Monday, May 5, 2008

Lu Guang Sen Lin


Green Forest, My Home” in English is basically not a love triangle drama but love quadrangle because the four main characters are romantically linked to one another. The story started when they were still kids. William (Leon Jay Williams) is the son of the founder of Spencer Royal School who promised his classmate Sophie (Liu Ping Yan) that he will protect her forever. However, her envious adoptive sister, Susan (Song Zhi Ai), gets in the way and pretended to William that she is Sophie. While Owen (Ruan Jing Tian) is Sophie’s childhood friend who also loves her. After 20 years, their paths crossed again at Royal Spencer School of Music and complications ensue, compounded by the closure of Green Light Elementary School, which is within Spencer Educational Foundation.

Shall I say, the story is delightful and unpredictable, with the right balance of drama and humor. The choice of songs “Wu Fa Kai Kou” by William So and “Lu Guang Chuan Shou” by Ah Bao made the scenes even more heartwarming and tender. While the skillful camera movements gave the drama more “drama.”

As to the actors, Leon Jay is like a Prince Charming with his Western looks and attire though sometimes he looks stiff. Ethan Ruan is not that adorable and charming as the supporting role but his being a virtuoso in violin suits him physically.Esther Liu is surprisingly only 17 years old during this drama but she looks mature for her age. So playing the 24-year-old Sophie fits her. Acting-wise, she did a good job. Whereas, Zhi Ai’s acting is still raw. She is the antagonist here who harbors the feelings of inferiority and inadequacy yet you cannot feel the angst in her.

Meantime, there are three things that I don’t like in the story first, the children. I tend to fast forward when it comes to their part. I dunno but they seem kinda annoying rather than cute. Second, Sophie’s love-hate relationship with William is a typical scenario in Chinovelas. And lastly, Sophie’s disease called pseudomonas. Life threatening diseases especially cancer are common in movies/dramas and this story is not even spared.

Except for these parts that I didn‘t like and Song Zhi Ai’s raw acting, this drama would merit a perfect score.

* photo credit to ent.sina.com.cn

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