A Juventude de Maio (2021)

I can say Masterpiece

So glad that I watched it , I even sighned to my acc just to write a review on it ,,, tbh so thankful for how many years they made me cry , so glad I watched it not disappointed at all , I won't lie that I was wondering if it worth it at some point , I was thinking it became cold , wondering about the fation and the period they intruducing the acting and many thoughts , but no , thorgh all the ups and downs as you finish watching you'll know that the time you spent wasn't wasted ...
So glad I choose this drama to watch so satisfied so grateful for all the actors the production and all
Tbh other thing at middle of it , I wondered about the ost and listened to it on yt the calm one by Kim bum Soo and when I read the name of the singer I knew this drama will turn to end & I'm about to watch something big and my supesion wasn't wrong , :)
I'm not the kind who likes spoilers or spoil a thing so if you read this review I don't think you'll get spoiler lol although I put a spoiler alert ~ anyway I wrote this to inform u that this work deserve watching
And to express how I feel now so when comeback I'll remember this ~
I love the feelings it gave me and how much I cried really ...
And the actor sooooooo handsome I fell in love🥺🥺
And yeah ,, thank u for reading this , & again u have to watch it . :) ~

Leia Mais

Watch this if you're okay with tears and blues aftermath

The drama should win an Oscar for real! I just wanna kiss the writer-nim and the actors for this drama !

First of all, let's talk about the acting! The hero and heroine's acting deserve a standing ovation! Besides, this is the first drama of gominsi (heroine) as main lead. The melodrama prince and princess should be titled for both main lead. Their tears just makes me crying on my bed for days. And the antagonist, i just wanna choke him to death for real. Thanks covid for the fact I can't fly to south korea right now.

Next, the plot! The romance is revolving by a real historical situation where the riot and the evilness of the government are portrayed perfectly. The messages of the drama is strongly shown. The trauma, the tears, the lost of loved one and the life that goes on afterwards. The fact that lots of hwang hee tae out there, living their lives while barely stand on their feet. Kudos to writer!!

I'm crying again while writing this review. Feels like reminiscing the painful memories.

Leia Mais

It had potential but the direction and script failed

I had high expectations for this drama but they weren't met. I started watching because of Lee Dohyun but his acting was kinda average in this. I think the character didn't fit him. For me, Go Minsi's acting stole the show. I was so impressed by her. Overall, the story had a lot of potential but I think the drama was badly directed and the script was lacking. The drama deal with very serious situations and a lot of time I felt like it just couldn't live up to the seriousness of the situations; It felt superficial. I found it inconsistent, sometimes forcing comedy when it just didn't fit. It took a lot of me to finish it. Despite this, I was satisfied with the ending.

Leia Mais

“A Worthy Watch”

“Youth of May” is a compact 12-episode series which means that the storyline is not stretched nor interspersed with irrelevant, useless scenes. Each scenario and conversation are integral to the plot so they manage to keep the viewer’s interest and maintain their attention.

The effort to transport the audience to life in the 80s, most specifically during the turbulent month of May 1980 in Gwangju, is aptly seen and felt in the set design, props, styling and music.

I was continuously entertained with the delirious mix of drama, romance, suspense, comedy, action and history. Although it leaned more on the brutal side of humanity, the lead characters’ love for each other and towards others, made up for the emotionally heavy and gory scenes.

Moving and heartfelt, you will fall in love alongside Myung-hee and Hee-tae, despise and abhor Hwang Ki-nam, sympathize with Soo-ryeon, feel sorry for Hyun-cheol, root for Kyung-soo and empathize with Soo-chan. So many different emotions in a rollercoaster ride throughout 12 memorable and action-packed episodes.

Leia Mais

Value to watch on this Lockdown.

I started to watch this after I saw the spoiler in tiktok. So i guess i might have a try and watch it.

I guess i'm the only one who have problem with this drama 😅 when most of the viewer cry at the end of the episode but I'm more curious about what happen with the 2nd lead female and her brother? The 1st female lead mother and grandma after the uprising? And why didnt the director show a bit about them at the end of the episode. Well there is a bit sneak peak scene but that didnt help my curiosity😅 Well, I did enjoyed watch it but thanks to the fast forward button.

And Pd-nim, I know its a period drama but the soundtrack..🤏 boring. 🙂

Leia Mais

A good drama, could have been better.

I have Really mixed feelings about this drama.
On one hand, the drama was good, I really liked it but on the other hand, there were some ick-y things here and there. There was so much potential but the writer just didn't go down that route.....
The drama is kind of boring and draggy, cause I guess, it's slow paced, but I really liked how they showed how the lives were affected by the Gwanju uprising, how innocent people lost their lives to achieve the democracy South Korea has today, how scary death is, and how terrifying and traumatising the uprising would have been and how brave and courageous these fighters were to not give up even after being faced by these horrendous things and it's so inspiring to know that they did win in the end, after years of struggle. These all things make you really grateful and feel the responsibility of the privileges we normally take for granted.

The chemistry between the leads was amazing, I could really feel their love and it was heart wrenching to know how the female lead won't survive. This made their happy scenes 10x sadder for me and I'm not complaining, I like to know beforehand if it will be a sad ending.
The things I feel ick-y were like when both the leads were so devastated and that was how it was portrayed to us to, like it's the end of the world and they can never meet again and all that.... but.... the next episode, the second female lead so easily tells the male lead to go to the female lead and it was like, the viewers were made all that sad for....... nothing. Weird.

Then the climax, I feel like was really really rushed. Also, I really feel like the drama didn't do Myeong-Hee's character justice at all. She just died..... so easily. There was no drama, nothing. Like Are you kidding me? It's the fricking female lead!
They should have made it distressing, disturbing, upsetting, heart rendering, tragic, the kind where you sob and sob and can't stop sobbing. They should have made Hee-Tae be with her in final moments, with both of them crying and us viewers, bawling the heck out of our hearts. It was honestly really disappointing, how the drama failed to make me cry, I remained completely dry eyed, and especially cause I picked this drama for a good cry, but alas the drama completely failed at that.
But I guess, this was what made it sadder and more tragic too, the fact that he suffered so long trying to find her or at least her body and had no idea where she is or what happened to her. The fact that this may have happened to lovers or people in general, that so many of them must have lost their loved ones this way. Not knowing what happened to them or where they are is actually the saddest thing.
Then, we also didn't get to know about or what happened to Soo-Chan or Soo-Ryeon or Hwang Ki-Nam or the protesters or how did the uprising ended, etc. In short, the ending just felt Really rushed, incomplete and dissatisfying. I feel like they had to leave out parts to adjust it all in 12 episodes.

The cinematography was good, I really liked the whole old school, nostalgic vibe with a tinge of sadness all the time.
The OSTs were fine, okay-ish. They complemented the drama really well, with the same old school nostalgic sweet and sad vibe, but the problem is majority of them were really forgettable and mediocre, at least for me. "I regret" and "Winter of May" really stood out to me though, you could feel the pain through the lyrics.

This drama teaches you a lot of things about life, hardships, freedom, democracy, dictatorship and especially, how precious freedom is. This drama will stay with me for a long time cause of the stories it portrayed and the lessons it taught.
Over all, the drama was good, could have been better though.

P. S. Y'all listen to Bigger Than The Whole Sky by Taylor Swift! The lyrics fit the leads perfectly, it's like Taylor really, actually wrote it from Hee-Tae's perspective for Myeong-Hee!!

Leia Mais

I cried a bucket!

I initially though this was just a typical romance drama. But after watching the first episode. I realised it was about a real event that happened in Korea. Episode 1 was a little boring as I was still trying to grasp the story. I am so glad I decided to continue watching. The pace picked up and storyline got better with every episode.
I’m also glad that there were no unnecessary scene and it was well pace with 12 episode.

The last episode made me cry a bucket. I totally love how they slowly built up the emotion and the next thing I knew, I was crying a bucket. 😭😭😭

This show also has the power to make you feel like you are part of the drama and that you could feel how the characters are feeling. Super amazing!

DEFINITELY WORTH A WATCH!!! I will definitely want to rewatch !

Leia Mais

Both heartwarming and heart-wrenching

This drama really feels split into two sections; the first two thirds that deal with a blossoming love between the two leads and the final third that is primarily focused on the Gwangju Uprising and its impact on the characters. This jarring difference works to the show's benefit in my opinion, since it highlights how terrible the uprising was by juxtaposing it against everyday life and love.

This was my first time watching either of the two leads and they both really impressed me. Lee Do Hyun was so likeable as Hwang Hee Tae. He also did a wonderful job at portraying a character who is pretending he is okay in order to reassure others around him. His work here made me super excited to watch him in other dramas. Go Min Si was equally as impressive, taking a character in Kim Myung Hee that could have been a stereotype (the poor, nice, hardworking female lead) and gave her nuance in a quiet yet powerful performance. Their chemistry was wonderful and this has to be one of the purest and "protect and them at all costs" couples I've seen recently.

The supporting cast all did a really great job with their characters and kudos to the writers for giving all these characters quite a bit of development over the 12 episodes. Props to the actor playing Hwang Hee Tae's dad because I hated that character so much. The child actors were stand outs too, playing characters far too young to be dealing with the horrors they did.

The overall setting and atmosphere was perfect. Nostalgic and simple. The use of music from the time period was absolutely perfect in some cases and added a lot of emotion to the scenes. The Rose and Annie's Song stand out in this regard.

Watching the episodes that dealt with the Gwangju Uprising was particularly difficult; just imagining that this really happened in the not so distant past and that people have to live with those memories to this day is absolutely horrible. KBS didn't shy away from showing the horrors and really pushed that 15 rating as far as I've seen in terms of violence and disturbing imagery.

My only problem with this drama was the end. Not necessarily what the end was but how the writers got to said end point. It felt like the writers knew what the ending had to be and had the characters make dumb decisions to get them there. The "let's split up" scene felt like writers forcing characters apart instead of a decision that two intelligent characters would have made. I was still moved and emotional at the end of the drama but there was a nagging feeling in my brain that it didn't have to be this way; if the writer's had a better path to get to the end point this could have been avoided.

The first two thirds are very rewatchable, however the final third not so much since it was hard to watch even for a first time.
All in all this beautiful drama is one I won't soon forget. The way it combined a heartfelt love story with terrible real life events was pretty close to perfection for me.

Leia Mais

Un compendio de lo brutal que puede ser el ser humano.

Yo soy chileno (76), viví UNA dictadura. Los coreanos vivieron DOS. Nosotros no logramas zafar aun de ese infierno. Los coreanos, pueblo grandioso, han logrado rehacerse, y se han transformado en una nación grande y moderna, ejemplo en muchos aspectos.
Haber vivido MI dictadura me permite creer lo que el escritor(Lee Kang) nos muestra. Hay partes en los capítulos duros (9, 10 y 11) que la razón no permite aceptar tanta crueldad. Cuando el ser humano se transforma en una bestia sanguinaria y brutal. Pero es la verdad. Me toco verlo y, felizmente, vivirlo parcialmente. Esa suerte y saber de esos momentos, me hicieron un mejor ser humano.
Hay algunas licencias emocionales que más vale perdonar, reacciones del romance, que son menores frente el tratamiento de las escenas referidas al actuar militar en dictadura, que SI son fiel reflejo.
GO MIN Si está portentosa. además de ser MUY BELLA. Lee Do Hyun, merece verse en otros papel.

Leia Mais

Another gem...

I was thinking a lot whether to watch it or not, I don’t know why. I tend to avoid really famous dramas most of the time, but I was searching for something that would touch my heart, because I wasn’t enjoying dramas lately. So I needed one which will convince me that it’s worth to spend my time with watching all those shows. Well, it was definitely worth. It’s been so long, since I last loved a drama like I love this one.

At first I thought they could have a happy ending, but as we came closer to the end it was clear to me that we have to lose someone for the story to remain realistic. I personally really like dramas which do not force the happy endings. They broke my heart in the end, but this is what I really liked about it. Just like in real life, it’s not like we always have happy endings, so I like to see the sad but more realistic endings. And in this situation it was barely impossible to wrap things up happily. The plot was building up slowly, but it wasn’t too slow or too fast. I think it was just perfect how the story bloomed and reached its peak. I enjoyed each and every moment of it. We could see their happy moments and the way their relationship was formed which wasn’t far-fetched as I already mentioned. It was heartwarming to see people who could sacrifice themselves for each other, as well to see some of the characters grow and understand things that might be unusual to them. We learn as we go, and we could see that here too.

It was reassuring to watch the main leads slowly falling in love with each other, and choosing each other above everything else. It was just natural and lovely and their hardships were also perceptible. The actors and actresses did really well, and I was satisfied with everyone. I was able to empathize with the story thanks to their acting that imparted everything well. I was able to understand and enjoy each and every moment of it, even the saddest ones.

What added a plus flavor and made it more interesting for me was that it’s based on true historical events. It’s fun to learn like this and it’s not something we all know unless we are Korean or really interested in Korean history. So I’m thankful that I could learn new things thanks to Youth of May.

All in all I can only recommend this drama for everyone who wants to see a lovely old school romance and have some beautifully sad heartbreaking moment. It was definitely worth watching and an amazing start of the New Year.

Leia Mais