Luces, cámara, ¡amor!

Disclaimer: I'm bad at English so I use AI to translate my review.

Summary: Just watch it and let it sink in because, in reality, it's complex and not overly melodramatic.

This series is intricate and tries to tell more than it can fully explain. You can enjoy watching it more than once because there are many symbols for you to decode. If you're a hardcore fan of series that delve into the philosophy of life, you'll love it and want to rewatch it, at least once more.

The romance part is just a way to lighten the heavy nature of the story and serves as a tool for the writer to tell the narrative. In the end, the series tries to take us on a journey to learn about the differences and the subtleties of life's transitions. I think the Male Lead (ML) performed excellently, living up to his reputation, while the Female Lead (FL) was standard. I didn't feel any disconnect in their performances.

I rate this series very highly because I don't see it as a romance series. If you're looking for a good romance series that will make you cry over a romantic relationship, there are definitely better ones out there. But if you're searching for a series that explores philosophical themes of life, this one will definitely be top of mind. It even gives off more of a J-Series vibe than a K-Series one.

There are quite a few reviews of this series here related to the plot and character development, so I won't add to those. However, one of the things that impressed me the most about this series was the production design. I went to the full cast and crew list, and even checked Wiki, trying to find who the Production Designer and Cinematographer were, but couldn't find any information. They worked as a true team coordinating one of the best color palettes I've ever seen used in a film/series. Every shot throughout used aqua greens and teal blues against deep crimson flourishes, there were yellow and golden halos in multiple scenes, and everything tied together to form incredibly beautiful sequences. Snow falling from the sky in dark alleys highlighted by golden lights. The lead characters standing in a field of yellow sunflowers, dressed in pastel aqua green shirts with light blue skies above them. Even the post-it notes on the planning boards were of these same colors. That takes immense coordination. It's just a beautiful series to watch. I hope the Production Designer and Cinematographer are up for some awards. It's richly deserved.

After reading the 10/10 reviews I am left wondering if those who left the reviews watched the same movie or were friends and family since it wasn't my experience. I was really looking forward to this series and even though it started out slow, it kept my attention early on thinking... this is surely going to get better. Unfortunately, it slowed mostly towards the last few episodes and left me feeling depressed and bored wanting to skip sections. I found the acting wasn't the problem, it was the delivery of the story line and the lack of realism in the characters interactions. There is sections of just them getting on with work and life which was didn't really develop the relationships of the characters and it was very boring. Gyeom didn't speak about his family problems with Moobi as normal people would to promote understanding. Sijun walked all over Jooah to get what she wanted and he just acted like a depressed puppy and unrealistically he let her. Unfortunately I can't get my time back but I can without a doubt say that I regret not turning it off sooner. It just didn't improve. Maybe I'm just not into depressing, sad, slow shows but that's the only way I can describe it, all the way through. There is no feel good, no realistic character development and it's a shame since the story line could've been so much more. I would rather watch paint dry than watch this series again.

Some movies are exciting and keep us late into the night, eager to see how the plot will unfold next. Others are a slow burn but can be watched over and over because of all the subtle details and commentaries you discover rewatch after rewatch.

Melo Movie leans closer to the latter. If you are looking for a plot driven story, I urge you to consider watching this through a different lens. Because this movie has authentic, deeply layered characters and takes us on a beautiful exploration of love and relationships.

Choi Woo-shik's talent is well utilized as the male lead as he expertly balances his bubbly charm while masking deep-seated struggles of loneliness and sadness. Park Bo-Young is also well-cast as the tough-exteriored female lead who secretly harbors an unmet need for love. Even this description of both lead characters feels shallow and unjust as they each display all of the emotions and facets of a real person, oftentimes with a simple look or gesture. You feel like you know these people or, better yet, ARE these people. The rest of the cast similarly have their distinct personalities, motivations, flaws, and strengths. Kim Jae-Wook, in particular, is a scene stealer, showcasing a bittersweet brotherly love. Each episode unveils a new layer to each of them as well.

The second deceiving quality about this series is the implication of what a "melo" or "love" story consists of. As someone who consumes both Western pop-culture and plenty of K-Dramas, we often come to expect a love story to focus on the lead couple's trials and tribulations on their way to (hopefully) a happy ending. This series does plenty of that, but through the relationship of the lead couple, we are also introduced to an interwoven ecosystem of the relationships around them, and you start to realize this story is about love in ALL of its iterations. Many will ask, "Does this have a happy ending?" Without spoiling it, one can say yes and no. Much like life, some relationships flourish while others end. But each love story: parent/child, romantic, platonic, sibling - they all evolve. This is not a story where Evil is defeated and Good triumphs, or even where the underdog beats the alpha to get the girl. It's a very realistic, grounded exploration of relationships.

For some, this could be hard to enjoy because it does not offer the escapism that we may come to expect from fictional TV. Instead, it is a mirror, showing us what love looks like in every form. From the characters to the cinematography, to the music, and the color scheme: every artistic choice of Melo Movie tells a love story. It reminds us that love can hurt us, love can leave us, but love can also heal us, and love can bring us to new adventures.

Melo Movie reminds us that love - for all its ups and downs- is a gift. And in this world, where headlines often highlight acts of hate - I'm happy to slow down for a bit and reflect on love with this series.

I love kdramas and I have seen the main leads in other shows and I know they have great potential However, it seemed wasted on this show, the main reason was it missed opportunities to further develop the characters, and needed more action from them. The emotions didn't translate as well and couldn't connect on a deeper level with them, needed a narrative of who they all were in the past. Parents death, brother suicide, relationship broken (this did not need so much air time) - do we/can we fix this or move on? Poorly executed.

To sum it up, they all felt like walking at the same speed - and couldn't tell them apart. Would have liked to see stronger reactions, timings at key points but it was too slow towards the final 5 episodes. Started well then crashed.

A shame as I love the cast.