The tears in a melodrama can at times feel forced, or at least contrived due to a wholly unrealistic set of circumstances that all aggregate together to manufacture a tragedy. That’s the narrative premise behind upcoming tvN drama Hundred Million Stars Falling From the Sky (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes) and yet the tears if forthcoming will likely not feel artificially elicited. The brother-sister relationship of Park Sung Woong with Jung So Min will have to be beautifully delivered to create the core humanity of this story, and build upon it the romance she has with male lead Seo In Guk to layer on the tension. I love how the production team has modernized the visuals for this version from the original J-dorama but captured the same shadowy mood, like a slow burn for when the shit is going to hit the fan. Continue reading →