Louvor à Morte (2018)

I had finished Mr. Sunshine a couple weeks prior to watching this short drama, and I was craving more historical romance with a tragic ending. This drama also came in handy since I binged it on a long bus ride when I was on a road trip. To keep things short and simple, it was not the tear jerker I sincerely hoped for it to be. Shin Hye Sun and Lee Jong Suk are some of my favorite Korean actors (Shin Hye Sun is actually my favorite actress), and I loved watching them on screen together. However, the storyline just didn’t do it for me. It was pretty dull and dragged out way too much, to the point where I had to check the time remaining in each episode every few minutes out of boredom. The romance, strangely enough, actually ended up being extremely rushed, and I genuinely felt absolutely zero chemistry between Shin Hye Sun and Lee Jong Suk. I’ll give it a higher than average rating for the actors and the beautiful directing, however I wish the storyline was less dull at times. Overall, I would still recommend this to anyone wanting to break out of their comfort zone and try a new genre. This is a short enough drama that I don’t regret watching it in the slightest, despite some obvious drawbacks.

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Duet. Exit. °8.4° °Excellent°

“I beg to differ.” That's what our FL tells our ML when he reaches out his hand and says: “It's nice to meet you.” He needs a female lead for his play (Oh Eui-Sik looks dreadful in a dress) but she turns him down flat. When he acts like he doesn't care, she says she'll do it after all, but only if she can sing. She will also quit if things appear dangerous.

Dangerous? Tokyo isn't exactly safe for Koreans in 1921 - nor has it been in most of history. The police thugs barge in for an impromptu search. A group of students? That makes the police suspicious. Kim Woo-Jin will not cower and almost gets shot. “At first, I thought you were reckless. I thought it was foolish to rebel against something you can't win. But I don't think that way anymore. It's fine even if we can't change anything. The fact that we're trying something with hope is what matters… Thank you for changing the way I think.” Now she begs to differ with herself. Her initial distaste has dissipated; Yun Sim-Deok seems to fall for Kim Woo-Jin rather quickly.

1926 starts the show, but we quickly go back to 1921, Tokyo, and the troupe will eventually return to Korea. The Joseon empire technically fell at the turn of the 20th century, but our protags still refer to home as Joseon. They've been thru war, occupation and loss. “Ten years ago, we had freedom. But today in this land, freedom no longer exists.” Though the script had been censored and approved, as they tour through Korea Kim Woo-Jin is locked up due to the play anyway - for that entirely accurate line. For reference sake, these events roughly take place between 10-20 years after the time period of the show Mr. Sunshine.

HoD is the real-life story of singer Yun Sim-Deok, who recorded Korea's first “pop-song”, and playwright Kim Woo-Jin. Sim-Doek recorded her biggest hit, “In Praise of Death”, in 1926. They were unable to create a life together in the tumultuous 20’s. Japan had taken control of Korea and things were cooking up towards WWII. While every generation brings change, the changes going on in Korea at this time were dramatic - Out-of-hanboks-and-into-hose dramatic. Some women ditched the traditional robes and started wearing slim skirts and nylons. The show opens with the two having just committed suicide, so the viewer won't have to worry and guess about what's coming next, or whether the couple will to work things out. HoD is a 2018 release that is rated 93 on AWiki. It is a short series consisting of either 6 35-minute episodes or 3 60-minute ones, depending. Either way, it's the length of a long movie.

Lee Jong-Suk of Romance is a Bonus Book and While You Were Sleeping fame plays ML Kim Woo-Jin. His mother died when he was 5 and his domineering father went on to marry 3 more times. He has some superb moments in HoD and hands in an overall excellent performance. He's completely different in WYWS and not so similar in RIABB, which is evidence of his range. The couple only has 1 or 2 deeply romantic moments in the show (they keep it chaste) but he is at his romantic best in these scenes. He is a playwright, but since he was raised in “privilege“ he has responsibilities. His father never wants to see him pick up the pen again, except to sign documents pertaining to running the family business. His traditional family has exerted control over every inch of his existence. There's always a contrast between generations, but the contrast between old-fashioned and modern in HoD is striking. We see near-flappers next to hanboks. Our male lead prefers something more modern.

Yun Sim-Deok, the FL is played by Shin Hae-Sun who is completely different in everything, such as the lead in Mr. Queen (hilarious)and support in Legend of the Blue Sea (broding) and Oh My Ghost (sweet and shy). Yun Sim-Deok comes from a poor family and is the sole breadwinner, due to her father's disability. Her younger siblings are relying on her for their education. Kim Won-Hae is Yoon Suk-Ho. He improves every production in which he appears. The compelling Lee Sang-Yeob is reunited with Lee Jong-Suk after doing WYWS together. He plays Kim Hong-Ki, who is rejected by Yun Sim-Deok (like any woman would reject him! That's gotta be the only time). Oh Eui-Sik, who always does a great job, is another player in the troupe.

Does true love take unsparingly or give unsparingly? HoD explores that question. In terms of romance, we view it from a mile up in the air and only get intimate once or twice. Here are two people crushed by society. They were pushed and pushed and pushed. If they had never met, maybe they would have survived, but once they tasted true love, nothing else would ever be good again.

When there is life there is hope. Suicide is not the answer. In the show, My Liberation Notes, a character talks about those who unsuccessfully attempted jumping to their deaths. Every single survivor said they regretted their decision 3/4 of the way down. Before I went through emotional, physical and financial devastation all these topics were academic and easy for me. Those who easily judge another's pain have not felt excruciating pain. Only faith and my ironclad pre-determined ideal, that taking one's life is never the answer, kept me here. The show doesn't glorify suicide, but it doesn't comdemn it either. What the viewer should reflect on is the pressure and pain that we put on others. Kim Woo-Jin’s father exercised complete control at all costs, and he never saw the bill for the ultimate cost coming. We cannot (accurately) judge another's pain. Therefore, we should always be gentle with others and only work on controlling ourselves.

HOD has the feel of a BBC production- that's a compliment. It also feels like the recounting of a true story. They don't squeeze every tear from the viewer and they also don't spring anything on the viewer. The pain is tolerable. They are reciting facts even more than dramatizing. I looked it up to verify the truth of the story because of the real-feel. I suspect that they didn't exercise much dramatic license out of respect, as the show is quite respectful of the subject matter. To judge it as a drama alone isn't entirely fair, since the ghosts of the past do possess the atmosphere of the production. All-in-all, HoD is well worth the 3 hour investment for the walk back in time. At this time it is not available for streaming, but it is bound to pop up somewhere.

QUOTE📢
Passionately, I listen to the curses put on my fate. She was the only Safe Haven in my life besieged by the devil.
11/26/21 Trace of Heart

IMHO〰

Directing 8
Writing 8.2
Acting 8.3
Romance 6.7
Flutters 7.3
Warmth 5
Art 8
Action 4
Sound & music 8
Laughs 2
Tears 6.6
Fright 3.5
Tension 6.7
Gore 2
Thought provocation 6
Snores 0
Ending 6

Age 12+ Language - b!+ch × 1

Re-watch? I wouldn't oppose one day down the line

Tie-in shows would be: Romance is a Bonus Book 7.9 (same male lead) ; Oh My Ghost 10 (superb romdramcom, and HoD's FL is a side character) ; Mr. Queen 8.5 (same FL and she's hilarious); Saimdang 8.5 (another true story with a fantasy tie-in to modern day and a similarly less-than-satisfying ending, but an excellent show nonetheless); The King's Affection 8.3 (another person forced into an impossible situation); and Mr. Sunshine 9 (a show about a love affair with one's country that further chronicles Japan's aggression toward Korea).

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For a drama that’s so short, it wasn’t rushed at all. It had a perfect pace that went well with the story. I don’t know the true story it’s based on, but the drama was beautiful. I think the actors played their characters well. It felt more realistic and sincere than other dramas I’ve watched, the facial expressions weren’t dramatic like some dramas. The actors did a very good job. The literature in the drama was also beautiful and heart wrenching. Even though it had a tragic ending, the ending was almost beautiful that you didn’t feel sadness for them. This drama was beautiful and I definitely recommend it. It was refreshing to see something that had emotion and realistic that wasn’t a cliche romance.

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What happens when your heart rules you.

I have very mixed feelings for this short drama. The actors were excellent and the sets, costumes and scenary where all excellent.

The story, however, just did not do the trick for me. All I could think about was how so many tears could have been saved, had the leading guy confessed about the situation he was stuck in right from the very beginning. It would've stopped the female lead from having her heart terribly broken.

I do feel sympathetic to Kim Soo Sun, whose life was delineated by his father. I could see why he made certain questionable choices when it came to Yu Soo San.
And also, this is the first time I'm seeing a piece of entertainment which fiercely depicted the cruelty of the Japanese. It was blood curdling and disturbing. A huge respect for everyone who dared to stand up to them!
Well. It was a pleasant watch, but definitely not something that I'd rewatch.

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Awesome

Awesome
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Star Crossed Lovers

I started watching this show because of Shin hye sun. I loved her acting in Mr. Queen and wanted to watch her other works. This is my first show that i watched of Lee jong suk so I didn't really have any expectations for him.
STORY:
I know that they both will die at the end before I even started watching but I was genuinely surprised to see that the first scene itself they showed their ending. This melodrama has everything in it for it to be perfect. I loved the way the story started spinning around the main characters.
CHARACTERS:
Thing that I loved the most is that the actions of the characters are believable and you can understand them for what they did. There is no one in particular who is a "villain" in this show. Every actor gave their best.
OST:
The parts where the heroine sang was beautiful so is the background score.

From the set to the pace of the story, this show is really spectacular for its barely three hours run. The only thing I wished is to see the aftermath of their death and how the other characters reacted to it.

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Loved it!

😭 it was very emotional but very beautifully made I really liked it! You should definitely give it a try. I loved the casting and the actors/actresses and the soundtrack is amazing.


This drama is the definition of right person wrong time. This will probably become one of my favourite historical kdramas.

The female lead was very interesting and cool I really liked her! I loved her confidence and her smile is so precious <3

The male lead was also very interesting and passionate about writing! I admired that he didn’t let anyone take away his love for writing even if he was forced to quit he still enjoyed and loved writing and didn’t let others change that.

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BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, AND SHORT DRAMA

This drama is a brilliantly made film. Despite being fairly short compared to regular K-dramas, this drama delivers so much emotion to viewers. The heartbreaking love story of the two leads is perfectly portrayed by the wonderful actor/actress, Lee Jong Suk and Shin Hye Sun. I was completely blown away with how expressive these two actors were, and truly they performed far better than what I had expected from them. I cried so hard, it was so beautiful. The acting was amazing and wow, the ending was something. I cant believe this was a true story, one of the best dramas ive ever seen. I liked it because the story and how the couple wanted to fight to be together, then at the end when they knew they had no option, they couldnt be together, and then they did what they did at the ENDING, which I wont spoil. I didnt dislike anything about it, as it is a true story. I loved the two actors they used for this drama, they did so well. Lee Jong Suk is so incredible in this drama, as it is a very short, sad one.

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Sad, poignant.

Hymn of Death is a short (three episode) drama based on two real people — Sim Deok (Korea’s first soprano singer) and Woo Jin (playwright). The drama is set during the early 1920s, Japanese colonisation of Korea is the backdrop of the romance between these two talented artists. If you’re interested to learn more about the aspects of history, I wouldn’t say this is your drama to watch because it focuses mainly on the relationship which these two share. The beauty of this drama is that it managed to show the yearning and love Sim Deok and Woo Jin had for each other, a bond that transcends through time.

As the title suggests, it’s a tragic drama. The fact that these two people saw no other way to be together except through that one action. While the plot revolves around these two’s struggles, we do see very little of what it is to be a Korean, a woman, an artist forced to live a life dictated by others and the freedom to not share your art in your language.

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It was great, but short

It was a touching story that taught me many things.

I liked the story since it was based on a true story and its meaning. I also liked that they showed both sides of the lives of the main characters - but they deserved more scenes. I didn't like that they chose death (they could have solved it in other ways), but they couldn't change what Kim Woojin and Shim Deok decided to do. At least they could have added more scenes of them - somewhere they skipped a few scenes to get to the most important parts. Also, Lee Jongsuk was acting good, but his character looked emotionless in a few scenes for me.

The music was perfect. I felt like I was also in the story. The backround music and OST added more emotions to it and also Shim Deok's singing was really good.

Anyways, the ending was good - I was teary at the last scenes. Unfortunately, it is a short story. I enjoyed watching it so I would welcome more episodes. I saw a bit of chemistry between them (even when there were not many scenes when they were together) so it was hard watching their pain and how they missed each other.

Will I rewatch it? I am not the rewatching type, but I won't mind rewatching it later. It is short so I won't spend much time and the story... you will see after watching it ^^

"We, people, are all selfish, but it doesn't mean that we are bad. We have to do our duties - but more importantly, we need to do things we love - to live."

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