Navillera (2021)

Warm and beautiful...

You're looking for a love story? Then this is it. No bed scenes or kisses, just romantic towards life.
After watching this I felt so many emotions. Happiness, sadness, even fear, but the biggest one was relief.
I'm a teenager and most of the times it's difficult to think about being older when I feel like I'm not even done enjoying my childhood. College, work, family... everything seems so far away from my capabilities, and everyone keeps pushing me to that. However, this drama made me feel welcomed, like someone was finally telling me "it's not too late" or "don't be affraid".
I never dream too high, but after finishing that last episode I felt capable and validated for the first time. Like it was okay to not forget about your dreams.
Tbh, I wanted to be more critical, but it's impossible for me lol. All I can say is: Here you have a great drama, make a little bit of time for yourself and watch it, you won't regret one single minute.

- I'm a Spanish speaker, sorry if I made too many mistakes.

Leia Mais

An Atypical Korean Drama for an Atypical Main Character

I normally have a review template I use when reviewing dramas/movies but I can't review this drama with that standard because this drama goes beyond just a review and ratings.

I actually didn't intend to watch this drama at all because it didn't really seem all that appealing to me. Admittedly, I thought it would be a really slow-paced, boring drama because it was about older people. Yes, I stereotyped a drama and judged it off the cuff. I've never been so glad to be more wrong in my life and be humbled because of my ignorance.

This is a slice-of-life drama and is a story of an older man's long life desire to learn how to do ballet. We follow a man as he experiences the particular hardships one only endures in old age. Burdened by the opinions of others and trapped in the solidarity of family roles, Mr. Shim is inspired to become good at something he's always wanted to do his entire life before regret caught up to him.

Ballet.

I do have to point out though that Mr.Shim's dream ISN'T to become a ballet dancer. His dream is to LEARN how to do ballet. I originally thought he wanted to become a ballet dancer at first but as I kept watching the drama, it became more apparent to me that he was most happy learning to do something he really loved. Mr. Shim even says his expectations were never about becoming a dancer who could perform on stage (though I'm sure he still dreamt for it) but to be an accomplished ballet student in his own right for his own gratification and not for the adoration from others. The events that followed afterwards are only a product of his own efforts. He never once asked for more than to learn. Others around him are the ones that offered.

A 70-year old grandfather wants to learn how to do ballet.

I knew that this was going to tug a few heartstrings when I first started watching it but only a couple of episodes in it, I was already quite tearful as I stared at the face of a dejected man who thinks it's too late to live.

This grandfather meets a blunt and frank young man who has been in ballet training for years whose dream is to turn it into a career. This young man is closed-off, dismissive, and unapologetically candid but is someone who also grapples with his own life struggles to accomplish his dreams. The two make an unlikely pair as the young man is forced to teach ballet to an elderly grandfather but as they spend more time together, a grandfather's shameless warmth helps bring a young man out of the darkness he's found himself in and begins to see a different way of looking at things through the wise and understanding eyes of aged maturity. Together, they teach each other to see what the other cannot and form a beautiful and strong friendship.

This drama will open your eyes and help you realize that this the path we will all travel down eventually and that our lives mean more than our age, physical appearance or health. Watching this drama won't only help you to appreciate the elderly but to also open up conversations with ourselves. What regrets do we have right now? Are we holding ourselves back because of fear? What are we afraid of? Do you know what your parents dreams are? What are your own dreams?

This drama gives us a glimpse into what our own lives might be like if we dare to continue to soar, even if our wings are withered and weak. Even if we've already accomplished a lot in our youth. People always ask "What are your dreams?" and for some reason, everyone thinks we are only supposed to have one dream when we were asked the plural 'dreams'.

Sure your life may get a little boring and mundane as you get older and your body gets slower but your birth never came with an expiration date until it happens. So live your life unapologetically and consideration.

Your life is not over because you got old, it's only over if you give up.

SIDETALK: Mr. Shim is an absolute gem of a character and Park In Hwan did an AMAZING FANTASTIC job portraying him. He showed his warm loveable and adorable side and his poignant yet undefeated confidence so perfectly! There were so many times I wanted to just give this grandpa a big hug when he was sad and be his biggest cheerleader when he accomplished something, no matter how small it was. This drama will be one to put in my TOPS list!

Leia Mais

Good Enough

Korean Drama "Navillera" is a bittersweet story about an unusual friendship.

The drama starts slowly, with a simple plot prompt: an elder wants to learn how to dance ballet, the ballerino who is forced to teach him doesn't really want to. From then the drama builds up the melodrama element, adding family drama here and there, a few twists, and then finally it let things come together and creates a puzzle of a heartbreaking story and a strong, warm friendship.

What, however, makes the drama even more special are the performances and the dancing scenes that were perfectly executed. The atmosphere was nicely created with the settings and a suitable soundtrack that was simple, melodic and in the background, creating a more intense drama. The pace was perfect as well and, fortunately, the drama didn't overdo it with the length and it ended when it was needed.


So, overall, nine out of ten.

Leia Mais

Terribly Overrated Misery P×rn

Let me say it straight: this drama is bad and doesn't deserve the overblown ratings. "What the hell, Tate? Are you even human? Do you have a heart? How can you say that about the sweetest little sob story of an elderly man pursuing ballet?!" Well, that's the thing. The writer took a tear-jerking concept and wrote a very lazy, sanitized, redundant, non-conflicted in of itself screenplay that relies completely on evoking the feeling of pity from the viewers. The cheesy mellow overbearing piano soundtracks make the impression twice worse. This K-drama is bordering with misery porn.

Everybody is trying to make it in this world. Everybody is fighting their own battles. In the beginning, it's fairly interesting to see how the 70 y.o. Deok Chul is maneuvering between his health issues and his disapproving family to learn ballet. But in the end we don't get a story of a resilient man, all we get is "look how much he loves ballet and how hard it must be for him, poor grandpa!" Lee Chae Rok is not an interesting character either. He is a kind boy who's always helping the grandpa out and waits for a breakthrough in ballet that doesn't seem to be his top priority. I'm especially disappointed in the supporting characters, the Deok Chul's granddaughter who leaves a job to seek her calling and Deok Chul's son who retires from medicine and wanders around town in his old Crocs. Neither of them get a satisfying ending because they both settle in a conventional place making the whole plot line feel like a teenage angst.

Not to mention that to prioritize the grandpa's safety while he's learning ballet there would have to be at least a physiotherapist in the room. Stretching can be traumatic even for young and healthy people. How can a literal boy make a training program for an elderly person when he has no qualifications in the medical field? In this case I would like the retired son to be involved, it would benefit the story.

I would not recommend the show to the fans of psychological dramas and to the fans of Song Kang because he doesn't seem as the main character here. All the complicated ballet dancing scenes are shot with a stunt double even though the actor was committed to learning ballet for 6 months prior. It's just not worth it.

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Blah-villera

I see this drama is described as heart-warming so sorry not sorry that my cold heart made me drop this boring tripe.

The premise is something that could be wrapped up in a 2 hrs long movie yet somehow they decided to stretch it into 12 episode drama and they already ran out of gas in episode 3. This is basically a drama that builds to only 2 things: whether the hot pouty ballerino is going to win the National competition (the sensible story), and whether the 70 years old man with no prior dance experience is somehow going to perform ballet on the stage (the nonsense story). The rest is no1curr filler about the grandpa's good-4-nothing children, romance between the hot ballerino and grandpa's granddaughter plus her employment woes, ballerino's part time job woes, ballerino's convoluted rivalry with some blond soccer punk, ballerino's strained relationship with his jailbird father who has something to do with blond punk's grudge. None of this has anything to do with ballet.

Grandpa actor is the highlight but his character quickly goes from endearing to delulu and annoying for he apparently really think that he could and should perform on the stage like a pro. Song Kang aka the hot pouty ballerino pouts a lot and it's really ridiculous how obvious it is that he isn't performing even the most basic ballet. The switch between his sweaty head-to-shoulders closeup and "headless" dancing by the real ballet dancer was hilarious at first but irritating the longer the drama went. It really takes you out of the experience. I liked Song Kang in Sweet Home where his catatonic pouty acting style worked perfectly. Not so much here or in the boring Love Alarm. No one else registers cause they are all in the skippable filler described above and responsible why it's so skippable.

I watched first 3 episodes in full and the next 3 with a lot of skipping. Now I have dropped it for good which sucks because I like ballet, Black Swan is one of my all time favorite movies, and I greatly enjoyed even the trashy Tiny Pretty Things series. But this is a dumb premise that doesn't have much to do with ballet and the level of boredom makes it recommendable only to insomniacs.

Leia Mais

The importance of dreams and passion

Since no one is going to write a review, I will.

This is my first review so bear with me. Since I've watched Sweet Home, I've been waiting for another Korean Drama from Song Kang and was so excited when I heard that he will be in Navillera. I was very excited to watch the first episode of Navillera when it came out and I got to say, IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. At least not yet.

I am not going to write a huge essay like others but the ballet performance by Song Kang was AMAZING. I was very surprised when I saw it because I didn't have many expectations since he isn't a ballet dancer but I was wrong. I don't know anything about ballet but his skill seems good for someone who only practiced for 6 months. Navillera reminds me of Angel's Last Mission: Love in terms of ballet. Angels' Last Mission was one of my favorite Korean Dramas EVER, so it is understandable that I also like Navillera.

I seriously like the plot. I always wanted to watch a Korean Drama about how it is never too late to pursue your dreams. Song Kang is a plus to this drama, at least for me, it feels like buy 1-get-1 free, watch a good Korean drama + a good actor. I haven't talked about it but Park In Hwan also slayed it. I loved his character and how he displayed emotions on screen. I really hope that there is no romance just because it might intervene the heartwarming plot and steal it from its title. I won't spoil anything about the story so go watch it on your own, I promise, it is going to be worth it.

The only thing that I didn't like that much was the OST. There was a very emotional scene where Chae Rok calls his dad but it was ruined by the OST. Honestly, there isn't much to say since I only watched 2 episodes but I hope that the OSTs get better. After all, OST is one of the best things about Korean Dramas.

All in all, this is a healing Korean Drama with a heartwarming plot so get ready for the emotional rollercoaster. If you like healing Korean Dramas, then this is for you.

Leia Mais

Average K-Drama with predictable plot

I was so happy to see Song Kang play in another drama after LA2,because that one was a tragedy.
He was the only reason why I started watching this drama in first place. After watching couple of episodes, I lost my interest completely.

The story was intriguing at first, and then it became boring. Way too predictable, we have the typical k-drama story which has been already done before, and we are basically walking in circles.

You can wait and see if the old man(which is basically the highlight of this show, but sometimes is annoying) with no prior experience will end up living his dream, watching the young ballet dancer losing his hope and spark for ballet and dealing with family problems, and then finally understand that he needs to do it just to prove himself that he was born to do this, and then fall in love with the old guy's granddaughter while she struggles to find a job while she's coming from a rich family.
It's blah-blah-blah. You need to watch only the first few episodes and you can guess how it's going to end.

Some might find it amazing, incredible and inspiring, but at the same time it's boring, long, nothing exciting and a plot we've seen many times before, just modernized a bit.
I was really hoping that I'll enjoy another good drama with him, but this was a little disappointing.

Leia Mais

This is for all who has a dream

I’m starting this review saying that I’m speechless with I just saw it. This show is a masterpiece. I don’t expect that I would like so much. Deok-chul and Chae-rok chemistry is the top notch here. They leads the show with their relationship growing that was magical to watch. Seeing in the beginning that Chae-rok doesn’t even want to teaching Deok-chul ballet and in the end happen what it happened show us the well done construction of their friendship and them becoming a family.
I know that so many people already said this, but for me all that matters was what these two built together. The 12 episodes were magnificent. In the end, it turns out that everyone follow their dreams and that what matters.
This drama is not about a love story, it’s about a different type of relationship. And It was wonderful.

Leia Mais

Absolutely beautiful masterpiece!

I didn't expect to love this drama as much as I did.
I started watching it mainly because of Song Kang and I thought the 할아버지 storyline would be just a cute k-drama theme about making your dreams come true regardless of age.
I didn't expect to cry so much.
I didn't expect to smile so much.
I didn't expect to reflect on my own life so much.

The acting was absolutely perfect, all of the characters were portrayed so naturally. And the relationship between 할아버지 and Chae-rok was really one of a kind.

I can't really say more without spoiling it, but I never wrote any k-drama review until now and the reason I had to do it with Navillera is simple- if you can't decide whether you should watch this or not- DEFINITELY WATCH IT! You won't regret it.. It's really more than it seems to be.. A hidden gem..

Leia Mais

Humanity check point

Dreams & passion are discovered, sometimes cherished but most of the time tucked away with the facade weight of reality or external circumstances and barriers in which nests isolation from achieving. Overtime become relics collecting dusts and harbouring regrets throughout life until the flame is reignited or the death of the past ego. A drama with a well-balance of story-telling, life lessons, and emotional adventure in a slice of life through the family of an elderly man.

Those with artistic backgrounds, close relations with grandparents/grandchildren, experiences with Alzheimer's it will create additional layers in the dimensions of emotion.

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...

the production was good, I can't complain .
I also say that the performance was incredible, it would be a sin if I complained.

I love the actors, I loved the characters.

Of course, not everything is perfect, I can't lie, but what a drama that doesn't have a single flaw.

So in conclusion, I recommend...

I say it's worth watching, maybe it's bad for some, but for me it was good.

This is just my opinion, you better watch it and have your own opinion.

I don't know what to say, because I think everyone has their own opinion.

Leia Mais

Extraordinary tale of ordinary people!

I just can't express my feelings. I knew I would love it. Not just loved it, I literally consumed the first episode.

The opening scene scored on my heart. The Ballet performance was just breathtaking, for a non-dancer, he nailed every moment. You know Ballet needs momentum after fast movements, you must end each step and gesture in a slow motion and smoothly. And I specially paid attention to that and he hit all the moments rights. true hard work spoke there.

Regarding the plot, without revealing much, it is pretty much what is said in the synopsis of this page. The rawness this series holds, has a unique attraction to its audience. It can be your typical Korean drama, where usual tragic life, bitter and hurt Lee Chae Rok, trying his best to fight against all odds, and it can be very unique drama where hopes and dreams are born every minute. The Haraabuji, family is as toxic as the Chae Rok life is, the writer wrote the characters, keeping their connection alike while making their age gap 50 years apart.

This is very clear, that the Chae Rok is a reflection of Haraabuji and Harabuji past live is Chae Rok I love how they are mirror to each-other. I was captivated from the first scene to last, even though nothing much happened, but for a drama like this, it is perfect, like no mistake at all.

The friendship that is going to develop between them is going to heal their wounds, is going to make them achieve their dreams. Chae Rok is going to grow and will learn to how to dance on life. The gift that Haraabuji is going to give him, is larger than life. I just can't wait to see the rest fo drama.

It gives me the vibe of Do You Like Brahms, and also feels very similar to Light In Your Eyes and Goodbye My Friends. I watched this series with puppy eyes, in coming episodes, we are going to cry as people will try their best to crush their dreams, but one thing is for sure, Haraabuji is a gift for Chae Rok, he will know when time is gonna come.

A must watch series for the healing of your heart.

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