Having just come off of a super intense thriller drama, I thought it would be nice to embark on a more relaxing journey, one that combines self-discovery with many heartwarming elements. That's why the next drama we're catching is Navillera, a Netflix Original based on the webtoon of the same name by Hun. Starring Park In-hwan (Come Back Mister, Brilliant Heritage) and Song Kang (Love Alarm, Sweet Home) as male leads SHIM DEOK-CHUL and LEE CHAE-ROK respectively, this drama revolves around an elderly retiree who wants to do what he wants for the first time in his life and a struggling ballerino on the verge of giving up his art. As the pair cross paths, they start to overcome their fears and learn to do what makes them happy. Let's dive in.
INITIAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS (SPOILER ALERT)
Although the drama's title sounds like a fancy Italian word, it's actually an old Korean word that roughly translates to "fly beautifully like a butterfly" and was used to describe traditional dance. I guess it aptly describes the drama since a huge part of it revolves around the graceful dance of ballet but in truth, I think there's an interesting double meaning here. Apart from literally describing the dance form, the drama's title is also very apt for an underlying idea here and that's of people doing their best to achieve their dreams and doing what makes them happy, regardless of their age, gender or social status. We can visualise that idea best in the lives of our two male leads, Deok-chul and Chae-rok.
Deok-chul is a retiree who's just turned 70 and we first see him at his late friend's wake. Very quickly, we're introduced to the depressing reality of him and his fellow elderly friends, all of whom are unsure of what to do with their lives post-retirement and who regret not being able to follow their dreams in the past. Deok-chul himself also regrets not being able to follow his dream of becoming a ballerino, something his father banned as he saw it as being unable to put food on the table for his future family. Part of his desire to pursue his dream also stems from his somewhat dysfunctional family, who argue amongst themselves every time they meet, even during his birthday celebrations. When Deok-chul's wife, female lead CHOI HAE-NAM [Na Moon-hee (Dear My Friends, I Can Speak)], wants to give money to their financially-struggling daughter, he tells her that she needs to let them live their own lives, with Hae-nam firing back that her children's lives are also her life. This argument convinces Deok-chul to properly give up the notion of learning ballet, only for him to decide on learning once again when the death of his longtime friend (who also regretted not being able to fulfill his dream) motivates him to do so.
Enter Lee Chae-rok, a financially-struggling 23-year-old ballerino who's entering a slump in his career, coping with both physical injuries as well as emotional stress. While he started out with a strong passion for ballet, that same passion is dwindling because of his harsh living conditions, with Chae-rok having to work part-time in a café to support himself. We find out that his family condition isn't ideal, with his mother having passed away the year he started ballet and his father in jail for an unknown reason. No longer able to express the same positive emotions he once had in his ballet performances, Chae-rok's life is honestly quite down in the dumps and we find out that whatever happened with his father in the past has haunted him until now, with his former high school football clubmate tormenting him all these years, saying that he doesn't deserve a good life. With no ballet accolades to his name and getting on in years, Chae-rok's future in the dance scene seems bleak, that is until he meets Deok-chul.
Deok-chul happens to chance upon Chae-rok when the latter was practicing for an upcoming ballet audition, an audition that he forsakes in order to meet his father, who's being released from prison on the same day. While he initially runs away after being spotted, Deok-chul returns a second time and expresses his desire to learn ballet, with Chae-rok treating him with disdain. Despite this, the old man doesn't give up and he returns everyday since, not just to ask Chae-rok's teacher Ki Seung-joo to teach him ballet but also to just indulge in his love for ballet in watching people perform. While Seung-joo decides that he can't teach Deok-chul, he realises that he can kill two birds with one stone, not only helping Deok-chul fulfill his dream but also pulling Chae-rok out of his slump, so the episode ends as he gets Chae-rok to teach Deok-chul ballet.
Episode 1 has set up a fairly good foundation for the rest of the series and we've got a pretty good idea of the story they're trying to develop. Right now, Chae-rok is very dismissive of Deok-chul's dream to become a ballerino at his advanced age, treating him as pathetic for not trying earlier but in truth, Deok-chul now is a lot like Chae-rok was when he first started ballet. I didn't say that, Seung-joo himself did so it's an interesting parallel being thrown in here. As the drama progresses, I'm sure that along the way both leads will find out more about themselves and change for the better. At this point, Deok-chul hasn't made his ballet dreams known to his family but in time, they'll definitely find out and probably discourage him from pursuing it, with his wife Hae-nam probably being the center of that. However, I don't think his entire family will discourage him, with his granddaughter, second female lead SHIM EUN-HO [Hong Seung-hee (Memorist, Kingmaker: The Change of Destiny)], probably being supportive of his goals.
This grandfather-granddaughter pair seem to share quite a close relationship so there'll probably be some wholesome moments between them along the way. Eun-ho is also currently an intern working in the same café as Chae-rok, with their first interaction being him "saving" her from a potentially awkward customer service situation. As we go further into the series, I'm sure we'll see these two develop a closer friendship as well, maybe even a romance. I'm alright with this drama not focusing on romance though because it'll work so much better if it just focuses on the characters finding their way in life and achieving their dreams. I fully expect a super heartwarming drama that's bound to tug at my heartstrings and I'm very much looking forward to continuing Navillera.
Comments
Post a Comment