Barrack O'Karma (2019)

One of my absolute favourite dramas ever! <3

A fantasy-supernatural drama with a main love-story, and different eerie sub-stories taking up 2 episodes each.

Plot: Siu (ML) starts working as a security guard in "Twilight Mansion" where he soon meets the beautiful flight attendant Alex (FL), whom he falls in love with. But since some time ago he gets strange dreams which seem to be connected to Alex and Twilight Mansion… While searching for the truth, ML discovers lots of strange things about the building and the residents.

So the drama is set in the building Twilight Mansion, which has its own soul. It's said "The cat always chases the mice, but on days when there is a thunderstorm the mice chase the cat". Like damn! I love this kind of stuff, hehe ~
The building harbors a lot of secrets, tales and mysteries – and so do the residents of whom the sub-stories are about. There are lots of different genres, like mystery, romance, supernatural, suspense, fantasy and unpredictability. Everything that I love!
And then there is the beautiful past (60s) and present love-story of the main leads <3 It's so well told, intriguing and really pulled me in. A dramatic and beautiful story about love and destiny in a past and present life, finding its connection in their dreams, and being affected by the butterfly effect.

I found the past storyline especially beautiful with the clothing and interior, even the music and behavior. I enjoyed it a lot. I also really love the stories of the building, the cat and Lam. So cool! Perfect trio.^^

The main characters were quite mature. No cold ML, no naive FL, no cliché characters... just human. The ML was goofy but warm, and the FL was kind and independent. The acting was good. It was easy to get attached to them. :)

But also all the other (sub) stories, that were told in this building, were interesting. They were about mistakes. About loneliness, child neglect, the struggle of homosexuality, racism, losing loved ones, greed, status, beauty... and so much more. It was heartbreaking to watch since some of the stories ended well - others not. So it was always unpredictable and surprising how it will turn out. Even tho they were packed in fantasy, it were the stories of the every-day life, the stories of people. Every story has two sides, and somehow they were all linked together. :) Even the episode titles are enchanting: "Sleepwalking", "Strange Dreams", "Crow" - man, I'm so in love with this drama. xD

All in all, I'm totally smitten. I didn't expect it to be so good. But I got hooked and binged right through. It was cute and also emotional. Sometimes it was funny and even a bit scary (no Horror tho), and it was definitely interesting. I wasn't bored even for a second. It was perfect for me.

I'm sad it's over now tho. I don't wanna part with them all. I'll really miss it. ❤

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Just finished this drama ten minutes ago and I'm absolutely speechless.

It wasn't that this is a bad drama or that I felt I wasted 20 hours of my life watching this; it's the exact opposite. Never had I felt this satisfied watching a TVB drama and it wasn't just for the last episode. Even from the first 10 minutes of the first episode, I felt I was in the good hands of a capable writing team as I was led deeper and deeper into the building's corridors and creepy staircases. As the plotlines progressed and the story between Alex/Coco, Siu/Yok-Fai, and Teacher Lam began to slowly unravel, this feeling grew in me and I binged the last 4 episodes in a frenzy.

Hard to believe but this is actually TVB's second foray into urban fantasy (the first being The Exorcist's Meter, but some might put it into the supernatural genre). I think TVB has always wanted to do this kind of drama for a long time but it's either they didn't have the budget or the writing resources to do so. Plus there have been many numerous urban fantasy dramas from other countries that it seemed rather un-creative to do so. This time round, the writing team has struck gold, or rather they learned to make use of what they have in abundance around them - the real, authentic flavor of Hong Kong. What captivated me the most in the drama wasn't the fantastical elements but the characters and the social issues the different plotlines brought out. There was no character that felt like the stereotypical 2-dimension characters we often see in TVB dramas; each of them had their own struggles and motivations that pushed them down into the paths they have chosen. It is no wonder that most of the audience was upset by the way the story about the baby and the 2 mothers ended, or had tears when Gai-ye was combing the doll Mary (which actually housed Cheng Cheng's soul)'s hair. We see such characters on the screen and yet, we can't help but feel that they are breathing, living among us - they could be us or they could be any of our family or friends.

Surprisingly, there was a sparse use of CGI effects in the drama, especially in the first few episodes. But it is for this exact reason that the drama did not fall into the category of B-grade fantasy/science-fiction mindless entertainment. In the first two stories ("Dream" and "Baby"), there was never a direct explanation for the way things happened; it could be supernatural or the schemes of a grief-struck woman or just plain old coincidences. The scenes flow from events to events and it is up to the audience to decipher or connect the dots. As such, it is much easier to induce the feeling of unease in the audience as they continue watching. Also, by getting rid of unnecessary and cringing effects, the drama enables the strong writing to shine through and to focus on the messages/social issues behind the fantastical happenings, like racism, the relentless pursuit of wealth and people's approval.

The acting here is stellar, especially Selena Li who was able to play two different characters in such a distinct manner. Alex is a modern woman, carefree and simple in her wishes and desires; thus Selena's voice is higher and more cheerful when she is playing her. On the other hand, Coco had been through much and her sufferings shaped her into a matured and solitary character; Selena's voice deepens and become huskier in the role of Coco. Even her body language changes from one character to another and this is not something even a seasoned actress can accomplish. I wish the same can be said about Joel Chan. He's not terrible in the roles of both Siu and Yok-Fai - Siu is lovable and earnest, while Yok-Fai is charming and suave (one can see why Coco was so smitten with him), but Selena's performance absolutely outshines his. (Or maybe I'm just biased against him.)

I don't know what else to say without going into more tl;dr but this is a TVB drama that doesn't feel like a TVB drama but undoubtedly feels like a Hong Kong drama, made by Hong Kong, for Hong Kong. And it is such gems that we should support.

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