Koi Suru Hong Kong

This little four-episode series was a cute surprise. We open with a view of food being prepared at a cafe and then get a few minutes of confusion as several people chase through the room causing pandemonium. What happened there? The story suddenly flashes back to the day before and we watch a young director trying to film an uncooperative actress. This gets duller and duller until we work our way back up to that first scene again. Now we have it in context. They were filming a reality show when suddenly three thugs ran in and one of them slugged the director and kidnapped the actress.

The Director

 

Now that we’ve set the scene, the story picks up the pace. Our young director, Kenta, has decided to make interesting television in a new way, and the drama revolves around this idea. The episodes are only about twenty minutes each, and the fun thing is that each one starts in about the same way and then diverges into someone else’s point of view. There are a lot of quick time jumps and flashbacks, and revisiting of scenes while adding more information.

The Woman in Red

The second episode is from the viewpoint of a woman in red who comes into the cafe just as the actress is being kidnapped. One of the three thugs calls, “Maki, Maki,” as he grabs the actress’s arm and drags her out. The woman in red watches them go, exclaiming in dismay, “Daniel!” The director, Kenta, realizing that she knows the kidnapper, takes her with him as he sprints down the street after the actress. It turns out that the woman in red is named Maki. We jump back in time to see her part of the story. We learn why she came to Hong Kong and her connection to Daniel. He had invited her to a lantern festival and instructed her to pick up a lantern, which she did.

The Actress

We find out more about the actress in the third episode. Her name is Elly (spelled Eri on AsianWiki). After running halfway down the street she stops Daniel and asks him who he is. He responds with a tender hug, so she goes with him in a taxi (while I am yelling NO at the screen) and Kenta loses track of them. Daniel asks Elly for the lantern. She doesn’t understand anything about that, but she tells him, “Honestly this is more fun than the video shoot. They asked me to cry and even had eye drops!” Hahaha, meta jokes! We find out what Daniel is up to and where the other two thugs in the cafe came from.

The Denouement

The fourth episode doesn’t start quite the same but we still get the filming and kidnapping scene again with more bystanders this time that we realize are part of the plot. There is a tense situation with the police, a few really unexpected plot twists, and an exciting ending. In the final windup it looks like a couple of our lead characters will be getting together again sometime.

This show is on the light side and very entertaining. Knowing that it starts out slow might help you power through, although figuring that out was part of the fun. We needed to see why Kenta decided to change up his tactics. It aired on television last year in November and is now found on Netflix. I hope you enjoy it!

Telzeytalks

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi