«Chocolate was shot in Greece and South Korea. The scenes in Greece, specifically in the city of Nafplio, were spectacular; its streets and architecture are a beauty, and the Mediterranean Sea… uf! A visual delight!«
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First of all
This review has no spoilers.
I must admit that I’m not used to choose dramas to watch based on the actors. Even though I have a short list of favorite Korean actors, I need more than that to start watching a new drama.
Chocolate is a Korean series distributed by Netflix and released on December 2019, but I just watched it during quarantine. I didn’t give it a chance earlier because I’ve been watching thrillers and serial killers haha; but the other day I felt like watching some romance and picked this one, which leads me to warn you that this drama goes beyond a couple’s love story; it involves love stories between siblings, best friends, cousins, mothers and sons… It’s very emotional.
Before I continue, remember to keep yourself and your family safe by staying at home and listening only to official information like local Government and the WHO.
Synopsis
The drama is about Lee Kang, a Neurosurgeon that once dreamed to be a cook like his mother, and Moon Cha-yeong, a chef who studied in Italy. When Cha-yeong was a child, she met Kang in a small restaurant at a small coastal city. She was starving and he gave her a delicious free meal, which in a way inspired her to become a chef.
Many years later they meet again in a hospital, and later on they meet again, both of them working at a hospital for the terminally ill. They must face their past and heal their wounds in order to be together.
In general terms
I got hooked to the series after a few episodes; many things happen at the beginning, including many flashbacks, surgeries, travels and more. When both of them start working at the hospital for the terminally ill, the big picture changes because we start to meet new characters and it’s hard not to care for them.
The main characters go through a very long process in order to be together, they are both very private, life has taught them to hide their emotions and accept to be alone, that’s why they are not expressive at all.
Why do I recommend Chocolate?
The food
The drama dedicates quality time to the preparation of food from scratch and it’s a main element on the series. I loved the cooking scenes; they were a visual delight that I really enjoyed a lot. Cooking is an art, traditional food from different countries are also an art, so through this drama I got to see new dishes and delights.
As for chocolates, even though we don’t see much of them throughout the drama, they do play an important role on both main characters’ life.
The locations
Chocolate was shot in Greece and South Korea. The scenes in Greece, specifically in the city of Nafplio, were spectacular; its streets and architecture are a beauty, and the Mediterranean Sea… uf! A visual delight! South Korea was not left behind, with that lovely small coastal town; besides, the market where they sell fish and seafood was fascinating.
The cinematography
I love how the drama was presented in terms of images, colors and landscapes; everything altogether was harmonious and beautiful.
The characters
Each character gets to your heart in some way. Some of them you care about, some of them are a pain in the **s because they are awful, and others get to your heart in a way that make you cry.
I kinda cried a lot during this drama, and even though I hate to cry, I think I needed it, I needed to have a good crying.
Because part of the drama takes place in a hospital for the terminally ill, you meet characters that get to your heart, not only patients, also the people who accompany them and the ones who work there. And then you start thinking how short life is, and how death can come to us at any age, and you see things from another point of view, sometimes that is a good thing.
The OST
I loved the instrumental music from this drama and also the songs with lyrics, they complement perfectly with the cinematography and plot. You can listen to the complete instrumental music here. My favorite song with lyrics was Always Be Here, by Ha Jin and you can listen to it here.
A little ending note
Not everyone will like this drama, I’m sure of it. The main characters go through lots of things and that’s why they are not expressive; the rhythm of the series feel slow, despite all the things that happen, and there are many flashbacks. Those are elements that many people may not like. They were not a problem for me because there were much more things to highlight, and I liked all of them together.
MJ
*All pics taken from Pinterest.
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