I know you guys are tired of me recommending Asian movies & TV serials – but the next time you find yourself flicking through the dismal woke offerings on the BBC or Netflix, consider the possibility that perhaps there are some better choices.
The best of anything is usually a pretty thin layer. The best Japanese anime is outstanding … but most of the rest is silly. The best of the BBC … was all made a very long time ago, before the woke virus destroyed that once proud institution. The best of Chinese TV … is being made now! Have no illusions, most Chinese productions are trivial period romances, but some worthwhile programs are being made. I started looking for Chinese language programs in a mostly unsuccessful effort to improve my struggling command of Chinese, and then found out there were some watchable serials.
One of these is 2025’s “Beloved” – a title which makes sense once you have seen the series. The original Chinese title can perhaps be best translated “As Far As The Eye Can See” – a title which also makes sense in retrospect. This crime-drama is set in the early 2000s in a provincial river town.
The story begins with 3 key characters: A prosperous CEO runs an expanding jewelry-manufacturing business, a position which he obtained in part by marrying the daughter (beautiful, of course) of the man who started the business; the daughter, his wife, is mentally disturbed and erratic – she is still grieving over their daughter who died about a year ago at the age of 5 in an accident for which she blames her husband; the husband has sought solace in the arms of a lover, a talented (and beautiful, of course) jewelry designer.
As the tale starts, the lover is found dead – suicide? murder? accident? – and the husband disappears. The police observe that the wife is behaving strangely. A few days later, a body is dragged out of the river, too decomposed for definite identification. Although there are no relatives for DNA testing, the cold female detective in charge of the case convinces herself this is the body of the missing husband. She is not a team-player, emotionally crippled because of her past. When forensics show that the time of death was before the husband was last seen alive, the detective has a crisis of confidence in her own judgment. The story spirals outwards and backwards from there.
The police investigation reveals that the lover was seriously over-qualified for her job, and that she had disguised her true identity through plastic surgery and a name change. She, the wife, and the CEO had all been in high school together, where the teenage girls – and their mothers – had had very contentious relationships. As the police keep digging, more surprises emerge from difficult family backgrounds. Bad actions led to horrible consequences, and even good intentions can lead to a very dark place.
It is not Shakespeare, but the serial is well made and quite gripping with some fine acting – especially by the actresses playing the two mothers. Of particular note is that most of the key characters are female, yet there is not a hint of wokeness – no superwomen, no western-style girl bosses; instead, we see human beings struggling with the vicissitudes of life. Worth watching, for those who appreciate crime-dramas. 16 episodes of about 45 minutes each.
