So last weekend was the premiere of The Trunk on Netflix, the last big premiere before the behemoth Squid Game 2 arrives end of the month at Christmas time. Starring Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin and adapted from the same name novel, the drama puts powerhouse A-list leads with a much more subdued and slow burn story. The reviews from critics and viewers are decidedly mixed, with some finding it a waste of the star power in a dreary story and dull washed out cinematography and others appreciating the nuanced storytelling at a leisurely pace to unfold. Basically if you like art house flicks and have the patience for the less is said and more is shown through action or inaction works then this will be for otherwise the other side view just finds it boring.
Frankly they should have named the show “the chandelier” rather than the “the trunk” 😂
They should have called the show “The chandelier” rather than “The trunk” 😂
Haha that makes so much sense.
couldn’t agree more ,hahahaha..
I hated it.
I sat through for 3 episodes.
Then had to fast-forward through the rest to understand what was the big trunk plot
I was so disappointed.
The characters are messed up I understand,but atleast throw in a good storyline or a twist to make us sit through 8 episodes,I think this would have fared well if it was a movie.
What a waste of such great actors.
And the herione,she has lost so much weight it’s disturbing.in the earlier episodes where they show her crouching down her spine is on focus.She looked so better in Another HY,Let’s Eat.
I didn’t like her styling in this drama either. For me personally that hairstyle wasn’t flattering at all.
Agree with this, saw some clips of it and they really could’ve done better
Really u rather have boring played out movies 😉
I could tell from the trailer it would be a drag and the plot sounded so far fetched to be a great watch, Gong yoo should do something fun or riveting for his next project especially if it is a drama, the theme of the drama seems more suiting for a movie set up instead of an episodic set up. Here we complain at times 16 episodes or more can seem a bit dragging and everyone hems and haws about 12 episodes and how they prefer it and this was just 8 lol. But I’m sure this elevated their opportunities since it was on Netflix.
I also got sceptic feeling from the drama after trailer.
It’s actually can be a case, some Netflix k-dramas would work better as a movies.
I didn’t dislike it, but I wasn’t a fan either. It was shot a bit like an arthouse film but I couldn’t feel much depth in the story.
I tried watching this but my mind is with When the phone rings…too obsessed with it to continue with this one. This married couple was just so boring.
I know right? I have been waiting for forever for Koala to do a piece on ‘When the Phone Rings’ – 4 episodes in and I am completely obsessed! It’s my crack drama! Never have I wanted Netflix to drop all episodes so badly. It occupies my waking thoughts, I have rewatched each episode so many times, so I have no space for other Kdramas right now. Though I may check this drama out when that one ends.
OMG, same. I been rewatching and dissecting episodes 1-4 since it last aired. Its so good and the leads are so beautiful together, the chemistry is just *chef’s kiss. Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo Bin is the couple we never knew we needed!!
+100000%
Addictive indeed!
A delightful addition to the end of year dramas!
I am with you! Can’t wait this Friday for When the Phone Rings
Yes!
Last week I kept rewatching it until ep 3 and 4 dropped
This week I am trying Away from eye away from mind technique 🤣🤣🤣
I ma seeing people going crazy about “When the Phone Rings” all over social media. Happy Chae Soo Bin finally picked a successful drama! I have liked her since her supporting role in ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds” but she just hasn’t quite managed to get that breakout drama ever since then even though she is a good actress. I think the ratings would be even higher if this wasn’t up against The Fiery Priest 2.
Ahhhhh! So glad I’m not alone. It’s toooo gooooddd.
This is a crack drama after a long time… I have even started reading the novel translation while waiting for next episode 😆
I watched 2 episodes, not sure if I will continue. My problem is that so far I don’t like any of the characters, I don’t care what happens to them.
I actually enjoyed it. He is such a good actor!
I am watching it for Gong Yoo, but damn it’s not easy 😅 I keep dozing off or realizing I’ve been on the phone for half the episode which never happens (mostly because I don’t persist as hard as I am with this one…)
This drama tried too many things at the same time. But the main theme with the couple healing each other was really good. The couple worked very well. The actors were great (even if I didn’t understand SHJ’s haircut…)
So the other drama “When the phone rings”,it boring
IT IS NOT BORING!! ITS SO GOOD!
When The Phone Ringa is far from boring. I’m always at the edge of my seat watching each episode
It’s not an easy or comfortable watch, but I liked it. But it’s not a drama I would rewatch
Another miss from Seo Hyun Jin I guess. I don’t like writers previous work so I have feeling I won’t like this too.
Both actors are portraying the characters very well. They are suffering from past trauma and they handle the emotional acts so good. SHJ looks skinny in this series but what you expect from someone who has gone thru trauma for years and still look happy and fit.
I really enjoyed the drama. It took me less than 24hrs to finish it. It’s slow paced and I loved the way all the characters are portrayed. I’ve only watched Goblin and train to busan so this showed me a different side of Gong you. I’ve loved all of SHJ dramas that I’ve watched so far. Another Oh HY,Temperature of love, doctor romantic 1… so nice. This is a different character than I’ve seen her play. I really enjoyed this drama.
I see myself also falling for the ex wife’s contract husband. I’d like to see more of his work too.
Fast forwarded; confirmed happy ending; then enjoyed watching.
Thank you for this 🤣 I checked out the first episode and was thinking to skip the rest but now maybe I’ll continue for love of Gong Yoo
Loved it! Yes.,it’s slow paced, but isn’t that how psychological drama’s supposed to be ? The characters, the atmosphere, they have to draw you into their world slowly. I think the series was quite well done.gong yoo. Gong yoo, Seo Hyun-jin really did a beautiful,job portraying their roles making them believable. The break away star here Jung yun- ha who plays Gong Yoo’s character manipulative bitch of an ex wife who can’t seem to stop exploiting Gong Yoo’s psychological trauma even after forcing him into a contractual marriage. The TRUNK is a tool used by the writers to represent all the emotional traumas the 3 main character went and iis going through.
I watched because of the actors and was intrigued by the plot. Subtle, interesting and I liked that at the end of it all it has a good ending. Most of the episodes felt heavy buts that’s the plot. I liked it. The darkness of it all, and the positive vibe it gave in the end.
I loved it!
I’ve loved Gong Yoo since the 2007 Coffee Prince.
That started my K movies “addiction!”😂
The Trunk for me is one of the best shows on Netflix now. Although it has an indefinite ending, the story itself is nice. Not a typical romance story. And for the title “The Trunk” is appropriate if you notice the secrets, pain feelings and regrets of the leading ladies are all inside the Trunk.
I have mixed feeling twds the drama. Not hating it but not liking it either.
I also can say I feel rather confused by the drama surrounding the trunk. Supposedly the items inside are those of her involvement in so many contract marriages, but then there’s a scene which revealed the content to be baby items. Idk if I missed out anything or that I fell asleep till I missed it out. I also don know if the ex-fiancee actually been staying there all along or he just came back.
Anyway, I don’t feel the chemistry between Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin. They acted the best that they could though I hate the way Korean actresses portrayed emptiness. It’s always the same way of portraying it. Straight face, straight body posture, straight walk, talk like robot.
And I just can’t understand the feature of explicit sex scene like was it even needed. So unnecessary and guess that’s why I fell out of love with K-drama these days. Too much nudity and sex.
And am I the only one who finds that actress who portrayed the ex-wife seems to resemble Song Hye Kyo a lot?
@Alexa…the trunk that was recovered by the police is the trunk belonging to Gong Yoo’s ex wife not his current wife. That’s why the stalker freaked out cause she couldn’t opened the trunk. The ex wife got the same trunk as Seo Hyun Jin’s character after seeing the way Gong Yoo looked at SHJ while they were all at the luggage store. It was a flashback sequence. The ex wife put the clothes of the baby that they lost in that trunk and never opened it again till it was recovered by the police.
Personally, the sex scenes in this show are not gratuitous to me. They show the twisted relationship and feelings the ex wife has towards Gong Yoo cause she literally get turned on after toying with his emotions.
Agreed with you on the lack of chemistry between Gong Yoo and SHJ tho. I was so looking forward to their repressed yearnings at each other but it was rather dull and muted.
Thanks for the explanation.
Like I said, I don’t hate the drama that I could pull through all 8 episodes but the slow pace and dull plot probably made me lost focus along the way till i missed out the scene. Thanks again.
I can understand that she derived excitement from getting to manipulate his emotions but I still find explicit sex scene like that just too excessive. Somethinh to suggest that will do without showing her naked and engaged in sex.
Maybe I am rather traditional and one of the few reasons I was drawn to k-dramas bk then is that they don offer what western dramas/movies do, the nudity and sex, and still can sell exciting stories.
This is actually an art house masterpiece. It is beautifully written, filmed, and acted. It is well craftes and shows a deep level understanding of brokenness. It is slow burn but deals with trauma and it’s far reaching effects. I like the way it ended as well, with a glimmer of hope for the future, but without just making it a happy ending which would be too cliché and undermine the point of the show entirely. I also thought it was very clever to call it the trunk, given the ending reveal. Those who don’t like it don’t understand great storytelling and acting and are too used to US TV.
It’s a thriller and I like thrillers, so I liked it. I do have a question though, those that finished it, please indulge me. You know the psychopath, the one that was admitted to a mental institution and later released, the trunk he brought to the FL to open up, wasn’t hers right? That was why she wasn’t able to open it, right? It wasn’t because he had tried breaking it like she had said, it just wasn’t her trunk correct? If it wasn’t her trunk, then the one she sold at the endd of episode 8 for a measley sum was the actual trunk? And really what was the whole big deal about the trunk, even if the one the psycho thought was hers was actually hers, what he was looking for was her contract with ML right? Neither of the trunk seemed to hold much relevance to me, so I wondered what all the fuss was about, or did i miss something? Also am I the only one who thinks they were at least 3 lunatics in this series? I mean the first wife is a certified maniac, isn’t she? Also I couldn’t place her fake husband, didn’t know if to like him or not, that’s not true, I didn’t like him😂😂. I liked the drama, I did think the nudity was very uncalled for, it’s possible to have a sex scene without such nudity and especially since it’s a kdrama, but what to expect when Netflix have their prints all over a drama.
Waste of my time that I will never get back.. I am obsessed either “when the phone rings ” ..
The series is very interesting, the actors pulled out the performance brilliantly, the director did a fantastic job, the scenes at the beginning were gloomy I believe to show the mental states of the leads and at the end it was more cheerful and bright which showed they fought off their inner demons. It a series with depth. Good job.
Finally Netflix has the audience talking, brilliant acting with great steamy scenes and background shots!
To me all the s** scenes are useless no find of them at all. And ya story is kind of ok but to me over all it is 2.5 out of 5.
Maybe I’m too uneducated but I loved it , I felt their pain, and the chemistry , I understood the needs of all the characters whether it was for power , or love , or ownership.
Liking some drama has nothing to do with education, lol. Just because some people didn’t like drama you enjoyed to watch it doesn’t make them smarter than you.
It’s an excellent drama. 10/10 and with only 8 episodes it is perfect for binge watchers like me. Acting – superb and expected from the FL and ML. Supporting cast were great as well. No criticism from me. It was a great weekend watch.
The trunk was great! I loved it!