Navillera

 Navillera

9/10

Navillera

Genre:                                       Episodes: 12                         Year: 2021

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Shim Deok Chu is a 70 year old retired mailman who decides to pursue his lifelong dream of learning ballet. He meets his instructor, Lee Chae Rok, a young ballerino who has hit a slump while preparing for a big audition. 

Cast:

Park In Hwan (Shim Deok Chul)

Song Kang (Lee Chae Rok)

Na Moon Hee (Choi Hae Nam)

Kim Kwon (Yang Ho Beom)

Jo Bok Rae (Shim Seong Gwan)

Jung Hae Kyun (Shim Seong San)

Hong Seung Hee (Shim Eun Ho)

Kim Tae Hoon (Ki Seung Joo)

Jo Sung Ha (Lee Moo Young)

Kim Soo Jin (Shim Seung Sook)

General Thoughts:

This show is great and I love it. Ever since the first snippets of casting news and synopsis was released I was so keen for this drama. It sounded insightful and emotional, and the slightly unusual paring of an older actor and a new up and coming actor officially peaked my interest. Every bit of new news about this drama had me getting more and more excited and impatient for it to finally be released. I set a pretty high bar for this drama, and it met that bar. And then some.

I absolutely adored this show

The acting in this was really phenomenal, and there wasn’t a single person on the cast who didn’t delver an outstanding performance. As most of the show focused on Deok Chul and Chae Rok, those two characters had a lot of screen time, and were asked to bring a vast range of emotions to the drama. Park In Hwan is a very experienced actor and it was nice to have a drama that allowed him to really stretch his acting muscles. It’s a sad fact that once actors hit a certain age there’s usually drop in the amount (and quality) of roles they can take on.

By far one of the most easily loveable characters in K-Drama

It was nice that Park In Hwan was able to take on a role where he was not a side character, but the main character, and boy was he able to deliver on the emotions. Park In Hwan had such a magical way of making Deok Chul appear so sweet and soft, but never let the audience forget that this was a man who had a vast depth of life experience. The confusion and grief that Park In Hwan had to portray was a difficult thing to do, and Park In Hwan seemed to navigate this very tricky terrain with apparent ease. His performance was so layered, with his expressions in highly tense scenes able to portray more than one emotion at a time. Similarly, Song Kang delivered a complex performance also. Grouchy young person with a soft heart is not exactly a new idea in K-Dramaland, but it seems to be something that Song Kang can do very well. Song Kang was so good at ensuring that the audience knew that his snappiness came from places of hurt and worry, and not from anger or selfishness. I also thought Song Kang did a marvellous job of acting out the part of the ballerino. In my head I knew it probably wasn’t Song Kang himself doing the complicated ballet moves, but he was so convincing in the closeups with how he held himself and moved that I didn’t have a disconnect with the character where it felt like someone else in the dancing scenes. Song Kang put in a he effort at learning ballet for this show and it translated really well, and his performance and the show as a whole benefitted immensely from the time and effort he put into learning the art.

This show has made me want to go and watch a ballet performance

While all the support actors were extremely good, a stand out for me was Kim Kwon as Ho Beom. Kim Kwon had a similar task to Song Kang, where he had to convince the audience that his aggression and anger was coming not from a place of malice, but from a place of deep hurt. I found Kim Kwon’s eyes so wonderfully expressive and he really sold his characters redemption arc, as it never felt like it came about unexpectedly. The plot for this drama was pretty straightforward. It almost seems like it should be boring, a retired man is learning to dance ballet, but it never was. Each episode was packed with character development and relationship growth.

You know what those angry boys need? A gentle grandfather figure

A layer of complexity was added to the story with Deok Chul’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and I was pleasantly surprised when it was revealed that Deok Cheol had known about his diagnosis the whole time- usually dramas would use this as a big emotional point where the main character would consider giving up on his dreams due to an illness. But instead, Deok Chul found out about his illness and that was the trigger for him to go after what he had always wanted. The theme of dreams and goal was very present throughout the entire show, and I liked how the drama touched on this in different ways through different characters. The most obvious was Deok Chul who after almost an entire lifetime of putting his dream off was now pursuing his passion. We also had Song Kang who was overcoming obstacles as he pursed his dream. But the two inclusions that really added a lot to the show for me were Ho Beom who thought he had missed the chance for his dream, and Eun Ho who just had no idea what her dream or passion was. Both were extremely relatable situations, perhaps more relatable than our leads. It can be so easy to think that we have missed out opportunity to follow what we really want to do with our lives, and Ho Beom was an interesting way to illustrate that. Compared to the other boys playing soccer he may have been older, but compared to Deok Chul who had decided to pursue his passion, Ho Beom was still so young and so much time. It was a great parallel between the two characters was lovely and mirrored a parallel that was being formed between Deok Chul and Seong San and Seong San and Eun Ho.

While they were all flawed, they were a lovely family

Both Deok Chul and Seong San felt they had to give up on their dreams in order to financially provide for their families, and similarly Eun Ho originally felt that she didn’t have time to find what she wanted to do in life as she was under so much pressure to begin building a career. It was interesting to see how the ideologies filtered down though the generations, and how as Deok Chul became more free and content in his pursuits, his son and granddaughter were also freed up to follow what they wanted to do. The directing in the drama was done well also. It’s not something I usually notice, but I think the water and the director worked well together to bring out the most of the emotions in the drama. In particular the scene on Chae Rok dancing in the snow to prompt Deok Chul’s memory was such a perfect culmination of smaller parts in the show.

CINEMATIC PERFECTION

It was one of Deok Chul’s first big moments where his memory fried him in a public setting, and the inclusion of having Ho Beom there linked back to a previous scene of Deok Chul telling Ho Beom that Chae Rok is not the kind of man that can be forced to dance wherever because he is a star who will soar. In that moment, with the snow falling and Ho Beom watching, Chae Rok soared for one of the first times in the show. It wasn’t because he was on a famous stage or performing in front of thousands, but because he was dancing with all the emotion he had for someone he dearly loved. Everyone in the audience watching could tell what a special moment this was, and this was reflected in Ho Beom, who had never really seen Chae Rok dance before. It was a perfect tying together of multiple scenes and multiple ideas that was just *chef’s kiss* perfection. 

What Was Great:

Relationships:

I touched briefly on the fact that this show doesn’t have a lot of actual plot going on, but that there was still plenty happening in the drama. A lot of the development was stemming from all the relationships the show had going on.

There was a lot of love going around

 Many of the relationships existed before the start of the show- Deok Chul and his family, Ho Beom and Chae Rok, but many new relationships started to form once Deok Chul and Chae Rok started to interact. The most noticeable of these was of course Deok Chul and Chae Rok themselves. Their relationship was the heart and soul of this series, and so much relied on this strange and unusual pairing being able to grasp and maintain the interest of the audience. There was great chemistry between the two actors, and watching Chae Rok come to rely on Deok Chul was lovely. The relationship took another turn during the season as Chae Rok learned of Deok Chul’s illness and in turn became an increasing support for Deok Chul, always worrying about his safety and ensuring his family were around to take care of him. This relationship was at the centre of the show, and it was such an innocent and selfless relationship that was so endearing to watch play out. Each of Deok Chul’s family members also had a unique relationship with their father. The show didn’t go into each and every one in depth, but I appreciate that it gave each of the three sibling special moments with their Dad so that we could see the different impact that Deok Chul had on each of their lives. Similarly, I really enjoyed the parts of the show that showcased the relationship Deok Chul had with his wife, Hae Nam. It’s not the usually fluttery romance that we get in K-Drama, but the support that they gave each other was beautiful.

Couple goals

I loved how Hae Nam just accepted Chae Rok when Deok Chul brought him home and basically treated him as their youngest child or new grandchild. She provided a caring warmth that Chae Rok had been craving since his mother’s death, and it was lovely to see how Hae Nam was able to help Chae Rok a similar way Chae Rok was helping Deok Chul.

Off, my heart

I was surprised when the show brought in more scenes of Eun Ho as I didn’t think that she would be a major character going in, but I really enjoyed the character growth she was given. A lot of her growth stemmed from her relationship with her grandfather and with Chae Rok, both who encouraged her to take the time to find what she wanted to do in life. I adored that the sow gave a little hint of possible future romance between Eun Ho and Chae Rok, but am glad that we never had anything concrete come out of it. Chae Rok was already a part of the family, and while it would have been adorable for him to officially join the family as Eun Ho’s partner, I’m equally glad that for at least the duration of this drama, Chae Rok’s main tie within the Shim family was through Deok Chul. This show was absolutely jam packed with emotions, and all of those emotions came from the detailed characters that populated the show, and the deep, poignant relationships they all shared.

What Wasn’t:

Just Gonna Gloss Over That Child Abuse Huh?:

Okay, so the only thing that really didn’t like a chord with me and is what prevented me from giving this show a 9.5 (the highest I ever rate anything) was the way Chae Rok’s Dad’s character and story line was developed.

Like, c'mon guys- that's a full on baseball bat he's whacking them with...

At first there wasn’t anything that seemed like it could hurt the show- Chae Rok’s Dad went to prison and in doing so resulted in the closure of the school’s football club. It did take a detective to figure out that the most likely chain of events there is that Chae Rok’s Dad was hitting some of the students. And sure enough, that’s what was happening. The loss of a father figure was an crucial part of Chae Rok’s character and was an important factor in the relationship that was formed between Chae Rok and Deok Chul.

Cute ballet Alzheimer's gramps is way better than...this guy

Deok Chul started to fill a void in Chae Rok that Chae Rok didn’t want to even admit was there, and it was a beautiful and bittersweet thing watching Chae Rok learn how it felt to have an unconditional support and to always have someone in his corner. The issue I have with Moo Young’s character is that they centred more on the fact the he unwittingly ruined the soccer club rather than that he…beat the shit out of children? With a baseball bat? Like that’s not something small. The reconciliation between Chae Rok and Moo Young was nice enough, but it always felt like it had this looming shadow behind this nice scene of Moo Young not really being all that regretful that he smacked the sh*t out of these kids. Even in his apology to Ho Beom he was very much ‘I’m sorry I ruined your dream by having the club disbanded so scouts never saw you play’ rather than ‘I’m sorry I was misguided in my methods and thought beating you was a suitable motivator.’ And then after he handed out some shoes everyone was all happy to move on with life. It felt strange and unresolved and I cannot say that I was satisfied or comfortable in the way that story line was resolved.

He did poor Ho Beom so dirty

I think it was a delicate subject that the show touched on, and unfortunately I Just don’t think it was handled well. If the show was going to choose to focus on the fallout of the club rather than the actual abuse itself, then I wish that they would have come u with a better reason for Moo Young to be arrested. I mean, seriously, a man who has just been released from prison for child abuse is then given a job in a…school? With more children? Seriously?

Recommend?

Yes. Everyone should watch this drama.

This show is an absolute friggin' masterpiece