Vincenzo (2021) Early Impressions

This is one of those shows (for me at least) that walks a very fine line with the humour. The pendulum swings from being bleakly humourous to outrageously comical. The bleak part I don't mind but the outrageous part is what sees me cringing inwardly now and again and rolling my eyes. To me much of the slapstick and exaggerated expressions/gestures don't add much to the storytelling although some might appreciate the comic relief. For others on the other hand, it might be off-putting.  It could be acquired taste but then I'm not sure if it's worth the time or the effort... rather like the offerings from the faux Italian restaurant (Areuno) run by wannabe chef Toto.

The drama of course has one key ingredient which makes almost everything palatable and that is Song Joong-ki. He oozes with charm and cool in the titular role as a Korean-born consigliere. Our introduction to him as he rubs shoulders with mafia opponents gives him his comparable John Wick moment. In a payback move (orders from his late mentor) he sets fire to a vineyard doused with combustible liquid. His choice of weapon is a Zippo lighter which he plays with symbolizing the fact that there's a dangerous man lurking beneath the well-groomed nicely suited facade. Even while he seems attractive and mild-mannered, he is not someone that should be crossed. Song Joong-ki is terrific in the role playing the straight guy to a host of escapees from a psychiatric facility cast of colourful and emotionally off-kilter characters. Generally the inscrutable Vincenzo keeps his cool while everyone else hits the panic button in ways that can be considered farcical. The occupants of Geumgang Plaza are a jarring and raucous reminder that the drama should be viewed entirely as a farce.

Unfortunately for him, Vincenzo is a creature belonging neither in Italy nor his birthplace, South Korea. The show hammers home the counter-culture shock when he is robbed on the way to meeting his collaborator and is the butt of some insinuations of his outsider status. He is a fish out of water especially when he has no family to anchor himself to in either contexts. Certainly introducing himself as Vincenzo Cassano in Seoul sees him looked upon (at least initially) as a suspicious sojourner. However, there are advantages to being an outsider as we gradually come to see. It gives one a different perspective and clarity of mind what's really going on. The veneer of respectability conceals a kind of accepted barbarism. 

Vincenzo's evolving relationship with Yoo Jae-myung's crusading lawyer, Hong Yoo-chan, is probably one of the show's highlights for me. The two have a connection in Vincenzo's mother who is serving time in prison for a murder that she took the rap for. More than that there's a lovely role reversal between them. Here the older man is the idealist and the people's champion while the younger one is a cynical, world-wise operator. Given his background, it doesn't take Vincenzo too long to work out what the Enemy is because he's been around them most of his life. He is the sort of fix-it guy Yoo-chan desperately needs as he's up against adversaries who are unconscionable about using violence and threats.

There are hints of a possible romance between Vincenzo and Yoo-chan's ambitious daughter, Hong Cha-young. The set-up has her and Yoo-chan are on opposite sides in the fray with Babel Inc. To her mind it's just easier to fall in line with the status quo while her father's persistence in going up against Big Pharma is an exercise in kicking the goads. As far as she's concerned, there's no need to go too far... whatever that means. But in this world run by thugs and gangsters, justice is a word that has no place in it.

I'm not so sure about Cha-young to be honest. I don't know if it's Jeon Yeo-bin or how she's being directed and/or how she's written. According to Asiawiki she was in Live but I'm struggling to remember her character there. My feeling is that she's a competent enough performer from how she delivers important emotional beats but all the nutty stuff the show has her doing diminishes the character's street creds as a professional woman. It's a hard sell considering what's at stake. However, it is a 20 episode drama... I have mixed feelings about that... so there's certainly ample time for her character to be developed.

For those of us in the know, Babel is something of a running gag in this show. I was chuckling when the company was first introduced as such. It's a reference to Genesis 10 in the Bible where the human decides to build a monument ie. tower that "reaches the heavens". There's been some debate over what that means but the general agreement is that it's a consolidation of power in defiance of the edict of the Creator to "be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth". The Tower of Babel was never completed because communication lines were disrupted among the builders. All building came to a screeching halt when the workers started speaking different languages and were forced by circumstances to migrate elsewhere.

The way I see it, Vincenzo, whether he knows it or not, is that heaven-sent disruption against the mighty Babel. What he wants is the gold buried at the bottom of the building and he's not going to give in that easily. But if there's one thing that one notes quickly about the Old Testament is that God uses all kinds of unexpected people to do his work -- many who are deeply flawed and often not-very-virtuous types. This is not to say He condones their activities but they become inadvertent instruments to achieve other ends.

In all likelihood the gold's gone. That's a theory I have. Or there's something fishy about the senior monk who seems to know where to position himself. Who happens to fidget at the right moment as if he is a sentinel keeping watch. I'm happy to keep on speculating. All that to say that the heist element does show promise if only we can be sure that the pacing doesn't go wobbly somewhere in the middle.

Beyond Evil (2021) First Impressions

Last year JTBC gave us The Good Detective which I had a lot to say about and it put a different spin on the ever reliable police procedural. I bring this up because there are things about this new production from the broadcaster that reminds me of its predecessor. Beyond Evil which stars the always reliable Shin Ha-kyun is less of a cop show than it is a show about cops. Not trying to split hairs here. Honest to goodness I'm not. The difference in emphasis is a point of differentiation which takes the show in a different direction. (I wasn't trying to play a game of morphology with "different". Really.) Even though murders have been committed (although there are no bodies that can confirm that) and the boys in blue make reference to these grizzly finger mutilations as their mission, that's largely window dressing. In fact at the heart of this is a fascinating (so far) study of guilt and suspicion as it touches a smallish, everybody-knows-everybody regional community.  

The set-up sees the protagonist, a veteran cop of considerable experience, being at the centre of the whodunit of deaths/disappearances 20 years earlier. He's never been able to shake the tag of No. 1 suspect. Making matters worse for himself Lee Dong-shik does little to dispel the pervasive suspicion directed towards him and he drags a ton of baggage around including guilt for the tragedy that befalls his entire family as a result. As soon as news of his sister's disappearance breaks, he's fingered as the prime suspect. On top of that his father freezes to death along a railway track waiting for said sister to return. Mother unable to take one blow after another loses it completely. What's surprising and despite the tragic pile on is Dong-shik's enlistment as a police officer, a career spanning all of his adult life. He has a reputation for being a "psycho" developed from being something of a maverick in the force. His current supervisor, Chief Nam, is backhandedly sympathetic but outwardly frustrated. To him, Lee Dong-shik is an exhausting creature who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. His guilt over the deaths/disappearance is palpable but never definitively determined. Even Dong-shik himself has doubts about his innocence.

Shin Ha-kyun is an actor who brings his A game to the party. He is particularly known (from what I've seen) for playing idiosyncratic, troubled, brooding characters. And why not? He is rather good at it. It is a credit to an actor of his chops that he's able to flesh out all the aspects to Dong-shik. Through his performance we are quickly acquainted with the many and even contradictory aspects to the character's personality. Despite being a figure of suspicion, there is something immensely likeable about this tortured soul. While he's instinctively intelligent, he can't be sure about anything about his hometown, his friends and himself. He does his balancing act while playing cat and mouse with the newcomer to town, Han Ju-won a former Foreign Affairs bureau investigator who was working on illegal immigrant homicides. Frankly Shin Ha-kyun's performance is so good that I wouldn't mind it if he was the culprit although there's always a part of me that prefer if he is largely misunderstood.

Yeo Jin-goo's character, on the other hand, I find less likeable. Not because he's a somewhat arrogant humourless mysophobic cop from the Big Smoke but because he thinks the solution to the problem that's haunting him is a lot simpler than it probably is. The certainty and aloofness in which he enters this unfamiliar world arouses suspicion very quickly. It doesn't help that he's a fish out of water. He's not fooling anyone but he's keeping to his cover story for now because as his ambitious father keeps reminding him, there are political ramifications for poking around hornet's nests. But Ju-won is a zealot and he's certain he's got his man except "his man" seems to be a walking talking contradiction that leaves him scratching his head. It's clear too that his personal agenda and him being a man with a mission clouds the issues surrounding these crimes. One gets the feeling that he's in it because of guilt too. A woman in all likelihood died because of him. Or at least he thinks she did. So it wouldn't surprise me if he's trying assuage some personal guilt and atone for his sins.

There are people in the neighbourhood who are obviously hiding secrets and/or have agendas of their own. Everyone feels like they're perpetually living on edge. They are less concerned about the truth behind the mysteries and more about the fallout. This is also a story about community and what keeps people together. Often it is about friendship and common values but at other times, it is about tragedy and secrets forcing people together in negative, dysfunctional ways. Even in these early days, one already has an inkling that something is rotten in Denmark... or Munju as is the case here. For instance Dong-shik's longtime friend Jeong-jae, also a cop and son of a city official piques my suspicion radar from his odd antics and cryptic talk. He also knows enough about the law from his capacity as archives manager to get away ... quite literally... with murder.

After 2 episodes I sense that this is something I could end up liking a lot depending on where the writing takes it. As well as being laser-like in its focus, there's scope for more character development. It's not a straight up police procedural but the mysteries are sufficiently well presented to keep the audience guessing about what happened and what's happening. The show isn't necessarily about chasing up clues or interrogating suspects but about getting inside the headspaces of each person who could have a reason for doing away with the women in question.

The psychological impact of crime on a group  of people is an interesting subject to be sure. It can be potentially divisive as it has been well-documented but it could also be a cause to unite them especially when a variety of self-interests intersect. Evil takes different forms in all their subtleties. It isn't just about egregious murder and mayhem but it begins from a much deeper quieter place and without the usual external restraints, it can go in any direction.

Sisyphus: The Myth (2021) First Impressions

My youngest said this when asked about her impressions of this new offering from Netflix, "I like science fiction, I like fantasy and I like mystery. This checks all the boxes." Well, she's undoubtedly a chip off the old block so it bears to reason that this latest out of K dramaland would also appeal to her mother. When I saw the first trailers in December (was it?) it was obvious that this would be entirely up my alley. Without any kind of context, what I saw said "science fiction" in flashing lights. I happened to mention that on Janghaven Forums which generated some discussion about locating it generically. At the time it was a mix of the action sequences and the technology that gave off a sci-fi vibe. Plus the fact that I'd watched a couple of episodes of the C drama Light On Series: Sisyphus (2020) earlier on which had a potentially intriguing Groundhog Day type of storyline. The C drama showed promise but I'd read on MDL that somebody managed to completely botch the resolution -- which didn't come entirely as a surprise -- so I immediately ended my relationship with that show.

Although Sisyphus arguably seems like the most expensive looking science fiction K drama that I've seen since Alice, it also feels like the most raucous and... fun. There's a surprising lack of brooding moodiness that has characterized the others. Sure, there's a bit angst because the protagonist Han Tae-sul is carrying around the dead family baggage trope with an unhealthy cocktail of pills. Lots of them as a matter of fact. However, there's a surprising number of comedic moments. Bleakly humorous perhaps but it could be a testament to my sense of humour that the drama sends me chuckling now and again. There's enough nuttiness in these early episodes to satisfy action adventure fans but Tae-sul himself is an idiosyncratic figure, patterned after many a tech entrepreneur... no names mentioned. While the CEO of Quantum and Time adopts a larger-than-life persona, he is undoubtedly brilliant to have made it as far as he has. At least that's evident from all the MacGyvering and obvious sciency stuff that the audience is privy to. The playboy persona seems a bit contrived, calculated to be a cover story  but at this stage I'm loath to jump to too many hard and fast conclusions. The man clearly has problems but overall I find him likeable. And as I've said it elsewhere, Cho Seung-woo is rocking it and honestly, it feels like he's having the time of his life, probably ecstatic to break out of the Si-mok restraints of the Stranger franchise.

Han Tae-sul is a fabulously rich guy who despite being surrounded by the usual trappings of wealth is really a nerd at heart. He's very hands-on despite having a man about the house that drives him around and a bestie who makes sure that the business engine continues humming along as he placates the conservative pencil pushers who insist that Tae-sul take more interest in the bottom line. Tae-sul is the sort of character I recognize (and am fond of) having being surrounded by nerds my entire life. But he's been thrown into the mind boggling situation of wondering now if his deceased brother Tae-sun is really ashes in an urn. And we know that he's about to be, if he isn't already, cast into a situation whereby his sense of normality will be challenged on every front. There's little question that some kind of temporal device is at play here but the drama is being cunningly mysterious about the mechanics so far.

Park Shin-hye as the visitor from a dystopian future seems to be more in her element here than I last saw her in Memories of the Alhambra.  I'm of the view that she's one of those actors that does better when she plays off stronger co-stars. That said the action hero role seems to suit her and probably not having a lot of dialogue to contend with helps. Her character Seo-hae predictably has some connection with Tae-sul, possibly romantic but portends doom. There are these fascinating dream-like sequences interwoven all throughout which leads me to wonder if they are oracles or memories ie. flashbacks or flashforwards. Some appear to be memories while others seem out of sync with events we've been witnessed to. Without an outline of the bigger the picture, we can only speculate at this point.

My enthusiasm for the drama in part comes from an abiding affection for dystopian narratives. The whole idea that the world seems fine but there's a hidden conspiracy in the background is always something to look forward to. A favourite which is patterned after 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 is the Christian Bale 2002 film, Equilibrium which has one of the best gun fight sequences I've ever seen. A world where anything that threatens the equilibrium of the society is quietly eliminated and emotions are controlled by the mandatory use of drugs. It's quite eerie in how topical it's become particularly in this current situation where governments are discussing mandatory vaccinations and policing them.

If there's any criticism of Sisyphus to be had, it would be the cartoony action sequences. However, as the tech/weaponry that's at play here isn't clear I am hesitant about being too critical. It might be that the guns don't shoot fatal bullets and the Control Bureau (has resonances of Men in Black here) can somehow teleport from one location to the next. There's also been some criticism of the plane incident which seemed unnecessary prolonged. It did seem to be long but on hindsight I think there was method in dwelling on Tae-sul's antics and interactions during that near-death experience. 

Overall the drama shows a great deal of promise. My family likes it and I like it. Which says a lot considering we don't watch a lot of dramas together. There is a lot to like, production values are high and I'm getting nice Circle and Nine vibes. 

L.U.C.A: The Beginning (2021) The First Act

Although the premise is brimming with potential... crazy sci-fi always appeals to me on some level in the same way B horror films have their devotees... something about the approach of this drama thus far bothers me. It's not hard to see the Awaken comparisons but to be fair to both, they are doing different things. Sadly as a long-time sci-fi buff I can't say that either are particularly impressive and each has its own share of problems. The best thing Awaken had going for it, arguably was Namgoong Min. Some might even want to argue that it was the only thing going for it.  L.U.C.A. on the other hand is somewhat tighter writing wise but the set-up feels like the wash cycle I use on my front loader. Other dramas I've watched have fallen victim to that charge in the past... somewhat unjustly in my view... but in this drama I really get the sense that I and all the characters are stuck on this treadmill of "I run... you chase. I blow things up. I hide... you find me. I blow things up again." On and on it goes. Just when you think they've finally got him, failure overtakes them and we're back to the drawing board learning little from the experience. That oft-used quote that's been attributed to Einstein, the one about the definition of the insanity -- doing the same things over and over again but expecting a different result. That one. Yeah, that's how I feel about the hunt for Zi-o. And I'm not just pointing my finger at the so-called villain minions either. Gu-reum aka Ha-neul is equally guilty of leaping without looking. To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of the protagonist, Zi-o either even while the show attempts to elicit some sympathy from the audience regarding his plight. He's a pathetic figure to be sure but one gets the sense that Sister Stella can't entirely be blamed for thinking he is demon possessed either even if her words pack a brutal, unkindly punch. Right out of the blocks the man or monster theme continually plays out in those sorts of emotionally-charged situations and there's a sense that Zi-o does live up to his reputation of being a creature of destruction. I don't deny that he's been left to his own devices for too long and there are good reasons for the distrust, suspicion and fear. Especially if he's been hunted mercilessly like a wild animal. 

Of course this is where the audience is drawn to make some kind of judgment of Zi-o. The amnesia is fitting as he himself wrestles with the issues that assail him. Is he a man or a monster? A walking, breathing chimera that has the appearance of an adult male but at a cellular level he is nothing more than a genetic cocktail that's been shaken, stirred and ill-used. Is a man merely the sum of his DNA? Well that is the billion dollar question that is clearly intended to reverberate all throughout the series. The creation of this kind of being is costly as we're constantly reminded by Ryu Joong-kwon's minder but I don't think it's just about dollars and a lack of common sense. The ethical issues of taking a child apart notwithstanding, there's also the indeterminable cost to the social fabric as we've seen rehashed repeatedly in the X-Men franchise. Of course it's worse here because Zi-o man-induced mutation. As Grandma would say, just because we can... doesn't necessarily mean we should. Also the fact that he's referred to so casually as a source of spare body parts only serves to reinforce his non-human status by the evil people at the top.

What Kim Rae-won brings to the table is that lost innocent boy demeanour. Zi-o is a child at his core, groping around in the dark. That is until he goes ballistic and blows things up with electricity. It's not full Hulk mode every time but it does enough damage. So with each new event that occurs, Zi-o confirms that he is a ticking time bomb not only to himself but to others. Which is all part of the blame game that's being played here. Can Zi-o be held responsible for littering the streets with debris every time his tortured pursuers get too close?

An "aha" moment came to me at the end of Episode 3 when Zi-o lit up the church for the second time that this most inopportune moment gave oxygen to the fact that Sister Stella isn't superstitiously unhinged. So why give us this moment? Why put him in that position? Why does he put himself in that position of trying to make a point and then proving that his detractors have a point? Those of the sort of questions I ask myself. It's evidently not a good look. My thoughts then went to Frankenstein. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that is. The pieces fell into place. Zi-o is the creature, a newborn in search of existential answers and Ryu Joong-kwon is the obsessed Victor Frankenstein. That's the template from which we're to make sense of it all. The creature didn't ask to be made and the world of humans seem to be a confusing morass of moral complexity to navigate. The anger and the frustration comes to the fore but Zi-o has no guide. His father figure is no better. An ambitious narcissistic man who shakes his fist in defiance of a world that has no place for him in the privacy of his hidden laboratory. He has something to prove but he doesn't have the courage of his own convictions to embrace his hubris.

The drama is certainly not disadvantaged by the fact that it comes hot on the heels of Awaken because it is sufficiently different in style and emphasis. Where it falls down, as far as I'm concerned, is in its overuse of the hunter-hunted dynamic in this first act as its primary vehicle for messaging. The message itself is always topical of course. It's a familiar but sobering tale of human audacity and overreach that gives no thought to consequences for individuals and society as a whole. However, after 4 episodes it feels to me a tad overdone especially when it's obviously used as a delaying tactic and doesn't bring out the best in the lead characters. A bit like when you start feeling sorry for Wile E. Coyote despite his sheer (but punishing) persistence when the Road Runner continually eludes him often as a result of luck.

Although I don't think the police procedural side of things sits easily with the crazy sci-fi (but it's far better than what was on offer in Awaken), the show's greatest strength it seems to me is how Gu-reum juggles her role as a cop and as someone who is eye-witness to the crazy sci-fi while trying to process it all. There's even some comic relief to it. Even though some of her early antics cast doubt on her professionalism, it seems to me that she serves as a bridge (a reasonable one for the most part) between the madness of the aberrations being conducted and ordinary civil society. Dad (and Mum) were embroiled in something which inadvertently dragged her into the fray. Children shouldn't have to go through this... that's the implication. But the unnaturalness of all of this and her ill-fated connection to Zi-o means that Gu-reum feels compelled to resolve this one way or another. It's her role in the machinations of fate and one that she's inadvertently carved out for herself that she might have to undo (if that's possible) what's been done. After all, the entire fiasco is much bigger than she, her parents and even Zi-o.

Run On (2020 - 21) Finale: So Long and Thanks for the Movie

Last evening while I was slightly awake, mulling over my ramblings on Janghaven Forums about the finale, it dawned on sleepy me that with all its apparent idiosyncrasies, this drama, reduced to its elements, is just one extended party among like-minded acquaintances who reluctantly become friends. A noisy but good natured celebration of individualism in a South Korea that's evolving into what might be arguably a "freer" society. I use the word individualism advisedly because by it I don't mean selfishness or a complete disregard for family or community. I use it in the classical sense from which men and women negotiate for themselves a place at the table of decision-making where they have a place and a voice. It's certainly not about displacing other voices or about gaining some kind of ascendency. Individualism in its most palatable understands that there are competing ideas at play but tolerates real fundamental differences and even respects them because such interactions spice up the monotony of life. The very human tendency has always been throughout our checkered history to bully others into submission. 

The "party" analogy makes sense to me especially because of that delightful late scene towards the end of the dramatis personae gathering (and framed) together in various units inside the cinema in anticipation of a movie. It's a lovely summation of the dynamics, themes and motifs that's been woven into the entirety of the drama. It's the show's curtain call. This moment is evocative of the Shakespearean line, "All the world's a stage/ And all the men and women are merely players;/ They have their exits and their entrances/ And one man in his time plays many parts,"

One possible interpretation from that scene and its nod to the Bard is that Run On is less about character or plot than it is about interactions and intersections. It is a tv show about people who think of themselves as actors and agents in their own drama. The quirky and parodic dialogue certainly points to that. Everyone can potentially be the star of their own show if they have the choice to live the kind of life that they gravitate towards and negotiate with fellow actors for a chance in the limelight in a crowded stage.

Agency as I've noted previously is an important theme here. Seon-gyeom becomes a sports agent. He officially becomes where his heart was right from the start: an advocate for his juniors in the field of his expertise. By being an advocate for the "voiceless", he makes room for others like Woo-sik to have greater agency to fulfil their potential. Agents and in this show, sports agents benefit when their clients do well. This is the magic of individualism at play... when self-interest intersects and promotes mutual flourishing. Whether we know it or not, we benefit when others flourish. Assemblyman Dad on the other hand, was an example of what happens when one person or a party of individuals insist on their way and do violence to the fabric of their relationships. He loses everything as a result. Albeit temporarily. It's certainly topical in this current climate where there is so much political fracturing and insistence that it's one way or the highway. Everyone thinks they have the solutions to eternal happiness often to the detriment of key relationships. Dad, in this case, believed he had the wherewithal to be everyone's agent (sometimes called meddling) and saw himself as the director of this lifelong film project but bit by bit his heavy-handed dealings became increasingly unbearable even to his nearest and dearest. In the end he was relegated to being an extra in this new paradigm. It is chuckle-worthy that the party that he was affiliated with is called "The Happiness and Freedom Party". The jibe in light of the rest of the show, is without a doubt deliberate.

One of the ironies of the show is that in this paradigm, the wealthiest and most powerful "actors" here were the least free. Da-na in particular was living a fairly deterministic trajectory and yet she styled herself as an agent -- a representative. Her entire life was mapped out by others and circumstances from the moment she was born. She's weighed down by family dysfunction. That's why her being paired up with an artist student, the son of humble beekeepers had a satirical edge. The socio-economic disparity is glaring but Yeong-hwa is the intrusive free spirit that causes her to question everything she believes to be true. When Yeong-hwa comments that she lives in a castle, it is a crucial insight to making sense of her existence. The trappings of wealth can be both a protection and a prison depending on which way you look.

In the scene where they both show up at the art exhibition and ponder over his painting, the shot is framed in such a way to show that while Da-na and Yeong-hwa come from such different socio-economic backgrounds they are are connected by his art. His artistic gaze is the lens from which she can see the world that is closed to her. Perhaps that's enough for a woman who seemingly has everything except genuine affection.

Although it's good naturedly humorous that Mum, Ji-woo the professional actor insists that acting is her life, she too comes to the realisation that despite prioritizing her career all these years, when the chips are down she does genuinely care about her kids. On the one hand she seems to be the poster child for radical individualism but deep down she too understands that her personal happiness is somehow inextricably linked with the happiness of her family. While she is an actor, she doesn't have to act like a mother or play the wife (whatever that looks like) because she is one by nature of relationship.

As for the leads although they started well together, in all honesty, I like them better as individuals than as a couple not for any lack in chemistry. Seon-gyeom especially had a fascinating arc. With Mi-joo, I enjoyed her more in the first half of the drama than in the latter half. My own view in that regard is that she became more of a support role or sounding board for others as the show progressed towards the endgame.

As a whole, I didn't mind the show and there were enjoyable moments although I wonder if down the track I will remember much of it. It's a light watch and even though at times it feels like it might turn makjang on us, it never quite goes there except for parodic playfulness. For that alone I'm grateful. But for those who like K dramas for their dramatic turns, this is show will be a disappointment because it is a purposeful presentation in understatement. What I might remember (it's no guarantee) though is the witty and humorous banter. And the first time I met Kang Tae-oh, who is without a doubt a star in the making.