Wonderfully offbeat film!

Sadly Over-hyped

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Every time I watch a show from Korea, I am never disappointed. This one is no different. An emotional roller coaster show with fantastic characters, beautiful cinematography and amazing soundtrack. You will fall in love with the show and its characters. The script is well written and the actors and actresses have such chemistry.You will find yourself laughing, crying, smiling and being angry right along with them.A word of caution though. You will find yourself wanting to start the next episode once you reach the end of the one you are watching because it is that good and addicting. I was sad that I got to the last episode and it ended. So, I started watching from the first episode again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I much enjoy a romantic melodrama in the min-series format that develops a main single story from beginning to end, though with some related parallel sub-plots along the way. The basic melodrama is the oft repeated formula: Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy gets Girl Back. This may recur in the same story.Human relations can be complex even if only the boy and girl are involved, but this complexity increases as more people are involved.If personality dynamics are properly depicted in a valid manner, and if the production is skillful, powerful emotions can be evoked in the viewer. In this way we can live many lifetimes through movies, in our one lifetime - greatly enriching our incarnate experience.These South Korean productions (seen on Netflix streaming) are first class with excellent production and direction, some terrific casting and acting (particularly from some of the females who give some matchless world class performances), brilliant musical accompaniment, and staging. What makes these so good is the way they skillfully evoke deep emotion in the viewer. South Korean movie making is superb - world class.However, the following caveats must be considered by the USA viewer: They are subtitled and some people hate this. The South Korean cultural norms, values and sanctions may sometimes seems silly or old fashioned to the USA viewer. The families are close knit and decisions by an individual may be subject to family approval. Social distance is maintained where formal speech is used, and personal speech forms are reserved for close friends or family. There is a strong work ethic and community cooperation/unity - sometimes reminiscence of a old Frank Capra film.Most importantly, in order for the sometimes complicated sub-plots to work, people fail to communicate with each other as might be expected, keeping many in the dark as to what others are doing, and this leads to misunderstandings and error judgments of some people, that sometimes seem to be unlikely by USA cultural standards. The viewer may wonder at times why good but trusting people are so easily manipulated and deceived by bad and selfish people, but con artists do often succeed (just look at politicians for example). However this poetic license of improbability is needed to develop the story - just accept it as occurring even though unlikely at times. Taking these factors into account will help you become involved and emotionally engrossed. It was hard for me to quit watching at times so I often binged watched more than one episode at a time.I would rank these as follows but tastes differ and your rankings might not agree: 1 - 4 (hard to say which is best)Shining InheritanceWhen a Man LovesThat Winter, The Wind BlowsSecret garden5. Five Fingers6. The Scent of a Woman7. The Great Queen Seondeok8. A Hundred Years Inheritance9. Lie To me10. Roof Top Prince11. Dr. Jin12. The Great DoctorSecret Garden is a romantic comedy as well as melodrama, and interplays the two quite well. We see a transformation in the male lead from a rich, self-centered upper-class snob, unable to love others, into a regular guy ('human' as the South Koreans label it) able to relate emphatically and love. The female lead puts the snob down, even beating him up when he deserves it, which makes for great fun. This theme is also featured in "Protect the Boss", another South Korean TV mini-series that is not reviewed by me.

The title head pretty much described it all, with such unique story line of modern fairy tale and the harsh reality, it was sure hardcore for everyone who watched the whole series. They have deviated from the usual KDrama style, plot and conflicts. It is fantasy by the way, but the great thing is that it was not greatly emphasized in the early episodes (the switching part). They did not spend most of the time in different bodies, in contrast to what others would have expected. Sure it was fun to watch the actors played so well but in the latter part it played a big role in story development and made the story what it is: destiny, love, magic and everything else in between.More on the deviating from usual KDrama trend, let's go to love triangles. Pretty much empty, for the first part again I expected Oska and Yoon Seul to be big third parties in the rel. of the main characters (just like in Full House) but again wasn't interesting anymore. Another thing is the conflict between Joo Won's mother. I thought it would be another main conflict but the theme of the story prevailed : Love conquers all! I would also like to commend the writer for such great plot. I love that she did not revealed everything in the first parts, opposed to many KDramas that tells the social status of both protagonists, family background and conflicts at the start of the story. If it had been like that, it would not make the story interesting (I was really guessing what could have happened to Ra Im's father, or Joo Won's life-changing accident, nor how the Oska-Yoon Seul bitterly ended) .It was obviously not a character-driven plot, it was more on what's going to happen to Gil Ra Im and Joo Won next that would help clarify the past.There were many metaphors, symbols and recurring themes (eg little mermaid) and if you had not appreciated this series, I say you missed it. Clearly, it was a work of a genius to think of such great script and plot.Another common mistakes of Kdramas is that you would end up loving the actors because of empty reasons. Secret Garden got me so hooked up to Gil Ra Im and Joo Won that i did not bother searching their names in Google when i was watching the series (I only did that after finishing the series). Their undeniable chemistry would sure fire up the intensity of the key plots, making them effective actors. BOTTOMLINE: I fell in love with the characters! Not with the actors !The ending was absolutely perfect. It wasn't a fairy tale like ending. Ra Im did not turn into Cinderella, nor Joo Won into Prince Charming. In the end, it was their love that prevailed amidst imperfections in their relationship and differences. Finishing the story with the lines, "We still don't have a single wedding picture, but we fall in love every single day, like living a magical life". That's what I true magic brings into our lives: blissful love beyond imperfectionsThe story itself was well-written, plot was well-thought, the casting and the chemistry of the actors have pretty much set the tone for the success of the series. This may sound biased but overall i say this is the BEST KOREAN Drama i have seen in years, and I would be sure there won't be any KDRAMAS that will be as good as this in the coming years.

I waited for the series to end in GMA 7 before making this review. I watched the original Korean series with English subtitle but I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if it was the actor's or actress's voice or the subtitle but I really didn't find the series appealing. So when I saw the teaser from GMA 7 a few months back, I decided to give it another try. I watched Hyun Bin from the series My Name is Kim Sam Soon and I love him ever since. That's why watching it twice was not a bad idea.I wasn't disappointed. I liked the way the Filipinos dubbed the series. The "kalye" language they used was very appropriate for our culture and made the series more natural. I definitely love the "saltik" term Jamie used to call Owen. It became an endearment. (How was that possible? You should watch the tagalized series.)Secret Garden was one of the most popular drama series to hit mainstream Korea. It has high ratings and continued to be on top of the charts till the last episode. I won't argue with that. It was really funny. I understand why the Koreans loved it because after watching the tagalized version, I fell in love with it too. I thought that the series was like a Korean remake of the movie It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006). I'm not saying it was the same but I think the concept was derived from this movie. The Koreans just expanded the concept and made the story suitable for Asian audiences.Hyun Bin's portrayal of Owen's character was very smooth but I was more amazed with Hyun Bin's acting when the swapping of bodies occurred. He has to act as Jamie and that basically requires him to act like a girl— he was very effective. The change in characters was drastic but Hyun Bin pulled it off. It was not awkward. The acting was very natural. And as a viewer, I believed that Jamie's soul was in Owen's body.On the other hand, Hai Ji Won's acting may not be impressive but she improved very well since she started in the business. I first had a glimpse of her acting prowess in the movie 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant and she was not good. I found her acting in that movie very novice but that would be in another review. I don't think there's much difference from her Jamie-self and Owen-acting when the switched occurred. She already has as strong, tomboyish character at the beginning of the series, so I didn't find it exceptional.The series in general was slow-paced. I understand that they wanted to build the characters in the first ten episodes to make the viewers acquainted with their attitudes so by the time the swap happens, the viewers will easily see the changes. However, I was bored to death waiting for the swap to happen. This was supposedly the core of the series. Why haven't they shown it yet? When it finally did, instead of feeling ecstatic, I was relieved. At long last, the moment I've been waiting for took place.Hey, wait up! It's not all negative. There are a couple of things I love from the series.First, Owen's trademark track suit. That sequenced blue track suit was probably the most popular item ever copied and mass-produced in Korea. It looks funny in Owen but it looks adorable in Hyun Bin. (The analogy is difficult to explain. Ha-ha)Second, the unexpected kiss between Owen (with Jamie's soul) and his cousin Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun). I find that scene remarkable! I can't forget it. I know Hyun Bin was acting Jamie's character but still in reality he is who he is and Oksa is Yoon Sang Hyun and they shared a kiss?! I can't take that off my mind for a few days.And last of all, Owen's attitude with love. If there's a guy out there like him, pwede akin ka na lang? (Can you please be mine?) He fought for what he wanted. He didn't give up on love. Even if Jamie threw him out, physically and emotionally hurt him—he stayed. He showed the cold, afraid and aloof Jamie what it means to love and be loved.