La Fleur Interdite (2023)

I want a follow up to these people and their lives I am very invested in their characters.

This is a very stylish drama the cinematography is quite adventurous and the warm pallet is pleasing. Throughout the drama the music is prominent. Beautiful words and tunes are very evocative and set the mood especially as the sadder details are revealed. Often the actors are shot in close-up with just the music as their internal reaction to the earlier scene is processed.
The two main actors are mesmerising. The young female He Ran, played by Xu Ruo Han, whilst having her hair washed meets the ML Xiao Han, played by Jerry Yan, and is immediately attracted to him and his deep sexy voice. Thus begins her persistent pursuit of him.
There is more social taboo in their culture around great age differences so even though they become lovers the relationship has many secrets.
I fell for the charismatic Xiao Han, his calmness, deep voice and hidden talents married up with a rocking physique.
The female leads character at times was annoying, however, her actions were in keeping with a young adult that has been secluded away and cossetted and controlled by her fearful mother.
Her mother is a strong, yet damaged character and the offer of a relationship with her much younger coworker is charged with expectation.
The pairings work because of the directing, writing and all the many talented people who finalised and edited the story.
Spoiler: watch the credits for the conclusion.
I want a follow up to these people and their lives I am very invested in their characters.

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Você se sente flutuando

Fazia tempo que eu não dava nota máxima num drama, mas me senti obrigada a fazer isto, pois este título não merece menos do que todas as estrelas disponíveis. É difícil encontrar uma obra que te encante em basicamente todos os aspectos, há sempre algo que pode não agradar muito, pode ser um dos protagonistas, pode ser a pobreza de detalhes, pode ser uma trilha sonora cansativa, mas aqui não há nada disso. Temos o conjunto completo de satisfações.
Vou separar por tópicos pra ficar mais fácil:

---Cinematografia, fotografia:
Parece até que queriam pintar um quadro em forma de drama. Os cenários são maravilhosos, cada quadro parece uma pintura, é lindo de ver. As cartelas de cores usadas são muito lindas, trazem uma sensação de nostalgia e romance. A fotografia é relmente um detalhe que não vai passar despercebido por ninguém, enche nossos olhos e a gente se sente relaxado assistindo. Pra quem acaha que fotografia não importa muito, este drama te deixa nocauteado provando o contrário a todo instante. É magíco.

---Trilha sonora:
Uma das primeiras coisas que chamam a nossa atenção é com certeza a trilha sonora. Atípica, com muitas músicas em inglês,
um gênero musical de chill out em cenas que harmonizam perfeitamente. Há também uma premissa vintage, retrô musical, que se encaixa muito bem em cenas iluminadas pelo sol saudades pelo frescor do mar. Há também algo mais sensual, combinando muito bem com cenas onde há certa tensão sexual entre o casal. Parece que as músicas dançam com a cena, ou é a cena que dança com a música, você nunca saberá porque estará totalmente submerso. É incrível.

---Química entre o casal:
O casal tem muitas diferenças, em idade, estilo de vida, entre outras. Contudo, são duas almas de artistas que se encontram e se harmonizam, se conhecem devagar, se encantam. A construção deles não é muito apressada e nem muito devagar, é no tempo certo. Uma coisa que eu amo de ver, porém é difícil de encontrar, é quando as interações entre o casal são mais sensíveis, mergulhando em camadas, sem se resumir apenas a fatos e superfícies. E é gratificante ver que essa maravilha acontece aqui. Há muitas cenas com trocas de olhares, diálogos pertinentes, tensão sexual. Claro, pessoas maduras agindo com maturidade, até que enfim né? kkkkk. Eu me apaixonei demais por esse casal, tem um monte de cenas lindas entre eles, beijos de verdade, mais intimidade que o de costume (nos dramas). Já é um dos meus preferidos dos dramas.

---Enredo:
Como já mencionei, é tudo no tempo certo. Não será difícil que a gente se sinta ansioso por um fato que deve acontecer, mas após os acontecimentos é que entendemos a necessidade do tempo ter sido diferente. A trama não te deixa confusa, a narrativa é leve e fácil de acompanhar, um enorme potencial para maratona. A história é delicada, floral, calorosa como o verão, fresca como uma brisa, sem negligenciar seu drama necessário, nem dispensar algumas doses de humor.
O final me pareceu algo aberto a interpretações, ou não. Mas, pra variar, foi lindo.

---Atuações e outras personagens:
O destaque é com certeza pra quem mais precisava se destacar né, o casal principal. Eles foram ótimos, o Jerry eu sei que atua muito bem e Xu Ruo Han me surpreendeu. Eu a vi em outro drama e ela foi satisfatória, mas neste drama eu a achei incrível. Além de linda e fofa, sua interpretação foi impécável, a personagem parece que foi feita especialmente para ela.
Falando em personagens secundárias, a mãe da He Ran é um destaque positivo também. Há ao menos umas duas cenas com ela que me deixaram bem emocionada. Com o tempo, você a entende mesmo sem concordar com tudo, e personagens assim são necessárias, é o tipo que eu adoro acompanhar.
O rival do Xiao Han passa longe de ser um rival, zero chances kkkk. Honestamente, ele dividiu meus sentimentos, porque às vezes eu o achava um pé no saco sem noção e sem amor próprio, e outras vezes eu estava com pena e pensando se a He Ran não era muito maldosa com ele. Enfim, ambos tem seus pontos. A relação entre ele e a mocinha é de amigos de infância, e talvez ele tenha desenvolvido uma espécie de dever com relação a ela, de querer fazê-la feliz e de achar que é o homem destinado a isso. Mas não é. A gente aprende com ele que nunca é sobre tempo né, e sim sobre a pessoa ser simplesmente A pessoa.

---Conclusão:
Nem vou me prolongar mais. Apenas assistam. Se você está buscando algo em suma romântico, refrescante, gostosinho, uma vibe um tanto retrô, um colírio para os olhos e bálsamo pra sua ansiedade, este é o drama perfeito. É imersivo. Você se sente numa viagem de férias para algum lugar paradisíaco. Absolutamente recomendável.

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Definition of Love - A classic for all times.

This story started out as one that a viewer would ordinarily tend to reject. This very pretty young girl pursuing a strange older man after what she feels while her hair is being shampooed. The pursuit was relentless and mindless and initially began to turn me off because of the obvious age difference. The visuals appeared to be a teenager pursuing an old man. However, each episode debunked this visual and made the viewer feel the growth of a true relationship only tarnished by "other" women who desired this extremely handsome man and had no qualms about showing their desire.

Not a unique story but the story is told with musical interludes and English lyrics that were integrated magnificently into scenes and scene changes. Without looking at the scream you felt emotion. Without reading the lyrics you felt emotions. This is the first time I felt the music was the drama and the drama was integrated and woven into the fabric and tones of the music.

Each episode became more and more addictive as the introduction of additional storylines and scenes and locations was shown. The most memorable and award-winning scenes were from the Qiang province. The village, the people, the love, and the commitment to love were just awe-inspiring.

I would watch this drama again and again except for the illness of the FL (my sis died from this diagnosis) and it was painful to watch her go through the struggles of illness. The uplifting part of this drama is asking yourself - what is love? The answer can be easily found in this drama. A must-watch and definitely my top ten modern drama in the past 10 years.

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THIS IS FREAKING GOOD... Not typical C-drama... NO REGRET FROM START TO END

This drama is totally a new and feel fresh among typical C-drama... The script, the cinematography, OSTs, The Casts, the chemistry between leads everything are so perfect. Love every details...... Give big claps to scriptwriter and director... they really did a great job for this masterpiece except many many uncut scenes (this is really bad). The leads how they portrayed each characters to fit in, just wow! I can't imagine with Xiao Han and He Ran if not Jerry Yan and Xu Ruo Han pairs... you may think the age gap before you watched... but after you watched it, you won't even remember... Sure you won't regret to watch... 101% Recommended!!!

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Stunning Visuals Can't Mask Shallow Plot

I really get confused when it comes to the rating of any Cdrama. I haven't watched many but the majority I found rating should be at least 1.5 points less. this drama is no different. the only good thing here is super sexy Jerry Yan, oh yes also the cinematography. I am halfway, and now keeping it on hold as it's very boring. I will complete it sometime later but now I can't keep it going anymore.

Positive Aspects:

1. Jerry Yan's charismatic performance.
2. Impressive cinematography.
3. Beautiful locations, especially scenes on top of the mountain.

Negative Aspects:

1. Lack of character development.
2. Shallow relationships and lack of depth.
3. Absence of chemistry between the leads.
4. FL's lack of likability and depth.
5. Missing backstory and logic behind character actions.
6. Supporting characters' dullness. (though there aren't any significant ones)
7. There is no intriguing story, just some sexual tension between two leads that runs on for half of the drama.

Overall Assessment:
The drama falls short in various aspects. While it excels in visuals and Jerry Yan's performance, it lacks character development, relationship depth, and chemistry between the leads. The main female character's lack of likability and depth can be attributed to weak writing. The supporting characters also fail to engage the viewer. The drama's potential might have been better realized in a shorter format like a 2-hour movie rather than a series.

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Why is the rating so high?

I was super excited about another Jerry Yan series. I haven't watched anything recent of his so I was excited when this show was airing. Sadly, my excitement died down and I could not digest what I was watching. It's slow...like super slow. A story about a young girl falling in love with a mysterious man. I'm in 6 episodes and I'm sick of the long scenes of Jerry Yan looking hot. In my head, I'm playing behind the scenes of him crackling up as they film these.

I read an article that the directors were fans of his since Meteor Garden. I felt this was just a fan girl directing a fan service show. I had the impression that this was meant for them to reminisce about him during those years, especially his headband...he wore a lot of headbands during MG. And those slow supposedly sexy scenes of him... I was laughing the entire time. I think they were trying to make him look good but I couldn't help but shake my head.

The FL was very disappointing. For someone young and daring and wanting to fall in love I didn't sense that. Instead, I felt she was like a little girl just curious about a mysterious man. Also, another disappointment that I was rolling my eyes at half the time was the foreshadowing of her having cancer or some sort of sickness and was going to die soon. It is SLOW and BORING. I wouldn't recommend it even if you like Jerry. Dropping this series.

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Don’t waste your time. Bad pairing for main CP. Jerry Yan is so bad in this drama

I think Jerry Yan is too old to match with xử Rou Hàn in this drama. I understand it is a forbidden love between middle aged man and a younger, but their onscreen chemistry was horrible.

The story is so slow and draggy. I watched 6 episodes and I can no longer continue with it.

I wish Jerry Yan acts in better role that fit his age, something with mature relationship. Perhaps play a divorcée or widow dad, instead of RomCom where he is teaming up with actresses half his age.

Don’t waste your time with this drama in my opinion, and the supporting cast is also horrible, especially the mom.

Too bad, I really like the FL in Perfect and Casual with Miles Wei, a better pairing. I am dropping it and give it a 3.0 rating.

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"I would rather live freely for ten days than live against my own will for 10 years."

These words were spoken by Zhou Zi Shu in Word of Honor (2021), which happens to be one of my all time favorite Chinese dramas. I wonder what he would have had to say to He Ran had they ever met.

Though coming from two completely different spheres of dramaland, I think this sentence captures the essence of The Forbidden Flower/Summer Flower/Xia Hua, which follows the rich and talented daughter of a late renowned painter, He Ran, who despite having everything, has gone through several dark days.

Still reeling from the after effects of a deadly illness, 20 year old He Ran is sheltered and cut off from the outside world by her overbearing and overprotective mother, Mrs. Qiu, who has assigned a nanny to watch over her for 24/7.
While managing to sneak out and enjoy bits of a free life, she is enticed by the voice of a stranger at a Hair Salon, whom she only knows by his assigned No. 33. It's unbelievable, but He Ran finds an excuse to escape her gloomy existence - find No.33 again.
Xiao Han, the owner of the said voice, is a man years past his youthful days, but that does not stop He Ran from pursuing him.

She cautiously probes for information about him from what she could gather within the first two episodes, before beginning a full blown onslaught to realize her vision. This part in particular was hilarious and slightly disconcerting to watch. Xiao Han, the object of her attentions yeets himself away from his own home to escape her shenanigans.

–-------
I want to rate this drama a 7, but I invested too much time into this to end it in such an unholy manner.

Now… I will begin by writing down a few observations/random details/caveats first from what I gathered:

1.This is an age-gap drama based on an already existing novel 'He Stands in the Gorgeous Summer Flowers (他站在夏花绚烂里) by Tai Hou Gui Lai.
I 'google translate' read 90% of the novel and I 100% prefer the drama. There are some quite distinct changes in characterization and the live adaptation adds real depth to the two dimensional versions I read about. Or maybe things got lost in translation.
I've noticed that contemporary Chinese dramas often surpass their novel counterparts and this drama is no exception.

2. And judging by the number of watchers it has, I think the age-gap tag scared away most of the viewers. And I'm 100% sure that this drama is a success partly because Jerry Yan looks like he did 20 years ago - not to mention that he has almost the exact same hairstyle from his Dao Ming Si days. Both Xu Ruo Han and Jerry Yan just fit together so well into their characters and I barely noticed that there was an age gap between them. Age-gap doesn't matter to me as long as the characters are brought to life.

3. I highly suspect that multiple script changes or scenes were shot. There are times that scenes black out and cut off jarringly. Some of the dialogues were never mentioned, yet we later hear the characters speak about it. There are certain scenes from the trailer which are never shown. And the additional behind the scenes footage (aside from the intimate ones) sort of solidifies the point.
The opening scene itself seems to have selected a different shot instead of the one which we see in EP8. (There is a minor flashback.)
Moreover, this is definitely "NOT" an S-Class drama from my assumptions. It had only 30 minutes per episode.
–--------
The warm fuzzies:

● The Scenery: the whole drama is a visual feast. Every scene is shot beautifully. It's worth watching it just for that alone. Plenty of money seems to have been spent on camera and lighting and location and flowers and painting.

● The Cast: Every single actor played their part to a tee. I loved how Xu Ruo Han in particular portrayed two different sides of He Ran - the one when she is not genuinely interested in something and the other side of her which she reveals to Xiao Han alone.
Xiao Han, a man content with being isolated and loves the peace and quiet of the plants, was a joy to watch. I loved how he looked like he was regretting every decision he made after meeting He Ran during the first 8 episodes. We slowly see him give up and just give in to her demands and by the 10th episode, we are aware of why he shelters himself from everyone. Jerry Yan absolutely served justice to his character.

Their chemistry together was just too sweet and easy on the eyes. I did not find the age gap annoying.

The mother was another well acted character - - atleast I think so. If she was meant to depict a broken yet muddled woman, she definitely did the part well. Supporting characters such as Pan Zi and even Han Yu showed the contrast between He Ran and her 'hidden friends'.

● The Soundtrack: My favorite is "The One'' by Vivian Loh. Had the opening scene begun with Lucid Dream, I don't think I would've been pulled in as intensely as I had.
Plus, there were several songs played throughout that just makes certain scenes indelible. Summer by Nicki Lee is one of my newfound favorite songs, thanks to this drama.
Some other favorites:
● Heartbeat by Vivian Loh.
● Mine by Vivian Loh.


● The Characters: they are the reason I stuck till the very end, regardless of how depressing or happy it was going to be.

Han Yu was one character who made me laugh everytime he came on screen. Not because he was purposefully being oblivious to He Ran's dismissal of his friendship and companionship, but he was also the only one who even bothered to worry whenever He Ran showed signs off sickness.
Xiao Han has several fans, so I'll skip right down to He Ran, whom I absolutely adore. And I feel a bit guilty speaking for her instead of against her.

Several people mentioned how she loves selfishly. Was she selfish? Yes, definitely. But, she loved selflessly too. She put in 100% effort into her relationship, sacrificing everything once she understood that it was worth it.
Her comparing herself to other women and making dangerous promises ticked off several viewers, but I understood where she was coming from. She just wasn't able to wrap her mind around how Xiao Han must've had other women in his life and wondered whether she was meant to be forgotten just like them.

(I once asked my friends who were in a relationship how they could be with their person, knowing he must've liked someone else before them. Someone gave me the exact same answer as Xiao Han's.)

He Ran seems to have the same fear - that she too will be like one of his experiences. If anyone noticed, she is the assertive one in their relationship. She is well aware that she isn't a 'nice' guy.

She just doesn't want to be forgotten like the many people who had crossed Xiao Han's life. Ultimately, we all wish to be remembered by someone in some way.

And as much as I appreciate her character, several times she comes off as unreasonably and dangerously possessive. She barely lets anyone breathe on Xiao Han - there are episodes where we see her push limits and just go bonkers.

Her pursuit of Xiao Han is itself comedic. Xiao Han considers his temporary attraction to her as something he wouldn't obsess over, and He Ran's stalking tendencies is what he deems to be the antics of a young girl who is blinded by her crush. It isn't after a long time, that he finally concludes that she isn't kidding.
Well, He Ran was lucky that it was Xiao Han. And vice versa. Or else this drama would've turned into a crime thriller.

–---------------

Now….. somethings make me want to rate this a 6.5 - 7. I settled on 9 [rerated it an 8 when I realized that there were too many filler episodes past EP13] because the drama seems to have been made with serious dedication and effort worthy of a longer drama. Both from the cast and crew. Plus, this is the only time a contemporary setting which is not centered around youth managed to keep me hooked.

● I was unfortunately not invested in He Ran's mom's and Yuan Qi's relationship.
I liked their individual scenes, but I simply did not care to watch their scenes as a couple. More than half of the drama after EP13 focused on them.

● The handling of He Ran's illness. For someone who is cocooned by her mom, it irked me how casually everyone except Han Yu and his aunt were regarding her health. (It was understandable why He Ran had resolved to 'living in the moment'.)
Both of them were more concerned than anyone whenever she appeared weak.
It's mentioned in the first two episodes about her 'follow up' check ups, but then we barely hear about it. Shouldn't it have been stressed on more?

And after Episode 18 or 19, I could not make sense of what was happening. Her diagnosis and prognosis were more positive than negative, then what about her treatment? Shouldn't it be more serious?
It's evident that some things were portrayed more for cinematic value rather than reality.
It might be able to get brushed off in a book, but in an onscreen adaptation with significant changes, it's hard to pass by.

● Last, but never the least. The ENDING. The last time an ending pissed me off so much was Word of Honor.
I could literally see the director teetering over whether to wrap up the drama by staying true to the source novel or to choose happiness over everything. (I've pinned an additional comment on my thoughts about the ending to my review.)

Well, he is a winner, cause I can see four different versions.

With all these complaints, this happens to be the first contemporary Chinese drama after Legally Romance (2022) that I've been patient enough to keep up with in spite of my complaints.

Nevertheless, this drama is one of the most beautiful and romantic ones I've seen to date.
The Queen of the Night blooms very rarely, but it is for this very reason that it's remembered. And maybe that's the same charm 'The Forbidden Flower' exudes.

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Sensual poem of life

There are some movies you watch and your relationship with finishes with the end. Some movies you want to rewatch and remind yourself the vibes or story or actors. and there are another kind of movies you call masterpieces. I believe I will rewatch it in slow tempo to enjoy those beautiful moments as some amazing poem I read during my life to nurture myself with it's beauty.
Colour palitra, pace, music, landscapes, eye expressions, sensual touch,amazing visuals even choice of clothes... there are a lot of layers where you gather beauty and healing.. on so many layers you touch your life, you come alive, refresh and fall in love with life.
Just give in your senses and enjoy the . It won't disappoint you.

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Passionate Romance

Gosh, this was such a beautiful love story. So much passion between He Ran and Xiao Han. Their chemistry was so natural and they always looked so intimate, I felt I shouldn't be watching them.

Stuff I liked:

1. Chemistry between the leads - HR was an innocent/cute looking seductress. I loved how she broke down XH's walls. Speaking of XH, watching that man try to hold back from going after HR in the 'courting' period of their relationship was getting me so hot and bothered. It was so intense. You could just feel the lust lingering in the air between the two. I'm off to scour the internet for the deleted scenes right after this review.

2. Locations - Loved the location where this was filmed. Specifically XH's salon residence and his hometown. Getting a small glimpse of the Qiang people and their customs was a huge delight! The salon residence too was such a pretty spot, it all looked so homey and cozy and relaxing. I got lots of healing watching the beautiful scenery.

3. OST - The music was superb. That is all.

Few things i didn't like about this were:

1. HR breaking up/ghosting XH and then getting back with him again only to then do it all over again. Like girl, be consistent with your decision.

2. HR undermining Hu Yun's feelings for her to try to play them down as nothing. I dont like when people do this. Just tell the guy you don't love him in the same way, don't say what he feels for you isn't love... you don't know his heart.

3. Even I want to crucify myself for saying this, but there were just so many slow motion shots of Jerry Yan. Honest to Christ, the man is a work of art to be admired endlessly but i just kept laughing everytime the OST would all of a sudden pick up and we see Jerry Yan in various lighting and angles all in one scene.

Overall, really good show with sad ending, imo. People say the ending credits are canon but I don't think so. I'm not one for sad endings but really, it's the journey that matters not the goal and that's definitely my takeaway from this drama. The love journey between HR and XH matters more than how it ended.

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