[OCN] tired of all these "always the same love story" dramas ?
Directed by :
- Kong Soo-Chang (Ep.1 and Ep.5)
- Jo Gyoo-Ok (Ep.2)
- Yoo Joon-seok (Ep.3)
- Kim Jeong-goo (Ep.4)
Cast : Im Won-Hee, Lee Jung-Heon, Lee Se-Eun, Lee Young-Jin, Myung Ji-Yeon,...
Sumaries
(from YesAsia)
- Birthday Party (생일파티)
Insurance saleswoman Yoon Young (Lee Se Eun) is in charge of the hospital's last remaining patient Lee So Hee, who is in a coma. While the hospital's director hopes to avoid taking any responsibility for the patient, chief doctor Jang Seo Won (Lee Jung Heon) wants to keep the patient there at all costs. Ten years ago, the patient's young sister disappeared mysteriously. She was in a comatose state as well, and strangely reminds Yoon Young of So Hee.
- Crack (틀)
Kang Su Jin (Myung Ji Yeon) is a veteran nurse in the hospital. She continues to be haunted by an accident that happened ten years ago in the operating room. She wants a fresh new start with chief doctor Jang Seo Won, but all he seems to care about is the hospital's only patient, So Hee. Su Jin tries to find this patient, and learn why she's stealing so much of her boyfriend's time.
- Necklace (목갈이)
Detective Choi (Im Won Hee) has lost his passion for life, and now pursues money and nothing else. He was in charge of a case 10 years earlier dealing with a girl's disappearance from the hospital. The only clue he holds is the girl's necklace. He's come to the hospital for only one reason: blackmailing the hospital's director. He needs money to raise his daughter and has to stop this hospital from closing at all costs.
- Crimson Red (붉을 홍)
Designer Hong Ah (Lee Young Jin) has a peculiar talent: she can see dead people. By now she's gotten used to the blood and horrible corpses, but one day a corpse appears, asking Hong Ah to kill her. She finds out about a patient in the hospital, a certain So Hee who is now in a state of coma.
- Dr. Chang Seo-Won (의사, 장서원)
The hospital's shut down is just a few days away, but chief doctor Jang Seo Won believes he can save his last patient, So Hee. Five people meet each other at the scene of his last operation and a mysterious series of murders starts.
It's not so easy to talk about it without spoiling the entire story, I’ll try my best.
This mini drama is made of 5 episodes, each focus on one character (like in Boogiepop Phantom if someone knows), telling a story from five points of view. The episodes were filmed by four different directors, mostly newcomers.
One particularity of Coma is that the events we see in several episodes are not fixed by a common script, only vague story lines, so each director made his own vision and sometimes an event doesn't happen exactly the same way in all the episodes. You may find it incoherent, but I think i makes it weirder, so better.
The first episode is good, well directed even if too static for my tastes. It immediately build a creepy atmosphere and catch the spectator (yep, it's very addictive; I watched all the five episodes non-stop). The episode 2 is quite similar, even if a bit lower. On the other hand, the third episode isn't great that much ; not that it isn't interesting, but the film-direction was to insipid and too much "cheap-TV-drama".
But Alleluia ! the fourth episode is the best of all. Unlike the other episodes, it really got free from all the post-Ring horror stereotypes and made it personal. And for my pleasure the great (and oh my god ! beautiful) Lee Young-Jin, excellent and too rare actress, has the leading role.
The final episode is good, even if the beginning is not really exciting and if by the same director the first episode is better.
To say it in few words, Coma is an ambitious and unusual drama, the king of drama we unfortunately don't see enough like it.
So please, leave just for five hours your love dramas which all look the same, and watch Coma.
Teaser 1
Teaser 2
Trailer Ep.1
Trailer Ep.2
Trailer Ep.3
Trailer Ep.4
Trailer Ep.5
see all the videos
Buy the DVD : from the USA / from other countries
Buy the OST : from the USA / from other countries
(there is also a 2 DVD Chinese edition, but trust me, korean edition is great, with a beautiful digipack and a making-of)