Navillera (2021)

Made with a deft hand on all levels

There are so many things that can go wrong in a drama with a heart-tugging story, especially when it brings in an overworked trope to add to the pathos. But the writing never got sappy. Nothing was played for cheap thrills. The acting was spot-on, never descending into over-played or over-done pathos. In all the many ways this could have failed, it never did.
Park In-hwan is a master actor and always worth watching. His face is amazingly expressive and he provided a memorable character that you would love to meet. This was an Oscar-worthy performance.
Song Kang was gorgeous to watch in motion. It's hard to believe that he hadn't studied ballet all his life, but I suspect some of the magic in all the dance sequences is owed to brilliant editing. He played a wide range of emotions - exactly what you would expect from a young man grappling with family tragedy and finding his feet in the world. (No, I wasn't being cute with "feet"!)
The entire cast was first rate, and you will love all of them.
If you have a dream, go out now and start to realize it. You may need to look for a parallel track, like the eldest son, or figure out what really matters, like the youngest son. I was over 50 when I took my first calculus class. You can do whatever you want to! Start now!

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It's never too late

The way this drama conveyed such a meaningful story in such short amount of episodes amazes me. I wasn't expecting for this story to hit too close to home because ballet isn't one of my favorite things to be honest, but as you keep watching you get to understand that ballet is only the first layer, and that the stories of the characters go beyond that.

The dynamic between Chae Rok and Deok Chul is fantastic from the beginning. They truly complement each other so well and I love how Deok Chul helps Chae Rok to leave his comfort zone and explore the world. They form such a lovely relationship, almost like father and son. And I really love how, at the end, Chae Rok is truly invested in making Deok Chul perform in front of a whole audince like if it was his own dream. They learnt so much from each other, so much values and feelings. They got me crying in every episode. They really reminded me of the days I'd spent with my grandparents, it made me so happy.

Heo Bom's storyline is the other thing that I really liked. His character changes so much throughout the 12 episodes. He ends up understanding his own feelings and forgiving himself and Chae Rok's father in a certain way. When he showed up at the end in the theater, uffff I was crying so hard, I was so proud of him.

Though romance is rarely touched in this drama, I found it really cute when they showed interactions between Chae Rok and Eun Ho. It made me so happy when Chae Rok encouraged her to persue happines and find her true passion.

I think every character in the story has a good development and arc, I'm truly happy with the cast the chose and each storyline.

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Please watch it

It's a short drama series that you must see. I loved every moment of the series. I think the cast was perfect and to be honest I haven't really paid attention to Song Kang that much in his previous works that I've watched. But after seeing this, I must say that during this drama, I grew to love him. He is such a versatile and good actor,. I was mesmerized by him throughout the episodes. I kept wondering if he actually had done ballet before, afterwards I heard he took ballet lessons for six months(?) for just this and I'm blown away. He definitely got a new fan. I think the other cast is well picked too and I loved how well everyone played their role. The roles were easily approachable.

As a fellow dancer myself I felt like this touched a lot of aspects of my own life and where I want to be in the future. It really made me think about life and life choices a lot which I think is a good thing. You know kind of like "living without regrets" or regretting something you didn't get to do. And you don't have to be a dancer to understand or get into this drama or feel the emotions or anything, no. But I think if you do dance, or it is a huge part of your life, this might touch you more and you might be more identified with the thoughts and emotions.

I also loved how different this was from the "usual" korean dramas. This is based on webtoon yes and not every korean drama is the same yes. But they often might have similar storyline etc. But this was a nice change in between the other dramas.

LOVED IT. PLEASE WATCH IT. IT'S A MASTERPIECE.

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A unique story filled with warmth

This drama was a pleasant surprise pertaining to age and fulfilling your dreams with no regrets. It was very wholesome to see a 70 year old man pursue his dream of becoming a ballet dancer when his health and family seemingly stand in the way. We also meet a talented young man who is gifted in ballet but has his own struggles to overcome. Once they meet they form a reverse teacher-student bond that eventually leads to a grandpa-grandson bond and that is nice to watch.
I'm really impressed with how diverse Song Kang's recent roles have been. As an actor it's not good to box yourself in and allow yourself to be typecast. He has good looks but he isn't always going to be playing the hot guy and that's good for him. Back to him in this drama tho. I was really impressed when I learned that he trained in ballet for 6 months and was taught body lines for this role. It makes me happy to see when actors go the extra mile to present their character in the most authentic way possible. Knowing this gave me a bigger respect for him.
The actor who played Deok-chul was equally as impressive. Ngl the whole old-man-wanting-to-do-ballet thing was kind of funny and some scenes were funny but I commend this show for committing to the bit, even if it is based off of a webtoon.
As for the ending I feel like it should have ended sad but this drama was supposed to be a light-hearted inspirational type show so I can see why things went the way they did. Since Deok-chul got Alzheimer's, I imagined he would slowly forget everything, eventually leading to forgetting about his passion for dance and his mentor/son Chaerok. I really thought he was going to end up forgetting Chaerok but I'm kinda glad that didn't happen. Even if things would be more realistic.
Deok-chul had the courage to live his dream and perform Swan Lake and complete his lifelong dream before he passes and that is wholesome in itself. Didn't care for the side story with Chaerok's school bully thing. That guy was just despicable, and after injuring Chaerok to the point of jeopardizing his dance career, he was unforgivable in my eyes. Even if he did "change" in the end, that was just frustrating to me. Overall good show. 7/10

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Dive into the Unknown

Oh what a mesmerizing emotional ride for the entire ten episodes! The perspicacious storyline, the role played by each cast with such éclat, the refractory emotions drawn out of every scenes and every dialogues macerated my heart, my mind, my soul and my existence with intense ineffable joy and sorrow both at the same time.

Navillera portraying a dirge vibe with its tone, filter and mood, have shaken my whole being with overwhelming emotions. Each and every episode made me cry out bucket of tears. The message of the story has been enunciated through suave sadness. Let me point out the diaphanous depiction of the story one by one which actually resulted into such level of admiration from numerous viewers.

The inevitable and uncontrolled curse of old age, yes that can be changed possessing gargantuan enthusiasm. Looking at life beyond what it is. Celebrating it amidst the flak, malignancy, wretched society, weltering failure, rising and shining again through fiasco is called life; living a wholesome life, living a deserving life. A simple message it contained. Splice up life in all adversities, in all maelstrom it throws and rise and shine again. Life is ephemeral not a single living being denies it yet irrespective of age, situation or whatever the condition a person is facing without debilitating, one must move forward.

The talented, crotchety young ballad student who was living diligently in this harsh competitive society and a 70-year old pertinacious man who was gradually turning senile, both of them come in contact for their greater passion for ballad. Both of them were adamant in their own stand; having extreme grit the first wanted to win renowned national and international competition and the latter wanted to soar at least once in his lifetime. So much of wholesome and platonic love developed between these two. Nearly five decades apart their age were, however, their camaraderie made everyone inebriated of various emotions for sure.

Many issues were depicted via this heartwarming story. The struggles of young people to live a decent life in this robust technological, globalized and competitive era. The struggles of old people who simply have no clue what to do with their life instead waiting for their life to end. The struggle of a person who wants to fulfill their dreams, their hurdles are seemingly endless. When a child, family restricts prospering a dream tagging a taboo, at young age too swayed with the hardships of life, at middle age too inclined in making a living for sustenance for his own family when at an old age the shame of getting revealed to the society or his own children. Shame is to die without trying, shame is to not venturing into one’s dream obtusely, shame is to not being able to satisfy one’s agog.

The portrayal of the story fused between mettlesome and pensive. Mettlesome in the sense that it forces one to hold onto that little straw called hope in one’s life and dive into the unknown without caring a single ounce about readiness with a fiery spirit; pensive in the sense to reflect at least once how to lead a more productive more fulfilling life till the end of our time.

Through terminal illness, through daunting young age, through superficial societal norms, through malicious judgment, through irreversible failure, through harsh rejection, through unbearable dejection – soar at least once. This one life given to us, make it quintessential.

All the casts were pure resplendence to enjoy. Haven’t seen such perfect cast so far. Each role was played meticulously by all the super talented individuals of all ages. I want each of them to soar like an eagle elegantly in their career for many more years to come. They all stole my heart especially one of our cutest duo – Chae Roki and harabuji. Haimoni was also the cutest.

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"As you get older, you get used to goodbyes"

It was the first impactful quote for me. Although it doesn't fully represent the direction of the story, it makes a very important point. Time is precious.

Navillera is the inspirational slow-burn, slice of life you're probably (hopefully) looking for. I'm pretty sure I cried in every single episode, whether it was a few tears or full-on sobbing. Deokchul pursues the dream he lost as a child, wanting to finally fulfill it and keep his heart at ease. For him, ballet was his happiness. If there's anything he hasn't said goodbye to at an age of 70, it's ballet.

His story touched my heart and changed my way of looking at things. One--don't take things for granted. Two--it's never too late to do something.

Kudos to the cast, especially Song Kang who played as Chaerok here, a talented but stubborn ballerino who still has yet to make his debut. I first watched him in Sweet Home and seeing him here in a completely different role, I'm very impressed by his acting. And the fact that he practiced ballet for 6 months prior to filming amazes me.

Sure, the story is a bit predictable and you get a sense of where things are heading pretty fast. But that doesn't take away from the beautiful storyline and message--not to mention the really gorgeous cinematography and production. OSTS were on-point too.

What makes you happy? People figure it out at different times, but the drama reminds you that it's okay. If you're using that time to do something that brings you happiness, don't let go of it.

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Simple but beautiful

I think this genuinely may have been the most beautiful K-Drama I've ever seen and I've seen many. I don't really know how to explain this drama because the only words that really come to mind are simply beautiful. It's a show that breaks your heart when you realize its time to say goodbye to the characters but it was also the perfect length. No episode was a filler episode. Every episode built on the previous one without repetition or overplaying clichés. No character was perfect, each had very realistic flaws but you still found yourself coming to understand and appreciate every character. There was growth in every character but it was realistic growth. While the show is focused on the two male leads we are able to see each side characters story being told without it overshadowing the main plot but instead complementing it.

This is by no means an exciting or action-packed drama. It is simply a drama highlighting two men with a wide age gap trying to achieve their dreams and dealing with life along the way. If you are looking for a romance drama, this is certainly not for you. This show focuses on the struggle but also strength that comes from bonds formed over time and through hard work. Love is not glorified in this drama but instead respected. There is no perfect relationship within this drama but somehow that just made this drama that much easier to connect with and become invested in. This is a drama that highlights the fact that there truly is no "happy ending" in real life. We can only hope to collect a few precious moments that we will be able to look back upon and smile. Growth also comes with pain and loss in this drama and when the show ends you are unsure if you should curl up and cry or be proud.

Looking back all of the characters in this show are quite dull and boring. They aren't your typical K-drama characters. There is really nothing special about any one of them. They are all painfully human. Somehow this show full of common people touches your heart in a way that most shows only dream of. I can not recommend this show enough.

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A breath of fresh air

This drama was great, I'd reccomend it to anyone that's looking for a drama that's not a comedy/action/nor romance focused. I was looking for it, and this drama is that. It's wonderfully made and the acting is impeccable. Though, I gave the acting a 9.5 instead of 10 because in some scenes, the Characters were a little too cold to one another. I understand why, they need to focus on ballet but at some points they were unnecessarily cold to each other. The music is 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾😌. I mean, who doesn't love classical music? The relationships in this drama are amazing. There's no overdose of romance and I love that about it. Also, the character development??? 10/10 That one character's development (iykyk) was such a breath of fresh air, I grew to love his character so much at the end. All in all, I'd reccomend, it's a very heartwarming drama and I'm very glad I decided to watch it. It definitely deserves all the hype it's getting.

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good heartwarming concept but tad slow

A good drama with an inspiring concept, but at times I felt it was slow and dragging. Definitely a one time watch, but not sure about rewatching. But if you are into normal slice of life dramas without any twists or actions or dramatic, but you just want something normal, then this is for you.

though I said it is slow-paced, this drama doesn't bore you. and the old man is highly adorable.


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Emotional and character relationship driven.

You WILL cry. Lovely story, great acting, touching character relationships, and some great dance.

You get to see complex relationships between family and found family play out with great acting. I loved how all the characters were handled realistically and respectfully.

The two main leads really carry the emotional weight of the story and their relationship is one of the best I've ever encountered. But the other characters are just as great. Two of my faves especially were the grandmother and the angry blond.

This story will stay with me for awhile.

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follow your heart and do what you love.

(This is my first ever review, I know its going to be all over the place, sorry for that!)
I started watching mainly because of my pure love for ballet even thought I am not a ballerina. I had a very high expectation for this show and it certainly satisfied me. Each role had a story which I enjoyed seeing very much
Secondly, I thought it'll be nice to see a BALLERINO instead of the usual BALLERINA I've seen a lot.
This show was very heart-warming, wholesome and relatable at some point. The message of 'it's never too late to find what you love' stayed with me through out the show and I hope the same will happen to you! I wish to write longer but I'm afraid I would not explain it well (:

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Watching this,was my best choice in whole life

I was never written a review for a drama but this one is really different. I promise to you this drama gonna change your life and made you a better person to yourself and older people.the story is unique.ive never seen story like this,it shows the struggle of old people and the struggle of people who had and have dreams.it shows you that the one who made your destiny is you your self.it definitely the best story ive ever seen in kdrama"drama,peace of life"ganra.
The casting is perfect!both grandpa and songkang acted so well that you might think youre living with them.also the relationship between grandpa and he nam is the best😂i reaaly want this kind of relationahip in my life👌🏻.you must watch it ofcours 💙it gives you so much peace and happiness and emotions

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