The Moon Embracing the Sun

sure, a fairy tale. a Korean one, with the entire flavor of spices and scents and beauty and bitter joy. with slices of drama in brilliant clothes. with delicate romanticism and links between so different worlds. but, in same measure, chronicle of a fight. for love. and for self definition. the young king looking the right manner to solve the crisis. the young woman looking be herself and, in same measure, the good answer to the challenges around her. so, a film who preserves many ingredients from the historical films from South Korea cinema. but , in same measure, who remains special. for its delicate and precise use of poetry

I overheard a student where i work mentioning that all her friends were asking for more Korean program suggestions on Netflix and I was intrigued. I've already enjoyed a few subtitled shows and when I heard her discussing them I knew I had to see for myself. While one of the suggestions wasn't really my cup of tea, Moon Embracing the Sun is one of those series you can only hope you find another like it. I'm on Episode 13 of 20 of Moon Embracing the Sun and it is one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had on television in years. It's a Korean period piece set in the distant past with a little bit of everything. The drama and romance (not sex) between the main characters is so intense. I love looking at their faces, their clothes, everything they do and the places they go. I find myself staring at the screen. It's a story about lovers who are subject to the events around them living in the royal palace and city. There's some political intrigue. There's the shaman culture and Confucian philosophy. There is a point where without warning the characters are replaced by older actors in a passage of time so I was a little confused at first but soon caught up. Love the actors who play the King - young and old. I'm thinking I want to know more about Korea now.

it is an inspired mixture between grace of fairy tale and force of cultural message. a seductive love story and remember of values, naive and profound. the feelings and the power. the sacrifice and the force of emotion. the past as veil and the pressure of duty. the meetings and the transformation of universe. at first sigh,nothing new. the Korean movies are masters of this kind of magic. but something seems be different. maybe,the subtle details, the precise performance of the young actors,the tension circles and the carefully made of the end. a film who can be more than a show. who is not exactly memorable. but it has the art to be, like a small river, good occasion to rediscover the beauty behind the reality of every day. and that fact represents, not doubt, a precious virtue.

Who the hell decided to cast Han Ga-In as a grown-up Kim Yoo-Jung ? It was a terrible mistake and totally destroyed the show! With all due respect to her, she looks nothing like Kim Yoo-Jung and frankly her acting was mediocre at best. Funny thing is, Nam Bo-Ra would have been so much better for this role as one could easily believe thats a grown up Kim Yoo-Jung. Han Ga-In would have suited much better as a grown-up Joon Bo-gyeong.

It was a great storyline but the bad casting spoiled the show for me. I still gave it 6 because of Kim Yoo-jung in first 8 episodes and wonderful performance by Kim Soo-Hyun as the King in remaining episodes.

If you love melodramas and period dramas, then you can not miss this one. This drama has it all, a strong love story, intense mystery, nice background story and politics. I loved that they kept the interest high throughout the twenty episodes, though some dramas tend to overdo it and spread the story so it can last for that long. The flawless acting helped in this case as well, though the leading lady was kind of emotionless at some points. Another thing that kind of stood out for me was that the moving from the past characters to the adult ones was a bit of a bumpy ride, but I can overlook that one, judging this drama as a whole.