Meet Yourself (2023)

Lentezza è la parola d'ordine ed è anche la più importante

Questo drama è estremamente lento, ma è giusto che sia così: la storia si concentra tra un manipolo di persone che per svariati motivi scappano dalla vita di città per ritrovare se stessi e come farlo di fretta? No, qui ognuno ha i suoi tempi di ripresa e tutti hanno un qualcosa di "saggio" da condividere, riuscendo a creare un clima stabile e tranquillo in cui riposarsi e ricaricarsi in attesa di ributtarsi nel mondo esterno. E' stata una coccola, un momento di pausa da tutti quelli che sono i momenti brutti che ci affligono, che ci soffocano e in questo mi ha aiutata molto.
Sono stracontenta di averlo visto almeno una volta, ma è anche vero che non lo riguarderei mai perchè a volte la sua lentezza può esasperare il pubblico.
Adatto solo a chi cerca un momento di pausa, a chi vuole scappare, a chi vuole ritrovare se stesso.

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An Absolute Masterpiece

This drama will make you laugh, this drama will make you cry, this drama will teach you about life, this drama will give you hope, and this drama will give you happiness.

Overall thinking:
As my title says, this is an absolute masterpiece. But there are so many masterpieces out there and people claim this word rather very easily nowadays. So, what is so special about the drama? Some others say a lot of adjectives like Heartwarming, Healing, Therapeutic, Soothing, great acting, etc. All these words perfectly describe this drama, but here I would say my own word to describe this drama, it is UNIQUENESS. There are so many healing, heartwarming, slow-burn dramas out there. Still, the drama makes itself unique from others (will explain later).
The drama shows its sublimity in every department- Cinematography, Script, Location, Story, Casting, Acting, and Music. Everything is to absolute perfection. This is a drama where the main story is very simple. You almost know where the main story is going. But here the end result does not matter at all. It’s the journey how you go there is what is important here. The drama is the mix of stories of the female lead, male lead, and other 5-6 supporting leads (and many other characters) to find themselves. The characters are very much realistic. The characters actually mirror regular people like us. Just like regular people, the characters are not perfect. They have a lot of issues, but they don't know the answers yet. The drama is their journey where they find the answers from their life experiences. The main strong point of the drama is that the characters are so realistic and they are examples of real people just like you. Everything is delivered in such a way that while watching the drama, you will feel like you are a part of the drama (hardly any other drama can make you feel like that). So, you will learn your life lessons just like the drama characters. You will get to know what are the things important in your life, what things you need to care about. The drama explored this in a wide range of ways like Family bonds, friendship, grandmother-grandchildren relationships, parent-children relationships, siblings relationships, neighborhood relationships, and so on. Unlike other slice-of-life dramas, which explore a lot of life issues but fail to give entertainment to the viewers and are often regarded as boring, this drama is totally different. It is super fun to watch. You will get a good happy feeling while watching every single minute (except ep 1, the first episode is a bit sad) of the drama. Some simple moments can make you laugh so hard, and some simple moments make you so emotional to make you cry, but at the same time, you will feel good and happy. This is the greatness of the drama.

Romance:
The drama is both a life drama and a romantic drama. But, different life stories and lessons with everyday interactions will captivate you so much that you might forget to tell about the romantic part of the drama. Romancewise, the drama did an excellent job. You will see a very natural romance development between the leads. It might be one of the best natural and realistic romances you can find in any drama. And you will enjoy and love every bit of it.

Slow Pacing:
I also need to talk about the pacing. It is a slow-paced drama. But for this particular drama, the slow pace is not its weakness but becomes its strength. Some people might have some problems with the pace at first. But if you are not too much impatient, you will get used to the pace quickly. In the other dramas, the slow pace means the drama is doomed to fail. But, here it becomes its strength due to its script, its unique way of storytelling, and the acting delivered by the cast. The interactions between the characters, the dialogue, and the conversations become an art in this drama. So, if you are too impatient and try to fast forward too much or skip scenes as you do in other dramas, you might miss the real beauty of this drama. But, if you are patient enough, you will soon get used to the pace. And you might find this drama as one of the best dramas that you have ever watched.

Story:
The plot is pretty simple and easy to follow. You already read the MDL summary. So, I won’t write the same words. I would say, the plot is rather simple. But the story is not simple. This is a wide big story. There are a lot of stories that are mixed together and make a wonderful and magical mixture. So many characters in the drama. Yes, not only the main leads. There are at least another 10 characters (actually more) whose stories are explored in this drama. The story is not plot-driven, but rather character-driven. Unlike other dramas, the interactions and conversations between the characters matter the most here. There are so many GOLD conversations in this drama, which I cannot write here (not want to spoil you), you need to see yourself. The drama runs in a smooth manner from beginning to end in such a way you can’t skip any of the conversations. You might need to stop sometimes and go back to see the conversations multiple times. Because the conversations are so fun to watch. And they are the soul of the drama. The conversations are pretty simple daily life conversations. But sometimes, they tell us different stories, and different values and give us different emotions, insights, and life lessons. Sometimes, those conversations make you cry due to emotions, sometimes those make you cry due to happiness.

Characters:
There are a lot of characters and the characters are very much well developed. You have the FL who is a former front office Hotel Manager who came to the village to spend time. Previously, she made a plan with her best friend to come here, but her best friend is dead now. So she came to the village for both of them, to fulfill their promise. ML is a local boy, who is highly educated and used to doing a good well-paid job. He is now back in the village and now wants to improve the village. Then, you have Nana- A waitress working in the local café, Damai- An aspiring young novelist, Mr. Hu- A singer and songwriter, Mr. Ma- The man who keeps himself busy doing meditation, Xiaochun- A local woman who is divorced, has a cute daughter, and manages the different business for ML, Xiaxia- A woodcarver (local craft), Grandma Xie- 80 years old but still strong woman with a lot of wisdom. I can mention a lot more. But it will be a long list. (Special Mention: Aunt Gui, Aunt Feng, Aunt Baoping, and 4 cute little kids). All the characters were acted by a perfect cast. While watching this, you just can't stop praising how the cast acted perfectly in each of these characters. All the characters are unique on their own. They have their fair share of struggles in life. They have some stories to tell. The drama explores their life struggles and stories. From my description, it may seem like the drama is heavy. But you are totally wrong here. The drama is very lighthearted. All these characters are super fun to watch.

Acting:
10/10 from me, and I believe anyone who gives a score below 10 for acting might not be fair in his/her review. Female lead, Male lead, Supporting characters, Grannies, Aunts, and Children, all the characters are acted by perfect casts. All were absolutely perfect in their role. The cast delivered some of the most realistic, natural acting you can see in any drama.

Screenwriting:
I would say one sentence. The drama is a screenwriting masterpiece. YES, it's true. Not only the characters are written well-developed, but they are also super fun to watch. You will like all the characters. Yes, all the characters. Not a single dislikeable character. You will also remember their name (which I hardly do in other dramas) because they are so impactful you can’t just forget them. All the conversations are written in a such masterful way, I can’t find just enough praise for them. Many of us don’t know the beauty of screenwriting, because we never see the real strength of screenwriting in other dramas. Just think, the plot is there and screenwriting is a simple script to drive the plot. But, the drama will prove you wrong here. You need to watch this drama to see what is actual screenwriting and how it makes a drama a good one to a great one.

Music:
10/10 on the music. This is not an exaggeration. That is what truly I feel. Simply awesome. The OST, BGM, and use of music with different moments of the drama were simply wonderful.

Enjoyment:
The drama keeps getting better and better. The first episodes are introductory episodes. The characters are weird at first. Once you get to know the characters you like them. As I said, it keeps getting better and better. So, for example, episode 10 is more fun than episode 5, episode 20 is more exciting than episode 10, and episode 30 is more exciting than episode 20. After watching episode 10 you might think, the drama is already so good. How can it get better? Yes, my friend, it gets better. Unlike other dramas, which start with a bang and attract all attention, but later you find out that drama is a total mess. Not, no chance here. It gets so good; you can only see it if you watch.

Some Weak Points:
Yes, there are some weak points.
>>Simple Plot and Predictability: Yes, the plot is pretty simple and predictable. You can always guess what might happen next. You get what you expect, and drama doesn’t disappoint you in that case. For some people, this might be the weak point, but those who watched the drama would say a different thing. The greatness of the drama largely lies in its simplicity and predictability. Our daily life events are pretty simple and predictable. But, as you explore life, you see it is extraordinary. This drama is the same as life. It is extraordinary.
>>Not many WOW moments: The drama is different in many aspects compared to other dramas. Nowadays you watch dramas with your computer or mobile phone. There is a 5 seconds/10 seconds forward button. You always press the button. You skip the conversations and go to some WOW moments. Yes, most of the time you don’t miss any important part of the story by doing this. For them (☹ for me too), at the beginning the drama might not suit you and some of them might find this drama boring. Because there are no such moments. But, if you watch properly, you will see the conversations are GOLD in this drama. Believe me, you will find more enjoyment in some simple conversations than in those WOW moments in other dramas.

Rewatch Value:
I wish there were 11 out there to rate the rewatch value. The drama actually deserves 11/10 rewatch value. I saw so many people already watching the episodes 2-3 times before the drama even ended. Same for me. I will watch it multiple times. I don’t know how many times.

Recommendation:
I absolutely recommend the drama. While most people will absolutely love this drama, there might be some people who would not like this drama due to its slow pacing or some other reasons. Even if they don't like it now, I would recommend they try watching this drama maybe in the future or maybe when they are facing difficult stages of life. Not only for enjoyment but this drama will show you the beauty of life, and help you think the life in a positive way.

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