Melo Movie (2025) 멜로무비
Directed by Oh Chung-hwan, starring Choi Woo-shik as Ko Gyeom, Park Bo-young as Kim Mu-bee, Jeon So-nee as Son Ju-a, Lee Jun-young as Hong Si-jun and Kim Jae-wook as Ko Jun.
Watched 16 - 28 February 2025 — 10 episodes (NETFLIX)
*What started as a slow-paced slice-of-life series/light rom-com, developed into a beautiful story of dreams, love, loss, grief and acceptance. This is one of those dramas that gets better in the second half where relationships deepen and there's more character development, and we see the main characters coming to terms with their traumas and eventually getting closure.
*Not much is happening in the first episodes but I immediately loved the show's vibe and the likeable characters. I love Park Bo-young and I was glad to see her in a rom-com after having seen her in more serious roles (Daily Dose of Sunshine and Light Shop), yet not expecting this show to become so serious and heartfelt. I had never seen Choi Woo-shik in a K-drama before, and though I can say with conviction he will never be a fave actor of mine, I like him well enough and he has good chemistry with Park Bo-young (they're exactly the same age). He's perfectly cast as Park Bo-young's carefree, happy-go-lucky love interest, and I love him in his more serious moments.
*I like the romance of our OTP Ko Gyeom and Kim Mu-bee but prefer the later episodes when there's more depth to their relationship.
*I hadn't expected the family stories to be so emotional: the story of Kim Mu-bee with her father and Ko Gyeom with his brother Ko Jun. Both lead characters experience loss and I was especially moved by Gyeom and Jun's story. Love how Jun took care of his little brother when their parents died and how he made Gyeom his top priority. And how Gyeom in turn took care of Jun after his severe car accident. Love their scenes together, watching movies on the big screen in their garden. Having lost both of my parents recently, watching Gyeom lose his brother hit very close to home and was heartbreaking. I had already shed tears along the way during the emotional scenes, but when in the final episode Gyeom invites his (dead) brother to visit him in his dreams and to hang out together, I sobbed.
*I think I was more invested in the second couple, Jeon So-nee (seen her in When My Love Blooms) as the script writer Son Ju-a and Lee Jun-young as the musician Hong Si-jun. They have great chemistry and I was happy they got plenty of screen time. Of course I was rooting for them to get back together but also felt that there was too much pain there to make things work again. I would have loved a happy ending but I think it's more realistic they go their separate ways and we see them ultimately coming to terms with it. They realised they had a great time together, loved each other dearly, but now it was over and there was no future for them. (But maybe, in 5 or 10 years' time ....??!!)
*It was nice to see actor Cha Woo-min playing a lovable character (Kim Mu-bee's childhood friend), because I just saw him as the bully/villain in Study Group.
*I like the young actress who plays Kim Mu-bee as a kid and was pleasantly surprised by her facial resemblance with Park Bo-young.
*I love the parallel between Kim Mu-bee's story with her father and the second leads' story. Mu-bee's father wasn't successful in his film career but he would have given up earlier if Mu-bee had not been around. Same goes for Hong Si-jun. He would have given up already if Son Ju-a hadn't given him hope all the time and hadn't supported him.
*What K-drama & C-drama do right is depicting couples who are supportive of each other. It's always so heartwarming to witness how the leads or second leads take care of each other. This also applies to our couples in this drama.
*Love the setting of the film world, the melancholic feel of this show, the great cinematography and pleasant OST.
*What to take away from this drama: traumatic experiences as death and break-up are a part of life, and despite the pain and grief, you can still be okay after that. You think the death of a loved one changes everything, but then you realise that it actually doesn't (Ko Gyeom). Life just goes on.
