctor Ho (eps16-18)
Stephen Huynh as Chris
Sharon Luk as Tung Ka Cheung's girlfriend
Lam King Kong as Ho Chi To
Cheung Ying Choi as Chan Kau Sau
Ricky Wong as Mo Ko

Official Plot
Taken from D-addicts

Linda Chung plays the role of Sze Ka Ka, a girl who has gone out of control ever since her mother passed away. Lost in a world of drugs, lies, and sex...Ka meets Sing Yat On (Steven Ma), who is deeply moved by her love for her deceased mother. However, due to a series of past events, Ka and her family have gotten into an almost unfixable relationship. As she spends more time with On, she realizes that she's been going about her life the wrong way. They fall in love with each other, but come across many obstacles due to Ka's old lifestyle. TVB brings you a story of atonement, sorrow, hope, and redemption.

COMMENTS
I don't know why it took me this long to write this review. It is very strange considering that I love this series and considers it one of the recent best in TVB memory, after having sat through junks and craps dressed up as good series, this series is a fine example of very good acting combined with great chemistry and a killer story. It took me so long that frankly I can't remember many names (well, thanks to D-Addicts for the list!) and some plots but overall the story remains with me. It is also that sort of series I can never remember the English title even when I kept looking at it. It is not because I don't like it, but somehow I just can never remember it. I suppose there is a reason why I remember Gem Of Life.

Anyway the official plot is not far off. But before you think this is all about Linda Chung, it isn't. In a way it centres on Steven Ma's character. And if you think "Journey of life"? PREACHY! No it isn't. This is not a preachy sort of series. It tells a story not about lesson in life and an education in whatever. It is however truly a story about atonement, sorrow, hope and redemption as the official plot puts it. But in the end strip everything away this is a story about love. Love of all sort. Love driving us do stupid things. Love making us make sacrifices for the worse of us. Love making us be better, making us want to better ourselves. Love in its pure simplicity. I see this series as a story about love.

Like the plot says, Linda Chung is a good girl gone bad. She comes from a troubled home, blaming her father and her stepmother over her mother's early death, she is often abused and a few times sexually molested by her stepbrother but her father did nothing. I think she hated her father more than her stepmother because as her father, he failed to protect her. Truly a dysfunctional family, more so when her father is very scared of her stepmother. She comes and goes at the place they all live in and spends most time out of the home, working at her handphone shop which she co-owns with her boyfriend. I think in a statement of how screwed up she is, her boyfriend is a lazy good for nothing. Her best friend, San (Elaine Yiu) is also as screwed up, but still is a nice girl even if lacking in education, opportunities, grace, etc. Put it simply, Linda Chung is your typical screwed up teenager who grew up to be a screwed up adult, but earlier on we know she is really not that bad a person. Her love for her mother for one. She has been looking for her urn for years, and although she tricked Steven into buying a faulty handphone, when she found out Steven who works as a stone carver apprentice (more like someone who makes signboard or nameboard out of stones which includes headstone used for cemetery) and whose master, the happy go lucky Kam Shek (Kent Cheng) who kept the unnamed urn for many years, she was so grateful they became friends. Whilst Steven may also be uneducated, having to work early in life to help support his family as his father, good friend of Kent died young. He has 2 younger sisters, one of whom is Fala who is materialistic but isn't a bad person and a studious youngest sister. He loved them both very much, but I suspect he loved Fala more as he doted on her, even when knowing her greedy nature. So he is uneducated, sees Kent (who has a son, Raymond who is more educated but as materialistic as Fala) as his father figure and has no asset, no money, nothing much, but Steven is a good man. This is something Linda sees earlier on. He is also boring without much nightlife or friends. He works hard, earns hard, do the best he could in everything, and his one main hobby is running. He wants to run in marathon and Kent has been training him. His pacifist sort of nature is greatly suited for marathons as it is a test of endurance, something Linda was influenced to take up.


Now you may think how these 2 vastly different individuals could ever fall in love but this series shows us convincingly why Linda would fall for the boring Steven and how Steven fell for the bad girl turned good Linda. I love watching them slowly realising their feelings for one another and how Linda felt she wasn't good enough or Steven thought he may be too old for her (he's in her 30s I think, she early 20s) but in the end when it came to that one kiss that started their relationship, it was neither cheesy or fake. It was an inspiring moment of 2 individuals who found one another, especially for Linda who for most of her life is surrounded by useless men but here before her is this wonderful good man she knew she can't let go. So we see them fell in love, married, start a family but with tragic consequences thanks to Fala.


Fala is so materialistic she is willing to be a temperamental rich man's girlfriend, but her heart is with Raymond. They're 2 people exactly alike, and Raymond never stopped her. When she fell pregnant with his child, in desperation to continue her privileged life, she aborted her own child but by then the rich man knew and beat her up and if I remember correctly threw her out. At this point Steven has helped her sister through many troubles but this was one trouble he didn't want to get involved in anymore. He was fed up, very disappointed that she aborted her child for money. The scene where he confronted her in the hospital was emotional and one of the best in the series, as he told her face on "From this day forward I will not interfere in your affairs anymore. You do what you like, the way you like, I am done with you, I am done as your brother" and he walked off, and Fala stricken with sadness at her foolishness. True to his words he stopped bothering about her and out of severe guilt she became an alcoholic. Although in time Steven would have forgiven her, he loved her very much. Another scene that really struck a chord in my heart was Kent scolding Raymond for letting Fala waste herself; "She did what she did, that I can't blame her because she is young and foolish. But you, Bad Boy (his nickname), you're older, you should know better! You knew her all your life, you knew she was walking on this dangerous road and you did nothing! Nothing at all!" and even Kent refused to forgive his son and lamented at times "How I wish Onn Boy (his nickname for Steven) is my son but that is my misfortune that I did not have him as my son". However as a testament to a father's love for his son, when Raymond owed millions to I think loan sharks or someone thanks to the vengeful rich man who was Fala's lover (he knew Fala was having an affair with Raymond but kept quiet, intending to make them both suffer which they're at this point), his parents, old and supposed to have retired after letting Steven takeover the business had to scrap every penny they have to save their son. They even sold off their old apartment and had to move into countryside to save money. Kent felt deep sadness at how his son turn out to be but in the end he is still his son.


Likewise with Fala. At this point Linda is heavily pregnant and is also trying to patch things up between brother and sister as well as sister and family. Steven's heart was softening, after all that is his sister. I can't remember the exact storyline but I think Fala was becoming reckless, was very drunk and took into the car and drove on despite Steven screaming at her not to and of all people she crashed into, she crashed into Linda whose child died in the womb and she had to give birth to a stillborn child. It was an extremely difficult scene to watch as she cried and cried with Steven holding on to her and as she pushed the dead little girl out. Fala was full of regrets and when Steven walked out, in one of the most emotional scene, Fala rushed to her brother thinking her brother would as always protect her and forgive her cried "Brother" and if I remember correctly Steven slapped her or maybe he didn't but he did grab her and chased her off whilst crying "It is your fault! You killed her! You killed her!". Can't remember the exact words but kinda close. That is the trouble with writing a review so many months later. Steven could never forgive Fala and Fala ran away. Linda being a strong person recovered and forgave Fala, knowing she was reckless but it was an accident. Fala tried a few times to reach out to Steven, hoping for forgiveness, he rebuffed her. I missed the saddest scene by a few minutes but anyway, when Steven finally went to look for Fala, she was so drunk she drowned or something and as Steven crying hard and holding her she breathed her last breath whilst begging Steven to forgive her. After that Steven was a changed man. He was no longer interested in anything, he lost hope in life, he could not forgive himself for not being able to protect the people he loved and he became sullen. Linda encouraged him to run in marathon but he did it half heartedly until he just stopped and gave up. Suddenly a little girl appeared to give him a drink and he felt recharged and what may have been just an imagination, he thought the little girl he saw looked exactly like the little girl some computer generated stuff said could look like if she were to have both his and Linda's features. He realised his daughter paid him a visit, and as Linda cried her heart out when Steven did not run alongside her, suddenly she saw him being his old self again and all was happy.


Meanwhile, Raymond was very angry with what happened to Fala and blamed the rich man. He kidnapped him, intending to kill that rich jerk but his father and Steven came in time. All being very emotional, Raymond pushed Kent aside and even in anger used a brick and hit his father's head. Realising what he had done, he suddenly woke up. Next we know, Kent is ok and visiting his son in prison who promises to be good when he comes out of prison and his parents wait for him with the hope that the future will be better.


Steven bought back Kent's old apartment as a gift for Kent whilst Linda realised her mother wasn't an angel herself for reason that she was a gambler and began to see her stepmother in a new light. For all her faults, her stepmother did love her cowardly father very much. In the end all was happy as Linda I think announces she is pregnant again.

There are many heartwarming moments in this series, as well as heart wrenching. I think many parents could very well identify with Kent who laments how he wishes Steven was his son because Steven is such a good boy whilst his own son, Raymond is as he nicknames him, Bad Boy. Whilst I thought at some point Raymond will become a jerk and do everything to destroy Steven, the storyline thankfully never went that way. Yes, Raymond was at some point jealous of Steven but then he himself knew he wasn't the world's greatest son. In some ways there is a tacit respect between Raymond and Steven and Steven sees himself as Raymond big brother and so feels responsible for him as well. I love the relationship between Steven and his father figure, Kent. Kent is the happy go lucky sort of person, married to his childhood sweetheart and is a great man who somehow has this almost useless son. Makes you wonder how can that be? Well, in life that is realistic. Like Steven who is a decent guy with a decent mother and a decent youngest sister ending up with a gold digger sister. In a way Steven acknowleged he had a role to play in how his sister turned out as an adult, as he often spoilt her when she was little. Their age gap is very wide so he is like her father figure. In those scene where Kent or Steven expresses their deep disapointment in the people they love, it was never accusing sort of way or preachy but realistic and very good entertainment. I feel for them.

I also love the relationship between Linda and Steven, how it blossomed. The relationship between Steven and Fala, how it ended tragically through no fault of his but it is just the way it is. How Kok Fung became a braver man to stand up for his daughter, Linda at long last instead of being the cowardly bystander.

Every character has a role to play, a story to tell, from Kent to Fala to everybody else.

However one of the best female character to have written in recent TVB memory has to be Sze Ka Ka and the credit goes to Linda Chung for giving perhaps her best performance todate and her breakthrough performance for playing against type. She should have won something for this, like Most Favourite Actress because she was that good. She made Sze Ka Ka into a real character, she gave her an attitude, she gave her a personality. Ka Ka was never quite likeable until she met Onn and from there her character grew stronger. Even during the worst of time that is the birthing scene to after, she makes you believe that Ka Ka is that strong that she can live through that time. Ka Ka has always been a strong girl. But what makes her want to change is the unnecessary death of her best friend, San and she changed after that. She wanted a life, she wanted to live a good life and you may think she settled for Onn, but the truth is she fell for Onn for all the right reason. When she found out she couldn't give birth as she had abortions in the past, she cried "This is my retribution! I was such a horrible person, I didn't love myself enough, look how in the end it becomes for me now. I deserve this! I truly deserve this!". But Onn would hear none of that. He loved her for who she is, that is a good person and he takes her past, present and her future which is why Ka Ka loved him even more. All credit goes to Linda Chung. I did wonder how Linda could portray this classless, uneducated ill mannered troubled girl. Well, she still talks like Linda Chung as in breathy whisper but everything else is a marvel to watch. I have never seen her dress sexier but in here, her short skirts and all were really short and bravo to her for sitting realistically like how she did; legs wide opened! At times I thought be careful Linda, you could expose yourself. She didn't quite care. She went all out with this performance, giving it all she got and her birthing scene was so realistic, so well done, you will cry watching that scene. I also love how she walks. She doesn't walk like she normally does, like a lady but notice how she walks, how she talks, it's like Linda Chung is no longer there but just Sze Ka Ka. Who knew Linda could give such a great performance? Someone else will make it into a screamfest or point everywhere but Linda Chung, even when Ka Ka was at her worst, she gave Ka Ka a certain dignity, that somehow you feel Sze Ka Ka can be redeemed, she is not a bad person. I believed that when I watch Linda's performance.

It helps when she is paired with someone to create that chemistry. Again I didn't know she could have such great chemistry with Steven Ma. Steven Ma proved himself worthy in Safe Guards, again in Land of Wealth, again and again in lesser series. I just hope he doesn't recite poem or talk when he is crying but other than that, Steven Ma is now my most favourite younger actor. He oozes this ordinary man charm, he plays the ordinary bloke to perfection and in Onn, I see a good man that is so believable that you could fall in love with. So he is boring. So his favourite past time is jogging but in this boring man lies a responsible man who sees the good in people. He saw that in Ka Ka. Despite what Sum (Fala) or Bad Boy did again and again, he sees the good in them in the end. No wonder his master Shek loved him like his own son, even more than his own son sometimes. When he cries with disappointment, you will feel it too. Every emotional high or low, you will feel it too. All kudos to Steven Ma. If this was filmed many years before, Wong Hei would have nailed this role. But Wong Hei these days, I just can't pinpoint what is wrong with him but he is still one of my favourite actors. I just love the chemistry between Linda and Steven and when they kissed, I confess, I feel so much happier for their characters than I did for Raymond Lam and Linda in whatever series they kissed. Steven Ma is turning into a dependable leading actor.

Kent Cheng is a complete and utter surprise. I never knew he could be so lively, so bouncy, so cute! His scenes with his secret admirer, Halina Tam was very very funny but his best scenes are always with Steven Ma and their touching close relationship. It feels like father and son the way Shek would have wished it but Onn wasn't his son that he knew. One scene he sadly said "I think of myself as a good man, I tried to teach my son good values, but why did he turn out to be so rotten? What haven't I done enough? Where did I go wrong?" A very lively colourful performance.

Fala Chan must be mentioned. I think this is the 2nd time she played Steven's sister and again a similar role, someone materialistic but not as vindictive as her previous character in the series about ballroom dancing. Anyway, never mind her accent (how on earth a sister could have such a different accent than her family?!) or that she would later give a breakthrough performance in Moonlight Resonance. In here her character is consistent in the sense materialistic till almost the end until guilt consumed her. I just couldn't believe how her character ended up in the series though. Frankly when I watched it was shocked, I am still shocked but I suppose it is an appropriate end. Also a brave performance, with some intimate scenes with Raymond in the bathtub.

As for everybody else, each was effective in their given role. Frankly I can't remember much. Oh yes, Kok Fung. Makes me want to punch him, his character was that useless in here.

Many memorable scenes which I shall not list. I find this series evenly paced, well written, well acted and has an uplifting ending. However one scene I felt was not right was Steven seeing his little girl if she had lived to that age. I thought in his grief and sadness over what happened to Sum, and his need for redemption and forgiveness (he did say very sadly "I have failed as a brother. I have failed terribly. I have failed" when my family and I was screaming "No! No! Onn Boy! You did not fail! They failed you!!") he should have seen Sum instead of his daughter. Sum for me was his path to forgiving himself and it should have been Sum giving him that bottled water and smile sweetly at him.

But save for that tiny but pivotal scene, everything else was great! Where could you find a series where the actors share great chemistry together, see Linda Chung not be Linda Chung, Steven Ma at one of his best, some very touching moments and some all out cry out your heart moments?

This series. Indeed, A Journey Called Life.

VERDICT
This series will be showing on TV soon (17.03.2010) and safe to say, this must be your TOP PRIORITY to watch. A must watch! Forget about Gem Of Life and 3 sisters crying how much they care about one another. If there is a series that shows you love, how to love, how to be loved, how to find love, how to give love, how to keep love ... this series is it. Fans of Linda would be amazed, new fans would appreciate Linda's performance, Steven Ma is definitely a draw to watch, Kent Cheng will surprise you but most of all, the story will at some point move you to tears as it shall make you laugh earlier on.

A MUST WATCH.

E-Book Writer

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