I was never too much into soap operas/dramas, but I've found Autumn in My Heart/Autumn Tale a decent one. The storyline itself was quite simple: two babies were switched at the hospital they were born. And then the conflicts throughout the series were developed from here, into the complicated one. I have seen some viewer critics this drama for, 'unrealistic' 'too many crying' and 'too predictable'. Yes, maybe its storyline was little unrealistic, but I suppose there are many stories in real life that seemed unrealistic too. Besides, I believe there was no show that is pure realistic, they are for entertainment, if you were looking for something very realistic, then do not watch any film, look no other than events in your daily life...
The storyline followed the lifeline stages of the two main characters, Jun-suh and Eun-suh: their teenage and adult years, which played by different actors (adult Jun-suh and Eun-suh were played by Song Seun Hoon and Song Hye Kyo, while their teenage versions were played by Choi Woo Hyuk and Moon Geun Young respectively).
The storyline of teenage years was told in about one-fifth of the whole 16 episodes: in episode 1, 2, and half part of episode 3. Since it built the basis of understanding before advancing to later episodes, I think this stage could not be less important. Of course, I watched the entire episodes, but my favorite scenes were all from the teenage years episodes.
Yes, all actors throughout the series had played their roles flawlessly. And child actors, in the teenage years, are no exceptions. Especially, I want to highlight an actress played as the teenage Eun-suh, Moon-geun Young that is
Moon Geun Young is now one of the most popular stars in Korea. She is known to be a multi-talented actress – could play virtually any given role with different types, from the stressful and fearful poor girl in the famous horror flick 'A Tale of Two Sisters' into a funny but bossy young wife in the romantic comedy 'My Little Bride'. Autumn in My Heart was shot when she was still 13 or 14. Even at that age, she was able to show her shining talent. She was not famous at that time, but certainly she was paving her path into glory. Her current nickname, 'Korean Little Sister' couldn't be wrong. My favorite scenes of this drama included: 1. when Eun-suh kissed the family cups at night she was acknowledged not the biological daughter of Yun family; 2. when she told her foster mother that she refused to go with her to the US in favor of returning to her biological mother; 3. when she quoted the infamous 'I want to be reborn as a tree' line by the railway track while bid farewell to his 'brother'; 4. while she helplessly stood while seeing the Yun family car leaving for the US in front of a tunnel (although I regretted why they at least not bid farewell to Eun-suh for the last time) – the last scene of the teenage years (excluding flashbacks, of course) Yes, I watched those scenes over and over .every time she cried I felt very touched. I didn't cry but I felt the emotion. Could not stand but felt pity for such a poor innocent girl..I could not even imagine if it were taken from a true story.. Honestly, Song Hye Kyo's success in portraying the life of adult Eun-suh might not be that good if not 'pioneered' by the character played by Moon Geun-Young.
Asides from my admiration to Moon Geun Young, in storyline side, though it was excellent, I did feel it somewhat flawed. First, what happened to Eun-suh seemed not fair. She was a kind and grateful girl (remember when she still try to be gratitude for having a bad lunch after being returned to her biological mother), but she tragically died of leukemia at the end of the story. Seemed she never got happiness she deserved until her very end. Meanwhile, her rival, the annoying and stone-hearted Shin-ae (who also played superbly by other actors) who had always been cruel to Eun-suh seemed to have a happy life even until the end of the story. If only the director had 'blessed' Eun-suh with better luck.. And the ending was rather abrupt. It ended with Yun-suh hit himself to an oncoming truck, in the same location that his 'sister' was hit years before. I really wished that there was more to come after the incident. Yet, many aspects left unexplained. What happened to Yun parents knowing that their son died too? Weren't they even more broken-hearted? And Shin-ae, she didn't get what she deserved for being malevolent to Eun-suh? Well, at last I conclude, may be it was up to us to continue the story in our very own versions
Well, as my conclusion generally, this drama was entertaining, worth watching. It has successfully delivered its stories via the flawless acting of its actors. Won Bin, Song Hye Kyo, Song Seun Hon, and virtually all actors (including Moon Geun Young of course) 'merged' with their roles superbly. Though not perfect (well, what's perfect in this world anyway?), it was one of the best dramas I've ever seen. The music scores were also very suitable and beautifully mixed into the story. If you hate slow-paced and touching drama then stay away from this. You will only get bored and waste your time. But if you love touching stories, this is for you. It could demand your deepest emotion, and you might as well surrender it.
The storyline followed the lifeline stages of the two main characters, Jun-suh and Eun-suh: their teenage and adult years, which played by different actors (adult Jun-suh and Eun-suh were played by Song Seun Hoon and Song Hye Kyo, while their teenage versions were played by Choi Woo Hyuk and Moon Geun Young respectively).
The storyline of teenage years was told in about one-fifth of the whole 16 episodes: in episode 1, 2, and half part of episode 3. Since it built the basis of understanding before advancing to later episodes, I think this stage could not be less important. Of course, I watched the entire episodes, but my favorite scenes were all from the teenage years episodes.
Yes, all actors throughout the series had played their roles flawlessly. And child actors, in the teenage years, are no exceptions. Especially, I want to highlight an actress played as the teenage Eun-suh, Moon-geun Young that is
Moon Geun Young is now one of the most popular stars in Korea. She is known to be a multi-talented actress – could play virtually any given role with different types, from the stressful and fearful poor girl in the famous horror flick 'A Tale of Two Sisters' into a funny but bossy young wife in the romantic comedy 'My Little Bride'. Autumn in My Heart was shot when she was still 13 or 14. Even at that age, she was able to show her shining talent. She was not famous at that time, but certainly she was paving her path into glory. Her current nickname, 'Korean Little Sister' couldn't be wrong. My favorite scenes of this drama included: 1. when Eun-suh kissed the family cups at night she was acknowledged not the biological daughter of Yun family; 2. when she told her foster mother that she refused to go with her to the US in favor of returning to her biological mother; 3. when she quoted the infamous 'I want to be reborn as a tree' line by the railway track while bid farewell to his 'brother'; 4. while she helplessly stood while seeing the Yun family car leaving for the US in front of a tunnel (although I regretted why they at least not bid farewell to Eun-suh for the last time) – the last scene of the teenage years (excluding flashbacks, of course) Yes, I watched those scenes over and over .every time she cried I felt very touched. I didn't cry but I felt the emotion. Could not stand but felt pity for such a poor innocent girl..I could not even imagine if it were taken from a true story.. Honestly, Song Hye Kyo's success in portraying the life of adult Eun-suh might not be that good if not 'pioneered' by the character played by Moon Geun-Young.
Asides from my admiration to Moon Geun Young, in storyline side, though it was excellent, I did feel it somewhat flawed. First, what happened to Eun-suh seemed not fair. She was a kind and grateful girl (remember when she still try to be gratitude for having a bad lunch after being returned to her biological mother), but she tragically died of leukemia at the end of the story. Seemed she never got happiness she deserved until her very end. Meanwhile, her rival, the annoying and stone-hearted Shin-ae (who also played superbly by other actors) who had always been cruel to Eun-suh seemed to have a happy life even until the end of the story. If only the director had 'blessed' Eun-suh with better luck.. And the ending was rather abrupt. It ended with Yun-suh hit himself to an oncoming truck, in the same location that his 'sister' was hit years before. I really wished that there was more to come after the incident. Yet, many aspects left unexplained. What happened to Yun parents knowing that their son died too? Weren't they even more broken-hearted? And Shin-ae, she didn't get what she deserved for being malevolent to Eun-suh? Well, at last I conclude, may be it was up to us to continue the story in our very own versions
Well, as my conclusion generally, this drama was entertaining, worth watching. It has successfully delivered its stories via the flawless acting of its actors. Won Bin, Song Hye Kyo, Song Seun Hon, and virtually all actors (including Moon Geun Young of course) 'merged' with their roles superbly. Though not perfect (well, what's perfect in this world anyway?), it was one of the best dramas I've ever seen. The music scores were also very suitable and beautifully mixed into the story. If you hate slow-paced and touching drama then stay away from this. You will only get bored and waste your time. But if you love touching stories, this is for you. It could demand your deepest emotion, and you might as well surrender it.