A sumptuous period fantasy that delivers!

I have not read the manga nor was I familiar with the story. I knew that it had Ren Meguro in it and I was swayed by the trailers -- especially the elements of fantasy -- to watch it. And I am so happy that I did! It premiered at the Japanese Cultural Centre in Toronto today; and I am so glad that I went. There is something to be said about the experience of watching a movie with an audience that is wanting to be charmed by what they watch unfold on screen.

Without spoiling the movie, I will say that the production quality is incredible. I think they used heritage sites for most of the filming and it really shows in the movie. They add a depth of place and history that you wouldn't find otherwise. The costumes worked well too. I'll agree with the earlier review that they had a challenge in compressing a significant and complicated story into 1 hour and 57 minutes but they did a reasonable job. As a newbie, I didn't find it rushed or choppy, which is a testament to the script writing and editing, especially since so much of the film relies on cutaways.

The leads were terrific. Their chemistry was on point. And whoever thought of putting Ren Meguro in a grey wig with long hair and a navy military uniform is a genius. It worked perfectly. He looks in part formidable military commander, a leader with hidden warmth. and a man in search of the warmth of hearth and home --without even knowing it. He is the archetypal hero but with a strong streak of pragmatism, which makes the character even more attractive. Especially when the commander is replaced by a fumbling young man hesitantly exploring the dangerous territory of his emotions. Mia Imada is lovely as the wide-eyed damsel in distress, who possesses unexpected depths. So much of her resistance is hidden under a dramatically vulnerable exterior. The grief and pain of her history manifest in unexpected ways, reminiscent of a trauma survivor. Watching the two of them open up to each other is done well. It's very lightly handled with more left in side long looks, and aborted gestures than what is actually said out loud.

And now to the piece that I loved. I would watch it again just to relive the fantasy elements and special effects. The way Kiyoka Kudo handles a spark of fire is fantastic. It's poetic. Glittering embers of light streak across the screen like fireflies. Its power to destroy and to heal is a visual treat. The fight scenes are well choreographed with sabres flashing and cloaks swirling and magic manifesting. Little is said. In fact, little needs to be said because the physicality and layers of these scenes speak for themselves underscored as they are by a terrific OST. There is a delicious denouement with the villainous family that left me and the rest of the audience clapping in delight!!

All in all, tropes and cliches aside, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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A wildly different adaptation

A much anticipated release. Did it live up to the hype? I'm not so sure.

For me, as someone who's read the translated novel, I found it wildly different from the source material. Some of the choices were good but some of the others fell into the same trap as other run of the mill c-dramas: drama for the sake of drama.

First things first, terrifying fans of the actors and fights in the comments section aside, the acting was top notch which lifted the drama significantly. I'm not hugely familiar with the lead actors but I thought they did very well. The emotional beats resonated with me. I've only watched Yang Zi in Go Squid. I don't think it's her fault but I found both the story and her character pretty tropey and uninspired. However, as Lin Zhi Xiao she was by turns winsome, charming, resilient, and a fighter. No candy character here for the ML to walk over. Similarly, Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei was good too. He portrayed the emotionally closed-off yet vulnerable and steadfast ML well. Their chemistry sparkled. Their interactions and physical comfort were such a pleasant change from the incredibly stilted and choreographed intimacy we see across our screen every day. While some of the direction choices were problematic, more on that later, it was nice to see a couple that who actually talk about (most) things. They discuss things that are both mundane and serious (occasionally ass-kicking is required!) and don't brush off their problems or concerns. A well adjusted adult relationship - after You Are My Glory -- this was a solid follow-up.

The ensemble cast was also stellar especially Mrs. and Mr. Lin. The FL's character arc is very well done. He goes from. being infuriating (making me want to punch him in the nuts. Repeatedly.) to sympathetic over the course of the drama. Once we finally get an insight into his emotional landscape that is. The chemistry between the Lin family was lovely. From heartbreaking showdowns between a disappointed parent and child (and vice versa) to moments of sweetness and vulnerability and humour the Lin family showed it all. And while I didn't enjoy the change in characters from their portrayal in the novel at the start of the drama I came around to it. A lot of that is down to the actors and their performances. Meanwhile Dr. Gu's family were placeholders entirely devoid of substance. I found this a shame since the whole trope of disapproving and controlling parents is so old-school and was manifestly chosen to create unnecessary drama. I feel like that bit of the drama could easily have been left out. More moments of sweetness between our leads please!

The opening and closing credits (with sweet little theatre moments) and the OSTs were charming. And in keeping with the theme of the drama and our main leads.

I could have done without the second leads -- boring and unnuanced, again drama for the sake of drama --- and the awful flat characterisations of the FL's besties. Nothing good there beyond repetitive scenes of passive aggressiveness, terrible dating advice, and unwanted interference in the lives of our leads. Again, that comes down to poor decisions when adapting the novel to the drama.

All in all, a drama that was held up by the main leads and some members of the ensemble cast. Would I watch it again? Probably not. But it was definitely head and shoulders above its peers in the same genre.

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Thankfully NOT How to Get Away With Murder. Hint: It's much better

I don't think this is a criticism. But this drama definitely wasn't 'Stranger' or 'Forest of Secrets' or 'Watcher' where the plot was in the driver's seat and the characters took their lead from the story. There was no nuanced exploration of how small steps and slips into corruption for the greater good lead to dark deeds and dark ends. There was no deft questioning of how the suspect motivations of the Law Professors impacted their students. And, disappointingly (the show flagged this as an issue re Sol B and Joon-Hwi but then ignored it) no questioning of how the insular world of privilege and relationships creates economic and social schisms as demonstrated by the students of Hankuk. But what it did show over and over was how evil, banal though it might be, diminishes us all.

No, this was very much character driven. In that respect, the cast was stellar. I enjoyed how the members of the ensemble cast had their own storylines, which were explored in detail. And I particularly liked the fact that women protagonists got equal screen time and dialogue to their male counterparts. This is, quite often, missing in other dramas. They were fleshed out, well articulated, and fierce. No milk-candy-water misses or candy queens here. BAMF women with personalities and outlooks much like the women I know in my life. A terrific change of pace in representation! After Ye-Seul's story concluded, I felt the drama ran out of steam. However, her story was well handled. I'm grateful that the writer and director carved a space for Ye-Seul to be her own avenger. After forensically examining the gaslighting she experienced, she had control over the narrative and her decisions. The acting was top-notch too! That arc was a hard one to beat: as the remainder of the drama proved in the lead up to Ko's anticlimactic takedown.

Like several other viewers, I find highly entertaining that a drama billed as not romantic ends up giving us electrifying chemistry between Ryy Hye Yeong and Kim Beom. And that too chemistry that would beat out most of the other rom-com duds that have aired this year. I lived for the thrill of their 5 minutes of togetherness per episode! Thank you to all the incredible fanvidders who fed my obsession. I swear their chemistry in a rom-com would be mind blowing ala my faves in CLOY. Anyone have a crackling script for them?

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Slow burn study of memory, grief & love

Find Me In Your Memory is not a flashy drama. It is subtle and when it focuses on its characters - it's quietly moving. The overall tone of the drama is melancholic but leavened with flashes of humour, of thrills and a sense of growing kinship and camaraderie between our leads and secondary characters.

While the drama relies on the old tropes of amnesia and invasion of privacy with a heavy handed use of flashbacks it never falters in the pacing of the story. In fact, for a drama that deals with some difficult topics, and has one of the more menacing stalker arcs I've seen, there is a deftness to the storytelling. The writer and director know where they are going and how they'll get there. We just need to sit back and follow along. As the story progresses, you realise that at its heart this is a drama about the connections we make with our, how ties deepen or fray over time. At the centre of this realisation are our two flawed leads who on the surface are as unlike each other as chalk and cheese. Jeong Hoon, our ML, is reserved and polite yet incisive and courageous and deeply kind. Hae Jin, our FL, is effervescent and forthright yet comes across as somewhat simple, or even shallow. A misperception that is systematically taken apart as the drama progresses. I think, for me this drama was so interesting because it lets its characters show us that what you see is often a curated presentation of a set of personality traits and characteristics. Underneath there are emotional eddies and currents that you'd never know about until someone lets you in. And that's what our leads and secondary characters do so well: they let each other in, ever so slowly. Personal gains are made with painstaking effort.

It's slow burn at a really high level.

None of the secondary characters are space fillers. Each one has a thesis and an arc. Some you hate. Some you like. And some you grow to like because like people irl they change.

The tropes Find Me In Your Memory Relies on are old and hackneyed but in this instance I can see the value of how they are used and why they are integral to the story we are being told. Having said that, I'm tired of watching reenactments of the power of patriarchy, terrible parents and noble idiocy among lovers -- who sacrifice themselves and their happiness without considering how sacrifice affects everyone else around them. Luckily, this last pet peeve of mine doesn't last for very long. Mainly because the other thing this drama does well is have our characters (mostly) communicate with each other. People have conversations and chats and talk about their feelings and fears. It's TREMENDOUS to watch adults in relationships behave like adults rather than candyland characters. And our FL in particular is very good at talking things out. She's ably supported in this by her sister (who's her manager) and the ML.

If you're into dramas that are melancholic character studies with slow burn romances interspersed with moments fraught with mystery without getting in too deep about convenient plot devices then give Find Me In Your Memory a chance. One you adjust to the pacing, it's well worth your time.

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Rife with gaslighting

This started out okay but then the director and scriptwriter made some choices that not even Jasper's smile and Zhou Yu Tong's acting can save.

I found the ML's mood swings, especially when it comes to the FL's "work ethic", bewildering. I find it difficult to reconcile myself to the power differential between them. Furthermore, the ML seems to be withholding important information about his identity, and is making decisions for her (i.e. either through good intentions or through a lack of understanding) which end up making her life harder than it needs to be. If you are going to assert professional control over someone -- senior v junior -- then keep it to that. Stop making it personal and/or using personal information to manipulate the other party forcing them to come around to your way of thinking because you think it best.

How can the FL trust someone who takes away so many of her choices when it comes to self-determination. That is not love. This is an exercise in control. Furthermore, the FL started out well. Sure, she was a little frivolous, a little serious, has her pride -- who among us doesn't. And doesn't always make the best or smartest choices -- again, who among us does? But the systematic chipping away of her agency, making her look unprofessional - when she started out fine, and generally someone who is constantly on the back-foot -- apologising for herself? None of this is cool.

I don't watch dramas to get angry at chauvinistic nonsense. I see enough of that in real life. And if I wanted to watch people playing life or death games trapped by limited choices and circumstances I would watch Squid's Game. Not a drama that describes itself as a rom-com.

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ALERT: toxic relationships

Right. So I'm dropping this drama like a rancid hot potato.

The ML embodies toxic masculinity writ large. Selfish. Cruel. Insensitive. Self-absorbed.
The FL embodies doormat candy. Emotionally needy. Fragile. Incapable of recognizing and rebuffing the ML's cruelty.
The SFL is a caricature of the 'mean' woman. Essentially a female version of the ML. So they really are a match made in hell.

I wish drama writers would:
1. Stop valourising toxic masculinity.
2. Stop fetishizing men's cruelty to women in relationships as 'love.' And its corollary, women's acceptance of terrible behaviour as 'love.'
3. Stop pitting women against other women.
4. Stop making romanticizing lack of consent and rape culture.
5. Stop normalizing excessive drinking as socially acceptable when it is incredibly physically and mentally harmful.

Right...I'm off to bleach my brain.

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