Dear My Friends (2016)

Dramas de femmes, de dames, de vieilles dames qui touche au cœur

c’est la chronique quasi quotidienne d’un groupe de femmes soudées par le fait qu’elles sont camarades d’école primaire , toujours restées très proches malgré les différences de fortune.

Honneur aux coréens qui savent donner de grands et beaux rôles et écrire de belles histoires pour des vieilles dames et donner ainsi une visibilité aux vieilles actrices (oui, vieille n’est pas un gros mot !! )

Voilà, leur vie se déroule, chargé d’un déjà long passé, avec des douleurs inoubliables, des anciennes et des nouvelles, et le corps qui lâche, avec l’âge, et le départ des plus vieux, ou des encore jeunes… La difficulté pour une fille à bâtir sa vie en dehors de l’emprise de sa mère en est un aspect important, ainsi que la difficulté pour un homme de considérer sa femme comme son égale, de la respecter, le combat contre les principes, les traditions et le privilège de l’âge brandi incessamment « je suis plus vieilles ! comment tu me parles ! »
Il y a beaucoup d’amour entre elles, même si mal exprimé, même si parfois encombrant.
Alors ça crie pas mal, ça se crêpe le chignon de temps en temps (le chignon masculin, à l’occasion aussi !) mais l’amitié est indéfectible et franchit tous les obstacles, ainsi que l’amour filial ou maternel…
Alors tous les personnages ne sont pas excessifs, seuls certains portent au sommet les défauts de leur genre : le mari macho de Jong Ha, la mère intrusive de Wan m’ont fait plus d’une fois bondir sur mon canapé…
Parenthèse sociologique : Il semble qu’en Corée tout soit bâti sur le sacrifice : les parents font tout pour les enfants, ce qui donne aux parents le droit à vie de régenter et diriger la vie des enfants, ceci étant prêts en retour à tout sacrifier pour prendre soin des parents vieillissants. Cette notion confucianiste niant totalement la liberté individuelle me met assez mal à l’aise je l’avoue !
Mais dans le drama, quand la réalité de la vie l’exige, ils et elles savent avancer, franchir les obstacles de la tradition pour que l’essentiel demeure : le lien entre une fille et sa mère, ou celui, vieux de 40 ans de vie commune, entre un mari et sa femme… C’est Han Nui, la mère possessive de Wan qui va lui ouvrir la porte vers un avenir heureux, mais elle ne le peut que parce que ses amies sont là, solides au poste, permettant à Wan d’avoir sa propre vie, sans pour autant jamais renier ses devoirs filiaux, de même que ce sont les amies de Hui Ja qui permettent à son fils d’être présent pour sa femme et son bébé en le soutenant dans les soins à sa mère malade.

Un mot sur l’interprétation : magnifique !!! vraiment bluffante, on oublie qu’il y a des caméras dans le coin ! Surtout Kim Hye Ja, complètement impressionnante dans le personnage de cette femme perdant peu à peu le sens de la réalité dans un portrait frappant, réaliste et bouleversant.
Mais ils sont tous excellents !!

Une très jolie OST aussi, discrète, très bien faite.

Un bémol : le rythme manque un peu de vigueur, un ou deux épisodes de moins m’auraient convenu, bien que je ne me sois pas vraiment ennuyée.


En bref, si vous voulez de la romance, du bling bling ou de beaux jeunes gens dorés sur tranche et refaits de partout, passez votre chemin, mais si vous voulez avoir une idée de la famille coréenne et de ses traditions, ou simplement une belle réflexion sur l’âge, la vieillesse, et comment tenir bon jusqu’au bout en se soutenant les uns les autres, alors c’est le drama qu’il vous faut !

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I know for some, stories following and telling the lives of older people can sound unappealing but I promise you it's far from being boring, if you decide to give it a try you might even have lot of fun. It has absolutely everything most of us are looking for in dramas to be considered as awesome : comedy, slice of life, a little touch of romance, great friendship and family bond and a bit of drama ; the writing is so sincere. A lot to learn from the elders as well.

I was burning of impatience to start this drama especially with such talented and acclaimed actors, Go Hyun Jung, Shin Goo the best father of dramaland (in my opinion # ROYOW), Na Moon Hee, Yoon Yeo Jeong, Go Doo Shim (it was my first time seeing her), Park Won Sook etc. It was not only because of the cast but because of the story which I kinda guessed would be easy for me to connect with and I was right. It's a straight 10 for me, and my first of the year *.*

A big part of the story revolves around Park Wan's relationship with her mother and her Aunts (her Mother's friends) who all are around their late 60s (some in their 70s) but not only as we also get to learn bit by bit about all of them , our 6 other main female characters of the show (Jeong Ah, Hee Ja, Nan Hee, Yeong Won, Cheong Nam and Ssang Boon) and 2 male characters Seok Gyun and Seong Jae.  I really love how Wan is so close to all those people who are for most of them 30 years older than her.[off topic= I'm really envious of her as I consider elders as the most adorable and caring people of the world (with kids), they make me feel comfortable, happy and also more at peace and generally I have more healthy discussions with them and I learn a lot from them especially about their personal experiences. I definitely feel more at ease and more like myself in their presence. End of off topic].
Wan is there for them and share most of her free time with them as much as possible and we can feel all throughout the drama the special attach between Wan and her aunts, this special and indescribable love they have for each other, the genuine and soothing one.
As I said Wan is not the only main focus of the drama, all the veteran actors have equal screentime and have their own stories to share (I mean the characters they portray).
The drama mostly narrates us the stories of Wan's Mother and her friends, their own adventures and anecdotes worth being told to their own children, grandchildren or nephews, some are very sad, painful and heartbreaking and will move the most sensitve ones to tears (like me :p) and some more funny and sweet. I love all of those Helmoni because despite having a very hard life and some being deprived of freedom (partially) they always look cheerful, they laugh and have fun on their own way like anyone else, they are true bon vivant I'd say. They all touched me and broke me because they are genuine, sweet, sometimes very funny and weird too.
My fave characters are definitely Jeong Ah and Hee Ja, I can already tell you that both of them made me cry not less than 50 times, mostly happy tears but some were also sad tears. Those two women caught my attention since the first minutes of the drama, other characters I love them too so so much but I found Jeong Ah and Hee Ja's stories more powerful and heartbreaking, and their friendship is so strong and unwavering, they have their moments of doubt of course but it's what make them even closer.
I've said enough about them but they are such lovely and cute women, they are honest to themselves and to others too, never hiding their true feelings especially Jeong Ah who always speaks her mind even if it can be a little bit hurtful anyway I love her for that. As for Hee Ja I think she's the kindest and the most innocent one, this makes her so gorgeous and what a delicate woman she is *,*. I also need to mention that the Hee Ja/Min Ho's bond really got me, so real, beautiful and unshakable, Min Ho is such a filial son, their scenes were the sweetest ^^
Of course all other characters are so fantastic and deserved to be loved, Ssang Boon the lovely grandma who's always playing with her phone, Yeong Won the elegant and caring friend, Cheong Nam the curious and honest friend, Nan Hee the hot tempered and caring mother and Wan our lovely young woman who's having some issues dealing with her love and family life. All of them made this drama the gem it is to my eyes.

The Ost is also very beautiful and the songs perfectly fitted for each scene, the funny, the cute, and the sad ones. Probably among the best Ost I heard this year, very addicting and memorable, especially ''Want to Be Free'' by Lyn and '' Wonderful'' by Jannabi.


If I were to say in a few words what truly made me fall in love with the drama, I would say : its realism, its endearing and funny characters, its serenity, peaceful tones, and its natural and brillant writing. Dear My Friends from start to finish made me feel jovial and calm which is something that happens very rarely when I watch dramas especially Kdramas but this is one of the few exceptions, and that's exactly why I'm watching dramas : feeling relaxed, connecting with the characters, evading from reality, spending a good time and not feeling anxious, DMF gave me all of that so I'm very thankful to the actors's hard work and the team who worked on it. Indeed finally South Korea came up with a realistic and heartwarming drama, never letting me feeling uneasy nor angry about the events or the characters. From this country the only other drama which gave me the same feelings was Ruler of Your Own World,I hope more dramas like this one and Dear My friends will be produced though I don't have high expectations.

I decided to give it a 10 for personal reasons, though the drama can sound slow or simple due to its length (around 70 mins per ep). But here are some of the reasons why I went for the highest rating.
- The story, exactly what I've always been waiting for, a drama which would mostly focus on friendship between elders and make them the center of the story.
- Every second was precious and meaningful for me, never I felt bored and I savored every moment.
- Great family and friendship drama and all actors portrayed their characters so flawlessly and convincingly.
- The characters are so relatable.
- Showing the true love of mothers for their children and vice versa, thanks Dear My Friends for those great moments of emotion <3


Na Moon Hee and Kim Hye Ja, My lovely actresses <3

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