Different Dreams (2019)

An enjoyable and heart-touching journey

If you enjoy espionage plots, this is the one for you. A Korean drama based on true events but with a bunch of sci-fi scenes in order to make you enjoy the show a little more. A spy and action-centered story, which took me a time to finish not because it was boring but rather due to the fact that I was extremely busy during the time it aired. The main characters are portrayed by my beloved Lee Yo Won, the reason why I watched it, and the handsome Yoo Ji Tae. I was so hyped when I first saw the teaser, I missed my eonnie so much.

Our female lead, Young Jin, a doctor who was born in Korea but raised by a Japanese man will fight in order to achieve Korea’s independence alongside Won Bong, the man who leads a small group of fighters called Heroic Corps. These two walked a dangerous path together, lost friends and family members just because of their love for their country.
What makes this an amazing drama are the cinematography and the setting. I keep wondering how they managed to recreate the 1919 Korea. The costumes and the vintage cars were on point. I could really feel I was there. The other thing I liked was the combination of many genres. The drama is more inclined towards action but that slight romance between the leads, the melodrama and of course those medical scenes were so pleasant to watch. But there is one thing I enjoy the most, the friendship among our characters. I loved how they protected and took care of each other. Honestly, I cried a lot during the last scenes.

Different dreams is definitely a must-watch drama, especially if you are interested in Korean history. It is highly entertaining so I recommend it a lot. Please, give it a try, you will not be disappointed.
By the way, Lee Yo Won was gorgeous in every single scene she appeared on. I love her so much.
Cheers,
Mabe.

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Before I start this review: I do not recommend this drama to anyone that has never watched a show similar to this in during this time period.

This show had a perfect story as it is based in real-life events during the revolution as I usually dislike political show but this one is the perfect one. The characters were very well-done as I can't say that I don't love a strong female lead that doesn't need to rely on the male lead. As a Japanese surgeon who switches to the other side, it shows real strength within the character as they develop throughout the show. The male lead also had really good acting as it made me do research on the people in real-life history that this was based on an I learned so many new facts from it.

There wasn't really any memorable music in my opinion but it was still very good and fitted with what was going on the screen.

This show isn't really one to rewatch a lot as I've only watched a few of the certain episodes that I have wanted to when I rewatched.

Overall: 8.5

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Plot armor? Do they come in grey?

Somewhat short thoughts, not much i want to touch on besides the fact this is the most underrated drama I’ve been blessed coming across. From months of collecting dust on my watch list to weeks of stalling episodes as I didn’t want this series to end... sigh, to be fair the covers do not do this drama the justice it deserves in grabbing attention.

An extremely well written and compact story delivered at an explosive like pace. Characters so interesting and unique from one another you’re bound to find yourself rooting for the wrong sides every now and then. Strong and morally grey characterization making almost every death worth mentioning, farewell, betrayal, and new alliances a very impactful watch.

Now beware and/or also take a breath of relief, this drama loves it’s plot armor, and it doesn’t discriminate, while also showing its capability of finishing what was started. Have a specific favorite ally or foe? 9/10 you’ll be fully satisfied with whatever fate they come to, rather it’s before they meet their end, a grand return, an epic shootout saving an ally, bullet sponges, bombing party, survival of the written, you name it.

Different Dreams is a rich historically filled work of art. A series that makes the absolute most out of it’s comparatively small budget to popular hit dramas like Mr.Sunshine. A very dark and gritty tone wrapped around immersive struggles for independence, power, and peace. A must try for any historical fanatics out there. A memorable journey and new personal favorite worth much more acknowledgement and praise.

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Um K-drama bem balanceado

Different Dreams é um drama histórico com um ótimo ritmo e personagens interessantes. Sem lenga lenga ou picuinhas o enredo se desenvolve de forma fluida e fácil de acompanhar. Gostei muito como tudo foi simples e sem enrolação, não foi em momento algum maçante, pelo contrário, fiquei curiosa para saber o que aconteceria depois.

Notável com conseguiram balancear bem a parte histórica da luta pela independência da Coréia com algumas histórias paralelas como por exemplo o relacionamento do Hiroshi com sua filha adotiva Young Jin. O gostar realmente não pode ser explicado racionalmente nós nos apegamos as pessoas mesmo sem perceber, é algo incontrolável e inexplicável. O desenrolar do relacionamento dos protagonistas também foi um ponto muito interessante que adicionou um pouco mais de graciosidade a trama.

Quanto a atuação, nada a reclamar, o elenco todo foi ótimo e os protagonistas ficaram super bem juntos.

Este K-drama é realmente um pacote completo: a trama é intrigante, tem história... tem romance... Gostei, super recomendável para quem deseja assistir um drama histórico com uma pitada de romance.

Adendo: Não consegui assistir a este drama sem fazer uma pequena comparação no comportamento da protagonista dele com a de Mr. Sunshine. Diferente da Go Ae Shin de Mr. Sunshine que é completamente obstinada e muitas vezes agiu pela emoção o que acarretou inúmeros problemas ao longo da trama para todos os envolvidos, a protagonista de Different Dreams Lee Young Jin é muito racional e contida, gostei muito disso.

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A mournful retelling of Korea’s fight for independence

It wasn’t the best Korean period drama discoursing the topic of independence fighters that I have watched, but it is indeed one of the most remarkable.

Not a fan of longer series, but if Different Dreams was stretched into its rightful extent in order to reveal a much more refined storytelling, then count me in to watch more of it. With the weight of the story, this series deserves more of what has been shown to us since I really felt that it was kind of fast-paced.

Anyways, I would love to imagine that this ended in a much hopeful narrative, as shown in the last few seconds of the series. But when I get to be reminded that a large fragment of this drama is based on real characters and historical facts, it makes my feelings shrink into the deepest of abyss.

From a personal note, this is one of the saddest Korean shows I have watched. This is rooted from my mournful visit to reality, especially when I realized that their fight for independence remains to be endured when Korea eventually became divided into North and South—and the fact that they still are until now even after an almost century. The period of the drama was when Korea was decades away from its eventual partition, when this one nation is still considered as one country.

Nonetheless, total hands down for the showcase of bravery of Korean independence fighters. I have watched a bundle of films and shows with this kind of narrative, and I can’t help but admire this real display of heroism in different periods in time. I always think that Korean had a strong culture of dissent and it is an interesting topic to delve about. Somehow, it reminds me of my own country’s independence fighters against foreign occupation on the same period as this drama was in.

To end, this show is indeed a must-watch for people who are interested to know more of Korea’s history of fight for independence.

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The historical vibe

Tbh, I didn't have much expectations when choosing this film, cuz I only came to this film bc someone said it bares resemblances to Mr.Sunshine, a film which always stands first place in my heart.
But this one actually has it's own charm.
I love the plot which took place in the 1930s, how the relationship between the 2 main characters grows and the close-knit among these comrades. Though there were some weird and nonsense details, everything seems okay at the end.
The actings were wonderful when everyone did their best to portray their character, and there are scenes that bought tears to my eyes.
Last but not least, I'm all for the OST. Every single one is good, especially Crossing by R.B.
ANW, this would be a worth-watching film for you and a better ending than Mr.Sunshine

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Um drama histórico maravilhoso

Considerando que sou o tipo de dorameira que sempre foge para bem longe de dramas do gênero histórico, esse drama conseguiu me atingir em cheio.

Acho que nunca terminei um drama desse gênero com essas palavras em mente: "UAU, Era disso que eu estava falando. Por que você demorou tanto a aparecer na minha vida?"

Diferent Dreams tem um enredo muito bem estruturado, onde cada personagem tem o desenvolvimento que merece. Acrescente a essa mistura uma fotografia envelhecida na medida certa para o período histórico retratado, atuações brilhantes e um casal principal pra lá de envolvente.

Os protagonistas tem uma ar misterioso e intrigante e seu relacionamento se desenvolve de maneira tão natural que me surpreendeu muito.

Pra fechar com chave de ouro esse drama mandou embora todos os meu receios quanto ao desfecho da trama e entregou um final totalmente condizente com tudo o que foi retratado o que é realmente excelente.

Nem precisa pensar duas vezes, vá logo assistir esse drama!

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Very meh

Immersion-breaking scuffed production, tone deaf story, mediocre performance and all around plain boring.

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I'm....Very Disappointed

Let me first state that the era from 1860-1945 is probably my favorite time period to read, watch dramas, documentaries, movies, and more about. The era of the 2nd industrial revolution, countries around the world being forced to open up their economies, seeing old decaying dynasties/monarchies bite the dust, seeing harrowing stories about struggling peoples trying to make ends with the little resources they have, governments forced to reconcile modernity with tradition, the world witnessing some of humanity's greatest achievements along with some of humanity's greatest atrocities, and much more, make this time period in history arguably the most captivating of all. Of all areas around the world, I'm most interested in East Asia. Any drama/movie/book dealing with China/Japan/Korea/Mongolia during this era is something I'll eat up right away. After watching Mr. Sunshine, Nokdu Flower, and Chicago Typewriter, I was ready to dig in to this drama. I've watched tons and tons of C-Dramas/K-Dramas/J-Dramas, and just by the trailers alone I saw for this show, I was super excited (which is saying something). The music sounded great, the actors/actresses looked convincing, the atmosphere and tone created was sublime, and the story looked like it was going to be enthralling. This was going to be a show on par with Mr. Sunshine and Chicago Typewriter, maybe even surpass both of those.

However...I was left bitterly disappointed.

The first few episodes start off...kinda strong. Usually dramas like these take a bit to get into, however, so see a drama build up so well in the beginning was surprising for me. However, it quickly devolved into insanity.

Incredibly predictable plot with characters who make very questionable decisions. Nothing feels very believable here, and the tropes that plague the drama from the very beginning were too much for me to bear to continue watching. If you know anything about this period in East Asian history, you'll realize that a lot of what's going on simply doesn't make any sense. Japanese soldiers speaking Korean? A Japanese soldier raising a Korean child, allowing her to speak her native language and respecting her Korean traditions? Travelling to Mongolia so willy-nilly knowing that the Japanese will be on your case every step of the way, making incredibly careless and stupid decisions? A Japanese lawyer who *instantly* falls in love with a Korean doctor and is making it super obvious that he's trying to help a Korean woman do things that are antithetical to Japanese imperialist policies and faces little to no repercussions for it (at least in the beginning, I don't know about the rest of the drama, didn't bother finishing it)? I mean, the Japanese lawyer in the show is pretty high up in the chain of command in terms of his importance, and he's willing to sacrifice his job for a woman who he just met and doesn't know all that much about? The other thing that bothered me was that *literally every single time* there is a "secret meeting", somehow, there's a bad guy that happens to listen in to the conversation and blow the whole cover. I know this is a trope that's inevitable (I'm looking at you palace harem dramas), but it's overused here just as much as it's used there.

All-in-all, I know there is a good plot somewhere, but it's lost in the mud with all the sins the writers of this show have committed. The complete incompetence of the group of "revolutionaries" is genuinely astounding. Some of the things that they do in the episodes I've watched, I seriously wonder what's going on through their heads. Do they not understand what enemy they're dealing with?

Also, some of the acting is very...strange. The guy who's in charge of the Korean clique that the main characters are trying to get support from, when he does his "evil laugh" at some point in the beginning of the drama, I immediately cringe. It's sooooo cringe lol; terrible acting. He tries to come off "badass", but fails miserably. The acting from the other cast members are ok; not fantastic, but certainly not bad. Good enough for me.

The saving grace, however, is OST. I bought the OST and am listening to it, wishing the show was just as good. Seriously, this OST is just gorgeous. Do yourself a favor; skip this show, and just buy the OST. It can be described in one word: glamorous.

Watch Mr. Sunshine, Nokdu Flower, or Chicago Typewriter instead of Different Dreams; all three are far better in every way. Different Dreams feels like an American drama but with Korean characters and a Korean story stickered on.

P.S. - Why does Mongolia have the "Mexico Filter"? Mongolia isn't "orange". I see Korean cinema has been taking notes from Hollywood.

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