Apart from being a music lover, I am also a film lover, from drama films to horror and thriller films. I really like that. Don't be surprised, I've watched a lot of thriller films. It's just that lately I prefer light films and dramas. I also like fiction films, a lot. I think I still have plenty of time to review those films. This is my first time writing content in the movie community and I'm very excited. I hope I didn't make a mistake and you guys like it.
There is an interesting film series from Taiwan, entitled Meteor Garden. This film is from the 2000s and is still a great and extraordinary film to watch again, especially in Asia. Actually, this series was originally from a Japanese comic Hana Yori Dango, which was later adapted into a movie. There are many versions of the Meteor Garden series, from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea to Thailand, and even Indonesia has also made this film. This time I will review the classic version of Meteor Garden from Taiwan which was very popular and loved by young people at that time.
A little bit synopsis from my version is like this, there is a simple girl named Shan Cai who studies at Ming De University. Ming De is a magnificent, expensive and famous elite university filled with students from very rich families. Meanwhile, Shan Cai comes from a poor family.
On that campus there is a group of famous and rich guys called F4, in fact the richest among all the students studying there. The group consists of 4 boys, the leader is named Dao Ming Si, and the members are named Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men. No one dared to deal with them, not even the lecturers, as if they controlled the campus.
Not long after, Shan Cai also had friends on campus. This friend accidentally dropped the cake and the cake hit Dao Ming Si, the leader of the F4 gang who was passing by. Of course Dao Ming Si was shocked and he was very angry about this incident. Shan Cai's friend had apologized and helped to clean Dao Ming Si's clothes but it still seemed like the man didn't forgive her. Shan Cai, who saw the incident, bravely spoke to the F4 leader to forgive his friend. This became a resistance for Dao Ming Si because so far no one had ever dared to do that to him, especially since she was just an ordinary girl.
How do you feel about hearing this song? definitely the song takes you straight to the meteor garden...
Not long after the incident, the next day Shan Cai was given a red card from F4, which meant she would be bullied by all students from the campus. So during that one day she was really teased and disturbed until she couldn't study. She was doused with water, locked in the bathroom, and even the motorbike she used to go to to school was damaged and its tires deflated. It was really tiring day for her.
However, Shan Cai never gives up and she is not afraid of it all. Actually, she wasn't strong but she encouraged herself and she felt right so she dared to fight the F4 gang, especially Dao Ming Si. Then, because of Shan Cai's persistence, F4 chairman Dao Ming Si saw something interesting and different about Shan Cai, not the same as most girls. He felt that this was the first time there had been a girl who was as persistent and brave as that. He begins to be interested in Shan Cai and becomes increasingly curious about this brave girl.
Meteor Garden China version
But on the contrary, when the F4 leader Dao Ming Si started to be interested and curious about Shan Cai, Dao Ming Si's friend Hua Ze Lei, one of the F4 members, also started to get close to Shan Cai. Shan Cai often muses on the balcony on the top floor of campus and that's where Shan Cai and Hua Ze Lei meet. The two of them often met and chatted there.
Out of curiosity, Dao Ming Si tries to take Shan Cai to his house and dresses Shan Cai in such a beautiful and elegant way wearing expensive dresses and a private salon in his house. Shan Cai is confused about why Dao Ming Si did that to her and it turns out she feels that Dao Ming Si bribed her with money so that Shan Cai could always be near her. Of course Shan Cai rejected it outright. Long story short, there is a love triangle conflict in this drama, between Shan Cai, Dao Ming Si and Hua Ze Lei.
I think this part, the story is very interesting and I can't stop there, when I watched the film it really made me curious about how it would continue. A rich young master like Dao Ming Si falls in love with a simple and unremarkable girl.
Meteor Garden Thailand version
At first, Shan Cai didn't like Dao Ming Si at all, in fact she really hated him because she thought the guy was very annoying, self-willed, arrogant, haughty, angry and rude. Over time, she finds out that Dao Ming Si has feelings for her because his jealous attitude can be seen from how angry he gets when Shan Cai is close to Hua Ze Lei. So, when Dao Ming Si found out about their closeness, he was burned by jealousy. Hua Ze Lei was even expelled from F4 membership because he stole his girl.
From the story, you can see exciting conflicts, right? We as viewers will feel the conflicting feelings in this film series. How did Shan Cai feel, who at first hated Dao Ming Si and in the end she started to like the man because despite his rough nature, he had a soft heart and was very kind, and she saw how Dao Ming Si struggled to win and melt her heart.
This scene where they stuck in the elevator. this is from Meteor Garden 2018.
The scene I like the most in this series is when Dao Ming Si asks Shan Cai out. He asked Shan Cai to make an appointment to meet for dating, but Shan Cai arrived 3 or 4 hours late. Dao Ming Si was still faithfully waiting in the pouring rain. He was willing to be in the middle of the heavy rain to wait for Shan Cai who never came. Luckily, then Shan Cai appears and the two of them are going to look for a place to eat. Unfortunately, the two of them ended up getting stuck in an elevator whose door was broken and like it or not, they waited there all night, both of them spending time in the elevator. Dao Ming Si, who had been caught in the rain then fell ill, had a fever and felt weak. Shan Cai covered Dao Ming Si’s body with her jacket and she sat down and laid his body into her legs so he could sleep well. It was a very romantic moment and I think Dao Ming Si is really sincere and loyal to Shan Cai. I was touched by that scene.
In this series there is a climax story, the essence of this story is the very significant and very large difference in social status, between Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai. Their family backgrounds are very different and their lives are truly like the earth and sky. Dao Ming Si's family, especially his mother, is a director of a large and well-known company in the city, of course she wants her son to be with an equal woman.
So automatically, when Dao Ming Si's mother found out that her son was dating Shan Cai, she really didn't accept it. She doesn't like Shan Cai at all, who is an ordinary girl, her mother also thinks that Shan Cai is only using Dao Ming Si because of his wealth. Her mother once bribed Shan Cai with a large amount of money but Shan Cai firmly refused. Even his mother tried to match Dao Ming Si with a girl at their level. It also becomes a very exciting conflict. Until the end, Shan Cai continues to fight for her love for Dao Ming Si, and vice versa. Dao Ming Si doesn't want the match and continues to fight for his love for Shan Cai. He can't love any other girl besides Shan Cai.
In the end, her mother gave up and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't separate Dao Ming Si from Shan Cai. She had done everything he could to keep the two of them apart but in the end it was all in vain. She saw for herself that Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai's love was so great for each other, that in the end she had to be willing to let her son stay in touch with an ordinary girl like Shan Cai. The mother saw that Shan Cai was sincere and not just using her wealth. That's more or less the end of the story of the Meteor Garden film series. There are so many conflicts and problems that make us as viewers feel what each character in it is experiencing, I even had several scenes that made me shed tears.
That's all I think is my story about the film Meteor Garden and I hope you like it, or for those who have never seen it, I highly recommend this film, a drama film that is not boring and is very good even though you have to watch it many times. If you don't like the old version, there is also a new version from China in 2018 and a new Thai version in 2021.
Thank you also to everyone who always supports me for all this time. May you always be healthy, happy and blessed.
Have a nice day!
All videos used were gotten from #YouTube
