I don't usually do this but everytime I watch a drama, I always want to talk about it with someone else but I don't know anyone else who has watched it so I will blog this. 

I recently watched a Mainland Chinese drama production called 錦繡緣•華麗冒險/Cruel Romance. The literal translation of the Chinese title is Jin Xiu Destiny, Luxurious Adventure. This is the first time I have heard of the term 虐 (Nue) which means something along the lines of cruel/oppressed to describe love. All actors comment that the drama has a lot of Nue Ai, in terms of the complex love lines between characters and how cruel they/fate were with each other. Nue themes seem to be pretty popular in drama; not sure if it's because of Fifty Shades of Grey?

Summary of Actors/Characters

• 左震 (Zuo, Zhen AKA Er Ye) by 黃曉明 (Huang, Xiao Ming)
• 榮錦繡 (Rong, Jin Xiu) and 大野洋子 (Yoko Ohno/Yang Zi) by 陳喬恩(Joe Chen)
• 向英東 (Xiang, Ying Dong) by 喬任梁 (Kimi Qiao)
• 殷明珠 (Yin, Ming Zhu) by 呂佳容 (Kelsey Lu)
• 向寒川 (Xiang, Han Chuan) by 謝君豪 (Gardner Tse)
• 前田瀧一 (Takiichi Maeda/Qian Tian, Long Yi) by 戚跡 (Qi, Ji)

From here on, I will refer to Chinese names in the order of Last Name First Name and English names as First Name Last Name so don't be too confused. 

Review/Commentary

Cast/Acting: 8/10

Huang Xiao Ming is amazing! I think in real life, he is much more mellow and accomodating in person but he had the charismatic to pull off powerful, persistent and all the traits that make up a 2nd in command of a Shanghai business, who sometimes uses violence to negotiate dealings. The other thing that is admirable is his professionalism. He is actually much buffer in the movie than in real life and to maintain that physique of a skilled fighter, he ate mainly vegetables including "carrots that smell really good" and worked out to keep those muscles. After the promotion, I can see his built is much more slim now. Kimi also mentioned that he had taken up Wing Chung (詠春) which allowed him to execute martial art movements beautifully. Because Huang Xiao Ming was injured, he could not run much and had chosen to do close-range combat. 

I've known Joe Chen since I've watched many Taiwanese drama years ago but I haven't actually watched any of her works. This would be the first official work of hers that I've watched. Joe has exploded into popularity in the Chinese market since her last role as Dong Fang Bu Bai. In terms of acting, there isn't really anything too exceptional to note because she just plays the role of a helpless country bumpkin who has a mission to perform in the city of Shanghai. But as an experienced idol drama, she pulls off cry scenes well. Xiao Ming mentioned that she puts bits of her own personality into her roles so her roles are like herself. But there is one thing that was well-done...I honestly couldn't believe Joe is 36 because she is still youthful looking and she was able to exude the innocent aura of a young girl. I think the character she plays is supposedly around her 20s.  

All other actors are new to me. Kimi Qiao did well playing the role of a frivolous younger brother of a powerful businessman. There were a lot of mannerisms that do not appear in Kimi when I see him in interviews. The quirks of his smile, and his expressions were really fitting. I liked the way he portrayed Ying Dong in the drama.

Kelsey Lu is good too. Her character is a very complicated one and requires good acting to execute. I'm not sure if it's acting or the script but the combination of both wasn't able to portray the character of Ming Zhu in its entirety. It wasn't until the end that I fully understand the character of Ming Zhu but more on that later. The main thing is that given the script, Kelsey did well in portraying the disguised power and hidden weaknesses that Ming Zhu has.

Gardner Tse is an award winning Hong Kong actor which is interesting because I had no recollection of him.  But I looked him up and he was involved with a musical that got adapted into a movie, that I absolutely love when I was young. But gosh, I don't really remember which role he plays, but I think I saw a glimpse of him here. Anyway, I have nothing much to say about his acting because his role is much smaller in comparison and his character is not the type to display any emotions. But he was fitting for his role.

Qi Ji is also new to me, and he is also quite built like Xiao Ming but I'm not sure if he had to work out too. But for promotional purposes, everyone focuses on Xiao Ming, especially because Joe accidentally touched Xiao Ming's chest and his pectorals are quite broad and large. Because it had great comedy value, Xiao Ming decided to let Joe continue this in the drama and a new term Xiong Dong is coined. Anyway, back to Qi Ji, he was able to portray craziness well, even I'm terrified of him.  He did well with his role.

Well...I'm not very picky with acting, as long as everything holistically ties in, but I am definitely most impressed by Huang Xiao Ming.

Characterization: 6/10

I know this was adapted from a novel, so that makes me even more disappointed with the characterization. But it may be a combination of insufficient integration between acting, screenplay and character development.

Zuo Zhen: I really like his character. I don't particularly like direct people who always have to have their way, but his character is good despite his use of violence. He had principles that he goes by including no drugs and no dealings with Japanese. You may find something wrong with not dealing with the Japanese but he does have a valid reason, he doesn't want to aid the Japanese in their invasion and in hindsight, that's probably the better choice. Please note that Xiang Han Chuan made the exact same decision as a businessman too. He was also very loyal to Jin Xiu which is probably a trait that well-liked male leads should have. 

Jin Xiu: I didn't like her as much. She has her own good traits such as thinking highly of life and not an-eye-for-an-eye. Her mission in Shanghai is to get revenge on her family's assasination. But she really caused a lot of problems for Zuo Zhen. Before she fell in love with Zuo Zhen, she already had a lot of prejudice against him.  She was very cruel to him but maybe it was partly Zuo Zhen's fault because he often just forces himself on others, such that she is often mistaken about his intentions (like his gift of his heirloom to her but she thought he was trying to buy her affection with money). After she eventually figured out she likes Zuo Zhen, she doesn't believe in him. She is a fairly smart girl, why did she not question about the tattoo that she knew was her only link to the culprits. I understand that she isn't someone who thorougly analyzes everything like Zuo Zhen does and can be slightly impulsive and naive, but she hasn't grown up at all throughout the story line. She does not investigate anything that doesn't make sense. If Zuo Zhen was behind it, then why did he kill his own men when he generally treat them like brothers? What would Zuo Zhen's motive be? Why didn't she question that? And even after she joined the rebel group "Ai Guo Hui", where it could easily give her access to the information she needed, she didn't look further. So that's why I'm disappointed with her character; she had no growth. It's almost like she's been looking for a reason to reject him, almost like she didn't want to believe him at all. So I kinda agree with Zuo Zhen's brothers that she doesn't really deserve him.  She can conceded for her sister (who is worse than Zuo Zhen in some ways) but not for Zuo Zhen.  There's also the thing about her miscarriage; she blames it on Zuo Zhen but it was mostly her fault honestly. If she was pregnant, she should have confronted Zuo Zhen/investigated before taking any action. If she didn't have a miscarriage, she would've doomed her child to a harsh life regardless, as it has proven time and time again that she is not very capable of supporting hreself on her own. She treated everyone except Zuo Zhen well. I guess that's why it's Nui Ai. =.= 

Ying Dong: Ying Dong's character is rather superficial and one of the least developed ones. That's my other source of disappointment. His true love is Ming Zhu but Ming Zhu has chosen his older brother. So he is stuck in this web of trying to move on but not being able to because Ming Zhu is always testing him. He has good feelings toward Jin Xiu too probably because she is not only Ming Zhu's sister but also Jin Xiu does have a very good character in general. It is not quite right to say that he didn't grow at all but really his character is just so pitiful. He loves Ming Zhu but he gives her up to his beloved brother and that is also the cause of the rift between him and his older brother. His older brother really meant a lot to him but because he was so protected by his brother he felt frustrated at his own lack of maturity and power.  Secondly, he does try to move on but he's always pulled back into his turmoil because Ming Zhu was at that time still in love with Ying Dong. If Ming Zhu was not approached by Qian Tian, she probably would've left with Ying Dong. He is a character that always uses a mask but he seems to really seek love/something that belongs to him. In the end, he decided all he needed was really just his brother but by then it was too late. And then what about his love, that was almost skimmed over in the end, there's no conclusion he could arrive at except that he thinks there are other people who love both Ming Zhu and Xin Jiu more than he does that they will sacrifice his life for them. I would agree for Jin Xiu but I'm not sure about Ming Zhu. I truly believe that he did love her because he often puts his life in danger for hers. I think if the drama were to go on, maybe there is closure in that both he and Ming Zhu can love each other and love his brother in their memory... kinda like in the drama The Rose. But I think it was unnecessary to put in the end that Jin Xiu and Ying Dong were married. Maybe Ying Dong had wishful thinking that he wanted a life of his own. That was the only part I dislike about Ying Dong, as a friend of Zuo Zhen, does he not have any ounce of suspicion of Jin Xiu's words that he's willing to kill his friend over the words of his newest fancy? That just doesn't seem very consistent with his character because he doesn't even love Jin Xiu that much when he couldn't really ever give up on Ming Zhu. I think towards the end, that action of teaming with Jin Xiu to kill Zuo Zhen really muddled up his character.   Love life aside, his family and friendship values are rather all messed up. It's almost like Ying Dong has no will of his own and he's always driving by the circumstances around him all the way until the end.

Ming Zhu: Ming Zhu is the most pitiful of all of these characters. She is a very complex character and I think in terms of characterization...it's almost there but not quite. She is stuck between wanting to be loved by a family and at the same time following through with her mother's revenge.  The trick of getting your child to kill you is quite cruel...that was used in a manga I read called Meiji Hiiro Kitan. So now she feels she is forced to carry through with revenge because her mother became the catalyst of the series of unfortuante events for her. Unfortuantely she can't hate her mother but her mother was the sole cause of her demise; she poisoned her own sister out of jealousy, got herself kicked out of the Rong household and forced her daughter to sign a death contract with the Japanese acting in the Japanese emperor's name in order to give her a proper burial. I think Kelsey's character portrayal was a bit too one-sided at times; she is willing to put her sister into turmoil but when she does want to save her sister, those scenes occur so sporadically that it was really hard to see how she came to finally decide that her sister was worth putting aside all her hatred. That part at the end when Qian Tian had Jin Xiu and wanted to use Ming Zhu to brainwash her was too unbelievable. In the same 24 hours, she decided to kill her sister and also save her? That part is not easy to swallow. But otherwise, her character is very well done. Because those two parts are so conflicting, it's hard to see through her actions, of where her heart truly lies, and how she went from two extremes to reconcile the differences. That's the only unfortunate part but otherwise, her character has greath depths of complexity and really adds to the story.

Han Chuan: His character role is very small. He took care of his brother from when he was young and grew up to be very wise and level headed. He was very smart. As a business student, I was able to foreshadow some of his moves. Like the contract with Qian Tian to give up all of his power and money in exchange for Ming Zhu's life. I was wondering how he was going to deal with it and I remember he did plan to give everything to Ying Dong once he realized Ying Dong is able to handle it. I figured he did already pass all title to Ying Dong so I wasn't sure why he would sign the 2nd contract. I guess you can sign nothing away too. He really sacrificed a lot for his brother and I think his character was very consistent. He only made one selfish request, and it was probably better for Ming Zhu sinde her/the Japaneses' target was him, the one with power and money. So I am happy with his character.

Qian Tian: He was pretty pitiful, but he did make for a good villain. His love story is typical Romeo and Juliet. I think the fact that he is a Japanese and he also suffered tragically saved the story from being totally political so that it is purely based on the love stories and the political aspect becomes a backdrop. Because of his own personal desires, which start to become a conflict with his actual role as a Japanese soldier, he chose love (no matter how disillusioned it was) over everything else. And it makes sense, because he truly has nothing else left anyway but now that he found Yoko, he really thinks he could regain what he lost. That's why he is pitiful and that's why I'm glad he's in it because it draws attention away from the Chinese-Japanese confliect. Anti-Japanese sentiments are still high no matter how many years it has been.

So the only characters I'm disappoint with are Ming Zhu, Ying Dong and Jin Xiu, the former because they were too inconsistent in their emotions and lose character and Jin Xiu because she didn't grow at all. I don't really call growing a "backbone" real growth though because that her character still remained the same from beginning to the end.

Story: 7/10

This is a typical story but sort of not at the same time. I watched it because Xiao Ming was in it and I love love triangles. But this is more like multiple love triangles locked together. I don't really like the setting too much because that is a really sad period honestly. It's set probably sometime around early 1900s just before the 2nd Sino Japanese War/World War 2. There are lots of anti-Japanese sentiment with mentions of opium smuggling and invasion of Shanghai. As a result, there are discrimination against Japanese, political issues and espionnage within the story. I do not like dealing with politics so it was difficult to watch, feeling bad for everyone in that era. I mean I feel bad that Japanese got discriminated overseas too when they do not have any part in the war. And then you've got people who got bullied by the Japanese and you just start to feel angry at the Japanese soldiers/emperor...their cruelty is no less than the current terrorist groups in Africa and Middle East.  That part is not the focus of the story but it is still an uncomfortable setting.

In terms of story development, it was good up until a random time skip towards the end. That was when all the characterization got really messed up. And up until the last 15 minutes of the last episode, the still hasn't been reached yet. I was wondering how they were going to execute the final scene...the end wasn't bad but it wasn't exceptional. i think it was poetic justice that Qian Tian died by Jin Xiu's hands becuase that is probably the only thing that is true to him. He doesn't really have much to live for at that current time. But the ending literally ends with Zuo Zhen and Jin Xiu can now be together forwever, and that people joined in the fight against the Japanese and that was it. I think it was better they didn't end with talking about the war because we all know what happens there and it really not that relevant to the story. But there's no mention of what happens to Ming Zhu and Ying Dong or the thereafter of Jin Xiu and Zuo Zhen. It's kinda a leave it up to the viewer type of ending.

Filming/Screenplay: 9/10

I might be giving it too high, but I'm easy to please. The costumes are very beautiful; I do not know if they are true to that period's time, maybe not. I swore one of the dress designs looks like a Marc Jacob design, the flowers reminds me of the Daisies. In terms of music, I can't comment because they were not very memorable.  The filming was very good...nothing is overly cheesy.  The kiss scenes do make me feel a little embarrassed especially when Zuo Zhen is cornering Jin Xiu. But there are always some things that don't make sense. Like when someone is about to die, how come they still talk so much before dying? I was mentioning Xiao Lan, when she died, she got hit in the stomach, but she was ablet o talk a lot before dying. But Shi Hao was also hit in that area when he forced Ming Zhu to shoot him to give him a cover of being dead. But he was absolutely fine afterwards. But what i didn't like in the last episode is the overuse of flashbacks. There was a flash back every 2 minutes or so. I felt that didn't add to the story too much and overusing was a method of dragging out the ending. The fight scenes were well done...but sometimes...there's no blood where there should be blood on the knife...but that's a minor thing that can be overlooked. Overall, I think Xiao Ming did the fight scenes really beautifully.  There were some comedic points at the beginning so it was enjoyable to watch. Some people commented the stage/set was a bit disappointing but I agree that the view of Shanghai they used really look like a story book pop out. But the scene doesn't matter too much to me.

Overall, I like the drama for the first 30 episodes or so. The ending was a bit of a disappointment in some way, but at least whether it is happy or sad is now up to the viewer to decide.

That concludes the review of this drama. If anyone has any comments, feel free to discuss.