Um Dia Comum (2021)

Injustice makes our blood boil

Imagine being framed for something you didn't do. Imagine having zero power to convince your peers that you are innocent. Imagine having your whole life turned upside down just by being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. This is the story of One Ordinary Day.

- STORY -
In this drama, we follow a student who goes out one night, only to end up in the most unimaginable situation possible and became the main suspect in a murder. That's essentially the entire show. It's about proving innocence when the justice system failed to find the real perpetrator. Do beware that there is a strong and rather bold narrative about our justice system and a negative view of the capitalist world we live in, as well as a couple of pretty intense scenes that you may need to pause a few times to get through. The pacing also moves fairly quickly, there are only 8 episodes in total and also no scenes felt like they were dragging. Overall, while the plot is nicely focused, I did find the ending to be rushed and some of the characters also felt pretty one-directional. But then again, I think the focus of the show is getting you to feel this exact, unfair, unjust, and frustrating situation that Kim Soo Hyun will be put through.

- ACTING -
Holy hell, here we go, wherever I read something about this drama, they always rave about the quality of the acting. And I am here to 100% confirm that. Kim Soo Hyun's performance here is out of this world. His character goes through hell in the show and it's an extremely performance-reliant role, and he nailed every bit of it. Possibly the best part of this show is how well all the levels of emotions are captured by his performance. Outside of him specifically, there are really no holes from the rest of the cast either, I think the cast selection for this drama was perfect.

- PRODUCTION -
The production quality here is also extremely high. The music and sound design fit the dire situations very well and the cinematography was intentional and powerful.

- CRITICISM -
The only complaint I have is the overemphasis on the lawyer's feet. Not sure what having fungal feet has anything to do with the story, but in almost every scene with the lawyer, the camera is set up to show his pair of big feet wide spread... could be an attempt of filling comedic relief between the intense scenes, or maybe there was a motif I missed. The ending also felt slightly rushed and was somewhat predictable, some may think it was a letdown that they didn't expand more on the actual case. But for its purpose, I think it was probably the best choice. A show like this holds its impact within the journey and not the ending. The ending will likely leave you feeling rather unsatisfied but I think it was an intentional choice to reflect the reality that the show is trying to portray.

Leia Mais

This can Destroy a Man's Life

The ending sure turned out to be unexpected. While the Police Chief retired happily and the prosecutor was Promoted, they really didn't give two fucks about Hyun Soo's life. In cases like Murder and Rape, a perpetrator was necessary; that was their reasoning. The Ego of the police chief was to headspread towards Hyun Soo only and justify his gut feeling while the prosecutor attempted to break Hyun Soo mentally, and still, at the end, they were the ones reaping the rewards. Even Hyun Soo's family is starting to think he killed her. His friend who helped him died in his arms, and his lawyer did the work of the police.

Now Hyun Soo will never be the same. Will anyone be able to trust him again? He practically lost the upcoming opportunities of his life due to this case. While everyone only used him as a stepping stone. As the Lion of the Prison once said, Poor people never get Justice in Korea, which is true as Korea is highly capitalistic country.

Leia Mais

Justice For An Injustice!

16/01/2023

I'm sure most of us have heard of at least one person imprisoned for life or executed even though they were innocent of whatever crime they were accused of committing.

This is what this short drama series is about!

It show cases this easy going fun loving naive college student, Kim Hyeon-soo (Kim Soo-hyun), who steals his dad's taxi one night to go to a party he never makes it to as he ends up having a one night stand with a mysterious girl that hops into the vehicle to be taken home.

As it so happens he wakes up to her being murdered only he has no memory of what happened and in his panic leaves fingerprints, DNA and physical evidence that is enough to arrest him and ultimately take him to trial and be found guilty.

The shock, disbelief, fear and reactions of this young male facing murder charges and life time imprisonment are quite realistic right through to how he hardens as an individual because the system failed to protect him inside a maximum penalty prison.

So, what we get to witness is the transformation of what was once a vibrant happy go lucky individual to a hardened distanced cold one that doesn't quite fit in anymore with the likelihood of no return. And this is despite the fact he is eventually proven not guilty (second time) because of an excellent lawyer that refused to give up on finding proof and establishing the truth.

Being exonerated came a bit too late for him it seems.

One of the most pivotal moments I reckon was when he was finally released from prison and suddenly stops in his tracks on seeing his father's taxi with this incredulous look on his face - the same taxi cab he took that night which lead to those unfortunate chain of events that completely turned his world upside down.

To me it was a cruel reminder of the fateful choice he made which couldn't be unchanged, erased, forgotten or turned back in time.

What simply started out as one ordinary day for most of us turned into this innocent young man's worse possible nightmare!

It really made me want to protect him and all those out there that are wrongfully accused!

I have seen a few discussions about the ending being too open and that there is this untoward suggestion of him "committing suicide" because he goes right up to the edge on the rooftop and that is where us viewers are left hanging regarding him.

Not sure why some would go that route at all - seriously.

Why don't I think he took his own life? Because he wasn't broken. Prison may have drastically changed him as a person only it didn't tear him down into an irreversible emotional mess - it just hardened him to the core. I reckon if he was going to clock out he could, and would have, done it in prison rather than on being released.

These are my own personal thoughts on that matter.

Lastly, I have to say, Kim Soo-hyun did a top notch job of his character as did Cha Seung-won who portrayed his lawyer.

It is a great drama to watch although not easy at times, but is still highly recommended!

Leia Mais

Interesting story on the Justice System

This is the story of Hyun Soo, an ordinary college student, suddenly becomes the primary suspect in a murder case. Shin Joong Han is the only lawyer willing to help Kim Hyun Soo.

I'll try to keep it as short as possible, but I enjoyed this story. It reflects the justice done by man-made laws, in reality, justice and truth, it is not what prevails, there will be things overlooked, people biased and half-truth.
It's really just telling two different stories about the events of a case, and the one that's better told wins the case.

Here, it was clearly seen that the prosecution wanted to paint Hyun Soo as the murderer at all costs, and at the same time, they overlooked other possibilities, which ended up coming back to bite them later during the trial and after.

Now, about the series, I must say that Kim Soo Hyun did an outstanding acting, he is really very talented. The overall story of a young man who found himself just doing what young people his age do, and later awoke to a nightmarish reality, and those bad choices out of fear painted him as the murderer in the eyes of law enforcement. I really liked this story, and Cha Seung Won too, who showed us a somewhat pathetic but determined, kind and supportive lawyer.
I was also surprised to see Kim Sung Gyu as an inmate, who although he is feared by all, takes under his wing Kim Soo Hyun and really helped him, he is a talented actor whom I discovered in "The King of Pigs" which is also a thriller that looks into the heavy bullying at school. I can't wait to immerse myself in "Kingdom" to discover him in another role.

Now, to stay in the story, I don't want to say too much more, but as for the production, I must say that the story holds up very surely, the tones/colors are dark and suits the heavier theme, it is presented with a lot of realism especially on the aspect of the Korean judicial system.
Honestly, it's not ground breaking but it would be a shame not to discover this mini-series which is very well done, and the characters very well acted whether from the accused to his family, the lawyers to the opposite side with the prosecution, the police.

I don't think it's a series that necessarily needs to be seen several times, but at least to be seen once.

Leia Mais

utterly brilliant for the most part

wow. this was a phenomenal 8 episode drama, given the intended focus and how they mostly delivered within that focus.

but i am greedy person who likes my thriller to be complex and well-written, and there's just not enough 'meat' in this for me.

i personally find the finale to be probably the weakest of all episodes with the revelation of the doctor as the real killer that seemed rushed AF and therefore the u-turn in reinvestigation that lead to his release from prison not long after the judgement of life imprisonment.

also, was it that easy for the real killer to confess to a gruesome murder when someone else has already taken the fall? really? are you kidding me?

also, was it that easy for the prosecution and police department to backtrack and admit that they made a huge mistake in the investigation? all of the kdramas i watched up to this point always says otherwise.

everything up to the finale felt so fckin real, and then the finale felt like a total fiction to me, geez.

no scene of the actual murder shown in the drama also which i really hoped is given to us, but nope.

no words to be said about KSH's acting in this, he's truly phenomenal. i also recommend JCW's movie Fabricated City where he also played a falsely accused in a murder case which he also nailed as perfectly as this.

overall, a really outstanding prison drama. i would have scored this more favourably if i consider this a well crafted prison drama, but i like my full blown thrillers more, so i have to score it down purely for personal preference LMAO.

can someone please tell me the relevance of Lawyer Shin having atopic dermatitis to the story? i didn't catch that and always confused by that randomness, LOL.

Leia Mais

KIM SOO HYUN LEGEND WORTH WATCHING

idk why people found the ending unsatisfactory.

`I thought it was rather realistic. what else could happen ?
revenge? on who ? the justice system of Korea? the prosecutor ?
the police ? `the real killer was caught and soo hyun was released.
`now he has to live with the trauma of what he went through.
his innocence lost. the rotten world revealed.
imagine going through what he want through. after also being accused to the
whole world as a rapist and a murderer, with your whole face
on display.Even if proven Innocent, even if you didn't do it people
will always look at you with suspicion for the rest of your life.
when u are poor no-one will really care if you are guilty or innocent but you will see
rich people getting away with r*pe and so many things.
that's the world we live in. I don't believe in justice or the police.
I also saw a lot of people saying its boring but I was captivated
by soo hyuns acting so much, I kept watching cause I was hoping
to see him out of prison .
I was so frustrated , I teared up at many scenes
I love Kim soo hyuns acting so much.
for me he's the best actor in the industry.
we want him in more serious films/ series .
for me this series is a must watch.
if this was a western production on Netflix it would be very famous
by now. lol

Leia Mais

Keeps you at edge of your seat!

One night stand goes totally wrong! I'm glad that I watched this despite some of the nasty comments. It's SO good I finished binge-ing it in one day and now fully awake in middle of night lol That's how thrilling it is! Each episode keeps me on the edge

First few episodes have funny moments with some of the jokes by the lawyer, just the little quirky thing he did
I am a huge fan of the savage lawyer, both of them. The woman is pure and speak from the heart while the male layer is just damn funny, smart and cool. Also, he really spoke from the heart in last episode

That female prosecutor is a real bitch from beginning, like literally she has RBF. Even up till end of episode, she is still taking credit by saying how they did the work, no bitch, you didn't! But, at least, she did one thing right by not closing an eye eventually

My heart breaks for what the ML has to go through, really. Though it's amazing how he toughen up from a crybaby to somewhat a man lol...

Overall, its really thrilling and engaging. I love it a lot.

Gist...I love the dynamics of everything, the bromance inside and outside cell, all beautifully done

Leia Mais

Is innocence synonymous with freedom?

With the imminent premiere of the Netflix drama "Queen of Tears", I decided to watch Kim Soo Hyun's latest drama, which is "One Ordinary Day" from 2021. I confess that I was surprised that Soo Hyun had been on hiatus for almost 3 years and only returned now with the Netflix drama. That said, I deeply regret not having watched this drama when it was released. The technical and scenic quality is of a unique excellence, with everything very well developed. The Korean justice system is once again called into question, and here, as is routine, we see that vanity and ambition are put first in relation to the suffering of others.

They took Hyun Soo's life, and there is no way he can go back to the starting point where his life was abruptly changed. Everything is in the past, and there is no possible reparation. The designation of ex-convict will always be with him, and Korean conservative society will judge him every day, regardless of his innocence. Of course, Hyun Soo was guilty of omission of aid, and his selfishness led him to where we are, but the hell he lived is much more the responsibility of the justice hyenas than anything else.

Finally, Seung Won deserves praise, who plays this lawyer who lives in a state of full dermatitis. I confess that I felt disgusted at first, but as the dermatitis evolved, the case became denser and more complicated. When Hyun Soo was released, the lawyer's dermatitis eased. Kim Sung Gyu, playing Ji Tae, was above criticism. He knew how to be the escape valve for the psychological pressures that Hyun Soo suffered, although in a very twisted way, but he was a protector.

About the ending, I had two feelings: the first that he was going to commit suicide and the second that smoking that last pack of cigarettes would be like saying goodbye to all the hell he lived. I loved this drama so much, impeccable.

Leia Mais

Good Enough

Korean Drama "One Ordinary Day" is a crime drama that focuses on the culprit, his journey throughout the court case, and his transformation from being an ordinary young man to a grown-up with no emotions towards what is happening around him.

The drama is character-centered, with masterful performances from everyone, but especially by Kim So Hyun, who proves once again that he is a top-tier actor. His chemistry with his partners was also a factor that aided in the success of the drama.

In addition, the mystery is well constructed, and the drama has a smooth pace that allows the character development, as well as the events to unfold naturally. However, the ending is not what one should expect by watching the rest of the drama. It was rushed, and not explained at all. Not to mention that the finale was almost open.

So, overall, 8.5 out of 10.

Leia Mais

An Underrated Piece of Art

As a criminal justice major, I decided to check out this drama to see how the Korean justice system compared to the American justice system. I didn't see many other people talk about this show as it was coming out, so I went in with limited expectations and simply happy to see Kim Soo Hyun act in a slightly darker role than usually. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this drama was a secret piece of art.
From the first episode, I became hooked on the plot of this show. Rather than just telling a story from the perspective of someone who was wrongfully arrested for a crime they didn't commit, this show goes into the intricacies of the criminal justice system, and the politics that affect the public's opinion. This show addresses so many social justice issues, such as classism within the criminal justice system, corruption within the police force, violence within prisons, and illegal drug usage. It's not a show for everyone, especially those that prefer cute romance dramas, but I still heavily recommend checking it out.
My main complaint for this show would be I wish there was more female representation. All the female characters were either not helpful towards the plot or died. It's understandable that all the main characters would be male because the primary location for this drama is in an all male prison, but I'm still always looking for more representation in kdramas.
Despite that, this show was stunning. It's fairly short, so anyone can get through it quite fast. I hope more people check it out and appreciate this underrated show!

Leia Mais