Greetings movie and Show lovers! Hope you folks are doing wonderful! I've been watching a bit of k-dramas lately and one that has been consistently appearing on my feed is Can This Love Be Translated? so I thought I should give it a try and binge it. Experience has shown me this; I saw it in the movies and in real life, but didn't imagine it to be so engrossing as it was! This is a 12 episode Netflix series made by the Hong Sisters and I am happy to write my reviews.
This tells the tale of Joo Ho-jin (Kim Seon-ho), a skilled multi-lingual interpreter who suddenly becomes the personal interpreter of top-notch actress Cha Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung) as she strives for global stardom. Then, in Tokyo, both try to put some of their past behind them and their working relationship slowly morphs into something more complex. The thing I liked immediately about this show is that the show doesn't do much about it; a choreographer and an Actor seemed cute when they're in the same room but weren't really acquaintances—it's only after a few mishaps and run-ins that you get involved, the walls collapse.
This drama-is a fabulous tour de duty and wonderful. Each location they shoot in brings a bit to their love story at the same time, they get to explore Japan, Canada and Italy. Not merely pretty scenery for pretty's sake – it almost feels like a location that reflects where Ho-jin and Mu-hee are feeling in that moment of the story. I also loved how the show embodies the language barrier as its central theme. However, Ho-jin's sole occupation is to decipher words and emotions for Mu-hee that makes for some soulful moments between what is said and what is felt under the surface.
Kim Seon-ho is great here, he has this consistent thoughtful quality here, and you can just root for him, particularly when he's obviously feeling stuff he just doesn't know how to interpret, or articulate for himself. Go Youn-jung, however, uses this multi-layered performance in which you see the glamorous celebrity mask crack, slowly shattering to reveal the individual who is actually quite lonely under all that "glory. They have a chemistry that flows easily, and when times change and it goes from work to personal, it's not forced, it's earned.
For me, a nice surprise is to see Sota Fukushi as Hiro Kurosawa, who'd meet Mu-hee at a red carpet event and is sucked into the plot. This juicy element of drama and jealousy was what stuck with me and didn't bore me over the course of the duration of the series, as he was present to give it this additional heat of jealousy and drama gave me without making me feel it's a tired or over used format.
The only thing that really resonated with me was the way love and communication—love and communication between Ho-jin and Mu-hee, but in regard to a larger theme as well. It poses the wonder that can only be expressed in one word: can love be translated, or does it have its own language? I thought that was really a good twist for a rom-com, and throughout each episode there are comedic mishaps, but there also are moments that are genuinely tender and quiet.
I could only give a minor gripe that a couple of the middle stories drag a tiny bit as they develop an arc for their supporting characters. Honestly, it didn't hold my interest for too long--the chemistry that the leads had together was enough to keep me coming back.
There is more to love about Can This Love Be Translated? than anything and a lot of it is quite heartwarming, just the right amount of humour, too many joyful moments for my taste. To those who love the idea of a slow burning love story set in a beautiful, international place: I highly recommend you put this on your watchlist!
Rating: 80/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.
