Recently, I've been into a lot Chinese stuff more than popular Korean stuff. You will see that I've done about two posts about Chinese pop culture things because I've been on a kick lately. My latest obsession has been the Taiwanese drama called The World Between Us or the literally translation, "The Outsiders". The drama was a production exclusively for HBO Asia and it aired for ten episodes. Many reviews for the drama have been people raving about storyline and characters. It also became the highest rated show on Taiwanese Netflix. Lin Chun Yang was the director while Liu Shih yuen wrote the script. Alyssa Chia, James Wen, Chris Wu, Yuu Chen, J.C. Lin, and, Pets Tseng star in the break out drama.
A mass shooting in a movie theater changes the course of a select few people's lives forever. The deaths of their loved ones seem to make it impossible for them to pick up the pieces to restart their lives. Media and public opinion also don't make the progress any easier.
The World Between Us centers around the subject of a mass shooting. Most viewers would think that this subject in itself is a eye catching topic enough to make a drama complete. A mass shooting is the core of the events that occur but the drama focuses more on the aftermath than anything else. Taking an inside depth on how the victim's loved ones choose to continue living their lives. Let me tell you, the emotional turmoil isn't an experience that make you feel good. Well- at least not at first. This drama could have been lazy by telling a story leading up to a society tragedy that would have taken up a whole ten episodes. Instead the storytelling does something that most wouldn't expect: The drama doesn't even truly show the shooting in its self. Viewers get a little taste then just imagination from the character performances. We get a Segway into other topics that tie into mass killing such as mental health and the death penalty which are very heavy subjects that this drama handles well. Most of all, The World Between Us makes the viewer question society norms not only in Taiwan but also in the world period. Is it just to blame the family of the killer because you want an outlet to lash out? Do the family of the murderer in question not get the human rights to be notified when their son ro daughter is about to be executed? All of these questions are raised when watching The World Between Us. I really connected with the scripts essence of forgiveness so that one's self can move on with their life. It can be really hard to forgive so a person who can, is the stronger person in my eyes. For ten episodes, the story sums up quite nicely and you feel satisfied seeing everything conclude.
Cast performances are one to write home about. They honestly are very crucial to a drama like this. Broken people make good storylines. Though watching many of the characters is very painful. It was to me anyways. There were emotions dealing in denial of the events that happened. Other characters downright avoided the issue all together. Family bonds got destroyed all throughout this show. On top of that, Viewers will see that many of the characters's hearts are wounded as they barely live. I enjoyed each character equally since the story gives you enough background to know more about each of them. How all of them are connected outside of the shooting was well though out too. Bottomline is that the acting defiantly comes across as award winning. Chris Wu was my favorite performance as the lawyer who was torn between what he thought was right and other people's opinions.
Certain sets on location look good. I want to say this drama looks like a mix of a web drama and a show you would see on Netfilx. Shots range from Taiwan's metropolitan city to a small as port town. All of these scenes give the drama a sense of emotional timing that is used well in the cast's performances. The opening sequence's graphics of The World Between Us is a perfect fit as well.
The World Between Us is one of the best Taiwanese dramas in recent years. It's sad that many foreign people don't know about this drama yet. Still, I hope more people give this drama a try and I'm excited about rumors of a second season.
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