That Winter, The Wind Blows (2013)

I started this drama because I was curious to watch more of Song Hye Kyo's work after falling in love with DOTS. And honestly, I think she did a great job portraying a person who was blind (you know, since she's not blind in real life), but what I couldn't get over was how the story was spiraling out of control and without reason. Nothing much happened in the course of the story, and the Song Hye Kyo's character wasn't really likable because of her bratty tendencies.
I think this tragic love story could have been so much more without the silly over-the-top plot twists that came along with the way the story was being wrapped up. I read a re-cap of the ending and I was so glad I didn't waste my time in watching the remaining episodes because the last "twist" ending would have infuriated me if I watched it all happen.
Overall, this melodrama reminded me of those Latino over-the-top tele-novelas my mother forced me to watch as a kid growing up. The same type of drama that I would roll my eyes after the 2 MC's screamed at each other and then kissed each other passionately at least once an episode. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this drama lacked depth, where the poor execution of plot took away from the things that should have actually mattered for the story to progress.

Leggi di Più

A flawed but entertaining and emotional ride.

Con man deceives blind girl into thinking he's her deceased brother. This premise just screams melodrama. And like many melodramas, it's full of ambiguous characters, tearjerking situations and unbreakable bonds. In my opinion, That Winter, The Wind Blows is not that original since it's based on an already established work, but among so many "Cinderella" dramas out there, it sure stands out as a demi-original but overly unlikely kind of drama.

I like to begin my reviews with positive things I have to say, so let's just start: The camera work, the scenarious and everything about the picture of this drama was plainly beautiful. The atmosphere becomes heavy when it needs to be heavy, and also light and endearing when need be. Amazing work of the director, also, the close ups on the right place just made me stare in awe at so much detail put on the scenario.

Also, I have to praise Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo for their amazing acting. In Sung not only gave Oh Soo all sides of his personality, but much more. The way he cockily smiles but then suddenly cracks down in tears is simply amazing. His chemistry with Hye Kyo was superb, and you can really believe that those two are pained, lost individuals that find comfort on each other. And Hye Kyo...oh, for a moment I thought she was really blind. Seriously, her interpretation is so perfect that if you don't know that she can see in real life, you would actually believe they hired a blind actress.

Kim Tae Woo was perfect as well. I began the drama really hating his character, but as episodes passed by I started to feel for him, and appreciate his inner turmoil. That's something only a good actor can do. And props to Bae Jong Ok, another ground breaking performance. However, I would've liked if her motives and backstory were better explained because the way they did just seemed all over the place.

Props for Kim Sang Beom as well, he made a cute pairing with Eun Ji. However, althought I really love Eun Ji, in this drama I didn't really feel her character. It was like she wasn't even that necessary to the plot except to have a third partner in crime who helped from time to time. Also, she was annoying at times and to be honest, althought she's a good actress, I would like to see Eun Ji playing another type of girl/personality.

Another thing I didn't quite like was how sometimes the drama was too self explicative. The audience is not dumb, we can clearly see what's happening so there's no need for overexposition. Mainly the way they did, turning the explanation very difficult and sometimes confusing. For example (SPOILER), when Oh Soo finds th room where Young makes her video diary all trashed, it was obvious that Young did all that since she was the last person on that room. It didn't take a genius to guess that, so the demi-flashback shown was unnecessary.

Other miss was how progressively draggy and, dare I say, boring the drama became. I have to give a little of slack since the plot doesn't give much to work with except interactions between characters, however I could picture this drama having 14 episodes and still being the same. Many conflicts were somewhat unecessary, and sometimes they threw characters we barely even knew that ended up changing the whole story, in a very confusing way.

If this is rewatchable? Yeah, but maybe after some time like six months or even a year, not something you would want to rewatch more than twice.

All in all it's far from perfect, but entertaining and emotional enough to keep you hooked. It's not an unforgetable drama even though sometimes it tries too hard to be, but also not quite forgetable because you can still rewatch and feel for the characters.

Leggi di Più

I have to say, right up front, I almost dropped this series after the first episode because of the filming quality. Gave me major cheesy soap opera feels and was not impressed. I decided to give it another episode and I am so glad I did. I fell in love with this series.

It was may more emotionally driven than I expected and the actors did an amazing job delivering those emotions. It focuses a lot on dealing with your own inner issues before accepting that you can be happy.

The music was so so, not a big fan of the theme, but that isn't going to stop me from recommending everyone to give this one a try.

May even rewatch it some day when I get time! :)

Leggi di Più

This show is gorgeously created and is so beautifully filmed, scored and casted. The story is really good and really well crafted. I know some people felt the characters were naive but i think that was the point of them. Jo In Sung's acting feels kiddish but it somehow feels right. While Song Hye Kyo's acting shows the main point of her life. The way she executes Oh Young is brilliant. She makes people feel pity for her but still at the same time feel that she a spoiled brat ( BTW everyone in this drama is a grey character ). The Unravelling of her story and Jo In Sung was executed really well. Even Kimbum and Jung Eunji did a really good job even though there characters were poorly written (for me) they both made you feel bad for them. Their story was the one's that didn't make sense on why Eunji was helping Jo In Sung because she was the only one who hadn't ruined her life after the sisters death. Kim Tae Woo's character Moo Chul was really badly written and you almost feel no sympathy for him till he dies.
The Cons of this drama probably starts from episode 12 when the story finally begins. The drama starts off really slow and then just goes in lightening speed. There is so much childlessness and the really irritating twists that don't make any sense is what sinks the whole drama down. Even then its not all episode 16 that you hate this drama it was like ending the drama on the first episode since honestly it can end in the middle of episode 16 when Jo In Sung gets hurt by Kimbum or either be 18 episodes instead of 16. The last episode makes you feel so dissatisfied that it ruins the whole drama for you. Even though the drama starts out brilliantly grips you into each sequence somehow the end is what ruins it for you. This drama would have been on my Top 10 since there is no crazy mother in law or anything but just because of the end it ruins it for you. However i still would suggest you to watch it because even though the end makes you feel dissatisfied the drama is genuinely really enjoyable to watch and the whole process is really fun.

Leggi di Più

The best K-Drama I have watched so far.

The story is great and the screenplay was brilliant, with very few flaws and almost not overdone scenes. It was excellent keeping the balance between the importance of the main history, side stories and in general everything else. Each character/story has the needed amount of screen time, not more or less, which is extremely rare in not only K-dramas but also other film productions as well.

As stated before, there are almost no unnecesary things at all which I never got to see in any K-Drama before. No filling side stories, no nonsense love triangles, no inconsistence at all. Main characters as the history are absolutely organic, not overdone, not plastic. All of this drama is about pain we do to others/we receive and redemption, executed perfectly by the cast.

A series were the characters are not perfect but just human, characters are full of flaws. Through the entire series the characters experience an incredible development which will lead them to their resolution.

The history is full of mystery, totally legit and brilliant as well. There weren't higlghy unrealistic events and each chapter keeps you more intrigued than the last until the final like no other series I have watched. It also has the sprinkle of comedy needed.

The pair that played the main characters was sublime, again, nothing overdone, just real. I can't stop thinking how amazing this was. Seriously I think that I will not watch something as good as this Drama again.

The only little big thing was the unnecesary mysterious final.

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Eu não gosto de melodramas, essa é a primeira coisa a dizer sobre a minha pessoa no quesito doramas. Mas há premissas que me fazem querer dar uma chance, assim como elencos que às vezes tem algum ator/atriz que eu goste, me fazendo querer ver para apoiá-lo também.

That Winter, The Wind Blows teve ambos os casos. A premissa tanto era curiosa e passível de mistérios por desvendar sobre o que veio a separar Oh Young e Oh Soo quando crianças - além do divórcio dos pais -, além de que a atriz da protagonista, Song Hye Kyo, eu já havia conhecido e gostava do trabalho dela por Descendants of The Sun. Verdade seja dita que outra a influenciar que eu assistisse foi a Jung Eun Ji como um Moon Hee Sun. Estava aí o combo que me fez parar para começar essa história e ver até onde ela ia dar.

Para começo de conversa, eu não esperava ser tão envolvida na trama logo nos dois primeiros episódios, mas foi isso que aconteceu. Antes que eu percebesse já estava lá pelo episódio 4 ou 5, gostando muito do drama e cada vez mais ansiosa pelos acontecimentos do episódio seguinte. Eu literalmente maratonei o drama em cinco dias, o que já é um mérito do drama porque eu raramente faço isso, mesmo com dramas que fazem meu estilo; é preciso me prender muito, e foi isso que essa história fez.

Em contrapartida, seus personagens, cada vez mais me faziam ficar confusa sobre quem eles eram ali. Os protagonistas em especial foram os mais centrados, especialmente o Oh Soo, cujo ator eu não conhecia mas muito me surpreendeu no papel. Ele passou muito dos sentimentos conflituosos do homem que à certo ponto já não sabia mais o que queria para sua vida além de ajudar ao máximo a irmã falsa a ao menos conseguir recuperar a visão. Eu gostei muito da personalidade dele, porque parecia a mais real e humana ali, com seus momentos de coragem, outros de fraqueza, outros de carinho e compaixão, outros de pura raiva e desesperança. Dado o histórico de vida do rapaz, era tudo tão bem encaixado nas suas reações, que mesmo quando sorria, dava para sentir uma lágrima interna nele, e vice-versa, e isso me fez me apegar e torcer muito por ele.

Oh Young, por outro lado, me deixou muitos sentimentos contraditórios. Nos primeiros episódios eu só sabia apreciar o tanto de patadas que ela dava em perguntas descabidas ou intromissões alheias, o quanto ela parecia mas não era nada boba, pelo contrário, era muito esperta e atenta e conseguia até mesmo enganar àqueles ao seu redor em prol de se proteger de algo pior. Foi uma personagem que por vezes bateu muito orgulho, mas que no final, precisamente nos 2 episódios finais, eu senti ela perder muito dessa essência e ficar à base de pura tentativa e erro dos roteiristas. Enfim. Mas, por outro lado, eu me surpreendi e amei a atuação da Song Hye Kyo. Ainda mais pelo fato da protagonista ser cega, ela passou uma atuação tão real que era como se não fosse ficção, não fosse atuação. Fosse nas expressões, nos gestos, no modo de falar em alguns momentos específicos... foi tudo tão bem feito que, nesse ponto, só tenho a elogiar a atriz.

Os outros dois personagens parte do elenco protagonista me deixaram em ainda mais conflitos, um mais que o outro. Começando pela Hee Sun. Antes desse, eu já havia conferido outros 2 ou 3 dramas da Eunji e continuo gostando muito da atuação dela, mas é verdade que a personagem de That Winter não ajudou muito. Hee Sun tinha momentos que ela parecia falar o que eu pensava, enquanto que em outros parecia ser só uma garotinha birrenta, atrapalhando situações e se intrometendo de formas bem desnecessárias. Isso durou em grande parte no início e metade do drama; felizmente nos episódios finais isso amenizou e ficou mais da garota que tentava ser responsável do jeito dela, enquanto lutava para sobreviver também. Não que eu tenha gostado dela ainda assim, mas estava menos irritante do que antes, então, ok. Jin Sung, por outro lado, de certa forma o então reconhecido como seu par romântico, começou o drama muito bem, sendo um apoio e tanto para o Oh Soo nos esquemas em que ele se metia, e por vezes a lealdade deles era colocada à prova mas Jin Sung sempre se provava mais fiel do que o amigo pensava que ele era. A dupla de melhores amigos perfeita, não fosse por alguns deslizes aqui e ali e, principalmente, pelo final que só me fez terminar o drama com muita raiva do personagem.

E é aí que o problema de tudo se encontra: o final. Até o episódio 14 as coisas tinham um rumo muito bom, até que no 15 as coisas já foram por um caminho no mínimo duvidoso, com uma atitude por parte da protagonista que caiu por terra no início do 16 e ficou como se nada tivesse acontecido, de certa forma. Depois, nesse próprio 16, a principal e mais letal pendência vai ser resolvida para Oh Soo, mas aí... aí, meus caros, tem de tudo. Intromissão do vilão que após isso some, cena que subentende um acidente pra lá de estranho e aleatório mas que não garante que ele aconteceu, e depois o segundo pior de todos os momentos desse desfecho, uma baita traição. E aí vem o primeiro pior momento do episódio, uma sequência que pula meses no futuro após uma cena mais que repentina e delicada, e do nada os personagens aparecem como se nada, absolutamente nada, tivesse acontecido. E aí, roteiristas? Qual a explicação? Porque eu não encontrei ela ainda, e eu me recuso a acreditar que aquilo foi um final. Na verdade, nem mesmo a cena fofinha do casal principal depois consegue salvar - na minha humilde opinião. A lacuna entre uma cena e outra, entre um espaço de tempo e outro, que ficou foi tão terrível de absurda, que eu não estou nem aí se os casais terminam juntos ou não. Eu só queria um final que fosse explicado, mesmo que ele fosse triste, mas parece que eu não vou ter nem isso.

Então, é... That Winter, The Wind Blows começou muito bem e tinha tudo para ser, ainda que não um favorite meu, mas certamente um drama que eu recomendaria sempre. Depois desse desfecho apressado, mal feito e todo engessado, porém, isso é o que eu menos vou fazer. Se valeu a pena assistir mesmo assim? Eu digo que sim. Só pelo show de atuação da Song Hye Kyo e do Jo In Sung. De resto... próximo!

Leggi di Più

I've been watching kdramas for a long time now, but this is the first drama that I've saw where the main character is blind/PWD. That's why I'm excited to watch it.

About this drama, I like the way how the actors play their role, though I think Seong Hye-kyo (Oh Young) is not that convincing acting as someone who is a blind person. And I actually watched this drama for Eun-Ji (Moon Hee-Sun) but the character that she plays annoys me. A selfish and self-centered girl who doesn't care about other people. Everytime Heesun appears in the screen I know some dumb drama will happen.

This drama is not bad, just a little bit dramatic(?) and weird. I just got weirded out when Oh Soo starts acting a little bit protective and touchy when he should act like the brother of Oh young. I know he's not the real brother but it still weirds me out.

Overall I'll give this a 7/10. It didn't bore me, just felt weird while watching some scene.

Leggi di Più

Needed more depth

Not being a particular fan of melodramas, I went into this with no expectations and unlike many people I had not watched the Japanese original Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu, or the Korean movie remake, Love Me Not. This drama gets a lot of praise and many people have enjoyed it and wholeheartedly recommend it. I did like some aspects of it and it did grab my attention during the first part, but unfortunately, it gradually declined.

At the start what immediately caught my attention was the beautiful cinematography. I particularly liked the color scheme and how they match it to the character's state of mind or personality. Also, the filming locations, background scenery, clothes, and overall mood, were really pleasing and soothing to the eye.

The cast did a decent job portraying the characters. The characters themselves were flawed and had nuance and depth to their personalities and actions. Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo had intense chemistry in my opinion and I would love to see them together in future dramas. I did find that Jo In Sung played the charming yet tortured conman brilliantly, and managed to show his character's duality convincingly. Song Hye Kyo plays a prickly blind woman that comes off as distrustful and a bit conceited. That makes her look strong and independent, and not some poor woman with a disability.

As for the story, it was intriguing in the beginning and had me so captivated until halfway. At parts, I could not connect the characters' personalities with their actions any longer. Especially the female lead. Was she strong or was it just a front that she put up? Her behavior was so strange, that as the story progressed I could no longer care much for what she did or said. Maybe because this was a melodrama, the exaggerated emotions sometimes came out as intense, other times as over the top, since it felt to me that the emotions did not match their actions, especially the romantic scenes. On top of that, the twists and turns presented along the way did not contribute to the overall development of the characters and did not justify their actions in a believable way.

In conclusion, the drama has interesting characters but it lacked depth and any meaningful development that leads to a sort of absurd ending which left me confused. Other than that, if you like Jo In Sung, this is still worth a watch.

Leggi di Più

This drama was such an emotional roller coaster, but definitely worth it. The story was pretty average really, it could have been in more depth but the I liked the premise. The real depth of love they have for each other definitely comes across even though at times it makes it awkward to watch since Young thinks Oh Soo is her brother. My only problem is that this drama was magnificent but it had a dreamland ending which was predictably rushed and nearly killed me thinking about the possibilities as the ending was not clear.

It was Jo in Sung's acting that really pulled me into this drama, I started to fall in love with him myself. I had watched him in that's okay it's love with my favourite actress gong hyo jin, He is just so good at expressing his emotions through his whole body even his eyes. Also Song Hye Kyo's acting was amazing, it must be hard to keep your eyes unfocused all the time.

I seriously found myself crying along with the characters and falling in love just as they were. This is definitely a drama that sticks around with you too. I finished it yesterday but all day today I could only think about this drama. It's so sad but beautiful. The more I think on it too I realise that the journey was the important part of this drama not necessarily the ending.

I wish I could have given this a 10 because their love was so perfect, they needed each other so much but the ending really let down this amazing drama for me. That's not to say it wasn't good, but it wasn't amazing either. I also regret not having watched this sooner as I thought it would be sadder than it is. If you haven't watched this drama, go do it now!

Leggi di Più

Was great until the last 2 episodes

While watching, I really liked the storyline and the acting by the two leads, Jo In- sung and Song Hye-kyo. The outdoor scenes in the mountains and sea were beautifully filmed ...Then I got to Episode 15, after ML gets kicked out of the house. Most of Episode 15 comprised of each character separately reminiscing of good times and pining for each other. What a waste of film!

After FL kicked Secretary Wang out of the house for fraud and embezzlement, she then called the Secretary in the middle of the night to see how she's doing. If FL missed the Secretary so much, why did she bother kicking her out in the first place?

Starting with Episode 15 & continuing to Episode 16, I started getting bored. The FL finally watched ML's video but later told him that she can't forgive him but they can talk about things after the surgery. She wanted a blow-by-blow description of ML's feelings while they were together and lying to her. While she's talking, ML began the waterworks from his eyes. By this time, I am bored with his crying. Jo In-sung is a good actor with a great acting range and I was initially wowed by his emotional scenes. But after 2-3 straight episodes of continual crying, I was now indifferent and bored, the emotional impact was now lost on me.

Also, FL slit her wrist, but yet she's eligible for brain surgery 2 days later? Seriously? What hospital allows that without a psych eval? This hospital even performs brain surgery at 9 pm! I guess surgeons in Korea don't work during the daytime and schedule complicated brain surgeries at night ... or maybe they perform easy surgeries during the day and save the complicated brain surgeries for later in the night (with a lot of caffeine to keep them awake)!

This show could have been outstanding, given the vast talents of Jo In-sung and Song Hye-kyo, but I blame the writer and director for the nonsensical episodes near the end. There's no need for me to rewatch this show.

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