Um Amor de Cinema

...in this series and steals every scene he's in, but his cuteness isn't all he offers as the second half gets deeper and he really gets to show off his acting chops.

If you're expecting something silly & lighthearted, you'll get that, but way more too, as there are explorations of loss, grief, depression, loneliness & vulnerability.

The series follows lovable Go Gyeom, (Woo-sik) a seemingly happy go lucky young man who can charm the birds from the trees, who falls for Kim Moo-bi, (Park Bo-young ) an aloof assistant director who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, and who isn't willing to let love into her life for fear of being left.

Is Go Gyeom as carefree as he seems? Why is Kim Moo-bi as she is? The supporting cast are excellent as we delve into the family & friendship dynamics of the 2 main characters. I laughed & I cried, I cried quite a bit actually, but I found this series to be delightful & at the same time, thoughtful & meaningful. Shout out to the writer & director for pulling this off.

I absolutely recommend this.

The timeline on this is hard to follow, but it seems like the actors should be late 30s, almost 40, but they act more like late teens early 20s.

The premise was cute, but by episode three, I've lost interest and I keep checking how much time is left.

It's the same old same old misunderstanding type of rom-com that I've seen too many of.

It also feels more like an anime format than a movie.

Good for high schoolers, I guess, but at 60+, I'm out.

I always have a problem here with character limit. Everything is either too short or too long. Don't ask me why someone thought that was a good idea. Thank you for your patience.

I really enjoyed this series. While the title implies melodrama, it is definitely not overly melodramatic. But it is about relationships and contains the full spectrum - new love, broken love, familial love, grief and heartbreak. It will take you on an emotional rollercoaster. And even though it is only 10 episodes long, it does a great job of providing ample time to fully develop each of these sub-threads and seeing them thru to a satisfying ending.

I felt the chemistry between both couples, Moo-bi & Gyeom and Joo-ah & Si-jun was fantastic as was the other relationship pairings - Gyeom & Jun; Gyeom & Si-jun and even Gyeom/Jeong-hoo and Moo-bi/Joo-ah. I especially enjoyed the short scene in ep8 with Gyeom and Si-jun. I felt they nailed the representation of a long time, close male friendship perfectly in how they interacted in that situation.

That said, I did feel the writers were very lazy with the setup for the tension between Moo-bi and Gyeom. Especially in the confrontation between them in ep2. There is no reason he wouldn't have just explained what happened and settled the issue right away.

I also wasn't thrilled with the all-too-common kdrama 'stalking' trope used in ep1 and somewhat in later episodes. While there was nothing sinister about it, she does clearly tell him to leave her alone several times and he persists in ignoring her requests until finally wearing her down. Not a great example on male / female relationships.

But I recommend just ignoring those details and enjoying everything else in the series. The acting is fantastic and the storyline engaging. Even though it is very early in the year, I feel this will be one of my favorite kdramas of 2025....and if not, that only means we are in for a great year of entertainment.

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.

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.