I thought the RDJ characters represented all the people that had tried to take advantage of him. This being because the priest who seemed to SA his mom ACTUALLY had the RDJ face and he just applied the priests face to all others who tried to take advantage of him after that.
Thank you for talking about "The Sympathizer." More people need to know about this amazing show. As a Vietnamese, I really want people to understand the Vietnamese perspective on the Vietnam War.
Hoa Xuande's performance on this show is incredible. The guy's screen presence sometimes reminds me of Patrick Swayze (perhaps it's just the facial bone structure) : a strong yet vulnerable poise. Great show. Even though I still believe that the book is better.
If by people, you mean american critics, yeah they are still waiting for the algorithm to tell them what to review. Its a limited series which makes people wonder if they are willing to invest in it and get a satisfying ending. Its based on a best selling book but also comes at a time that people have a variety of shows that have been heavily marketed. I watched the entire series and would recommend it. But just watch it an episode at a time instead of bingging it.
As someone who has been diagnosed with PTSD and, then subsequently, C-PTSD, I can confirm that the transitions are also quite in line with how PSTD symptoms manifest in real life. People often think--and it's due to how it's been traditionally portrayed in media--that flashbacks are like TV/movie flashbacks, when in reality it's just random things remind you of traumatic events. Sometimes it feels like an egg randomly taking the place of a person's head, but it genuinely just depends on where your mind is at the time. I can be sitting outside a cafe, enjoying a nice cup of coffee, and just see something that reminds me of a centerpiece, an object, or even a random flash of light that can transport me back to a dark time. I don't lose my entire grip on the present, but the past and present blends into one. It can be hard to separate when your brain is seeing something as it is in the present versus when you last noticed it in the (traumatic) past. Hope that makes sense! Love your analyses. Keep them coming!
It was a drama at the level of an artistic thriller movie. Only 1,2,3 episodes were directed by Park Chan-wook, and he originally planned to do all of them, but he said he couldn't do it due to circumstances.
I think audiences have no idea who Hoa Xuande and would be turned off by RDJ playing racist antagonists, as well as the little screentime Sandra Oh gets so far.
Loved The Sympathizer - one of the best miniseries I’ve seen in years. Glad you made this as I wish more people could appreciate the show. Show kinda reminds me of Patriot on Prime as well. That last episode especially hit really hard. There’s a shot I love where Man takes the spy from E1 and Captain up to the terrace and there’s all these stacks of pages laid out around them. It’s very reminiscent of Judgment Day.
A detail in the show that the name of the General was Trọng. In the Viet dialouge, they called "tướng Trọng" (General Trọng). An interesting detail that the general's wife is Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, she is a daughter of 2nd ROV prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, and she was a singer, too. But lately, she got boycotted by the anti-commie Viet diaspora community because she opens a cosmetic business in VN and take Black April, which still a big holliday in VN because these commie never understand and still live in fantasy that they won the war (till the chinese commie joined the game). The funny thing is, she never comes back to VN and still lives in America. About Ng. Cao Kỳ, he was a two-faced guy either when he appeared on Hanoi state-afflicted media and praised the regime, the Vietnamese have a nice proverb for these kind of people, "Gió chiều nào ngả theo chiều đó", roughly translated as "Which side the wind blows, fall after that side". The truest thing that Mẫn represents these father- daughter very well, just like them, he was a Northerner who infiltrated to the South, mainly of the 54 Northerner (the North ppl who run away from the brutal land reform and execution from HCM regime, mainly of them was Christian), but at that time many North guys worked for the Hanoi regime.
Yes! I've been wondering the same thing. It's been a very long time that I've looked forward to a weekly release so much so that I've watched every episode almost the minute they came out. I've been searching UA-cam week after week, wondering why nobody is really talking about it. A24/Park Chan-wook/RDJ? I would've thought for sure the hype would be there. But I guess I was wrong.
I thought the RDJ characters represented all the people that had tried to take advantage of him. This being because the priest who seemed to SA his mom ACTUALLY had the RDJ face and he just applied the priests face to all others who tried to take advantage of him after that.
Thank you for talking about "The Sympathizer." More people need to know about this amazing show. As a Vietnamese, I really want people to understand the Vietnamese perspective on the Vietnam War.
Hoa Xuande's performance on this show is incredible.
The guy's screen presence sometimes reminds me of Patrick Swayze (perhaps it's just the facial bone structure) : a strong yet vulnerable poise.
Great show.
Even though I still believe that the book is better.
This show was so phenomenal, One of the best shows of the year, How is no one talking about this show
If by people, you mean american critics, yeah they are still waiting for the algorithm to tell them what to review.
Its a limited series which makes people wonder if they are willing to invest in it and get a satisfying ending.
Its based on a best selling book but also comes at a time that people have a variety of shows that have been heavily marketed.
I watched the entire series and would recommend it. But just watch it an episode at a time instead of bingging it.
As someone who has been diagnosed with PTSD and, then subsequently, C-PTSD, I can confirm that the transitions are also quite in line with how PSTD symptoms manifest in real life. People often think--and it's due to how it's been traditionally portrayed in media--that flashbacks are like TV/movie flashbacks, when in reality it's just random things remind you of traumatic events. Sometimes it feels like an egg randomly taking the place of a person's head, but it genuinely just depends on where your mind is at the time. I can be sitting outside a cafe, enjoying a nice cup of coffee, and just see something that reminds me of a centerpiece, an object, or even a random flash of light that can transport me back to a dark time. I don't lose my entire grip on the present, but the past and present blends into one. It can be hard to separate when your brain is seeing something as it is in the present versus when you last noticed it in the (traumatic) past. Hope that makes sense! Love your analyses. Keep them coming!
Thank you for this description.
It was a drama at the level of an artistic thriller movie. Only 1,2,3 episodes were directed by Park Chan-wook, and he originally planned to do all of them, but he said he couldn't do it due to circumstances.
I think audiences have no idea who Hoa Xuande and would be turned off by RDJ playing racist antagonists, as well as the little screentime Sandra Oh gets so far.
Thank you for talking about it. Genuinely.
Loved The Sympathizer - one of the best miniseries I’ve seen in years. Glad you made this as I wish more people could appreciate the show. Show kinda reminds me of Patriot on Prime as well.
That last episode especially hit really hard. There’s a shot I love where Man takes the spy from E1 and Captain up to the terrace and there’s all these stacks of pages laid out around them. It’s very reminiscent of Judgment Day.
ITS SO GOOD
A detail in the show that the name of the General was Trọng. In the Viet dialouge, they called "tướng Trọng" (General Trọng). An interesting detail that the general's wife is Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, she is a daughter of 2nd ROV prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, and she was a singer, too. But lately, she got boycotted by the anti-commie Viet diaspora community because she opens a cosmetic business in VN and take Black April, which still a big holliday in VN because these commie never understand and still live in fantasy that they won the war (till the chinese commie joined the game). The funny thing is, she never comes back to VN and still lives in America.
About Ng. Cao Kỳ, he was a two-faced guy either when he appeared on Hanoi state-afflicted media and praised the regime, the Vietnamese have a nice proverb for these kind of people, "Gió chiều nào ngả theo chiều đó", roughly translated as "Which side the wind blows, fall after that side". The truest thing that Mẫn represents these father- daughter very well, just like them, he was a Northerner who infiltrated to the South, mainly of the 54 Northerner (the North ppl who run away from the brutal land reform and execution from HCM regime, mainly of them was Christian), but at that time many North guys worked for the Hanoi regime.
I had no clue that this was a thing. Thanks for the awareness and review of it!
Yes! I've been wondering the same thing. It's been a very long time that I've looked forward to a weekly release so much so that I've watched every episode almost the minute they came out. I've been searching UA-cam week after week, wondering why nobody is really talking about it. A24/Park Chan-wook/RDJ? I would've thought for sure the hype would be there. But I guess I was wrong.
Just finished the novel. Looking forward to the show.
I think once its finished maybe more people will come. Also Shogun is overshadowing things it seems
Thank for the recom, did not know this show was out
A step down for academy Robert Downey,jr.
For me, the lead isn’t great. I mean he’s okay.. maybe I’m a book snob.