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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 7

Yeok-kyeong (played by Jung Hye-sung) is Gyoo-man's sister and I think she's the secondary love interest for Jin-woo although I'm not really sure. Yeok-kyeong is kind of a jerk, and yet there's no love lost between her and Gyoo-man. Yeok-kyeong clearly enjoys prodding him just as much as she does the heroes. As one of the few people Gyoo-man can't physically attack, Yeok-kyeong milks this advantage for all its worth. Soo-beom (played by Lee Si-eon) is Gyoo-man's gopher, and unfortunately enjoys no such immunity.

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Characterization leaves me a little torn when it comes to "Remember". On the one end Gyoo-man is so cartoonishly evil it's hard to take him seriously no matter the context. On the other end it's actually kind of fun to watch Gyoo-man be angry because he always come off so impotently. Il-ho is a man with enough self-confidence that he doesn't need to go into violent spasms. Compared to a dad like that, no wonder Gyoo-man feels so insufficient.

Oh right, the plot. No new case, I'm afraid. Jin-woo actually manages to uncover a compelling new lead to help exonerate his father, and while I want to groan at the explanation for why this didn't come up in the past four years, it is at the very least an explanation and it's clear by now that "Remember" is not a drama to be overthought logically. We all know why we're here- to watch Yoo Seung-ho and Park Min-young emote. These two are definitely working for their paychecks.

As is director Lee Chang-min-I. I mean, really, look at that camerawork. Just take a minute to enjoy the way all the shots are wonderfully framed, the way the colors match up in near perfect palette. Look at the subtle touches. Like how every time Gyoo-man gets angry and violent the camera starts jerking around just a little bit, perfectly synching up with the chaos of what's happening on-screen.

The production values are so strong in "Remember" that I'm almost able to forget how incredibly contrived the story is. Then we get moments like the climax and the ensuing cliffhanger, where it feels like writer Yoon Hyeon-ho is practically daring to me criticize just how ridiculously deep this conspiracy goes, and how nothing about this situation can possibly be legally supported and...oh, right, the case against Jae-hyeok was designed exactly the same way so you know what, fine. Go ahead "Remember", give us more scenes of people jumping out of windows and running off into secret passages. It's not any less plausible.

Review by William Schwartz

"Remember" is directed by Lee Chang-min-I, written by Yoon Hyeon-ho and features Yoo Seung-ho, Park Min-young, Park Sung-woong, Namkoong Min, Jung Hye-sung and Jun Kwang-ryul

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