Wooah!!! I must be crazy to have
such a time when I literally have a pile on my plate. However this show here,
made me write the best I could about how and what a medical drama should truly
represent. Today, I want to talk about the medicine based Korean drama of 2012, Golden Time which
is also repeatedly known as Golden hour.
The twenty three episodes plot starts from
two dwelling medical students (Lee Sun- kyun and Hwang Jung Eum), each of them
having passion other than diligently serving at hospital, face a common
accident that leads them to meet a workaholic genius in Trauma department Prof.
Choi-In-Hyeok (Lee Sung Min). By sequence of tragic events, they end up being
interns in Sejung hospital where due to each of their unique habits, they were
outcast under "official outcast of the hospital" Dr. Choi. However their
experience under department of trauma surgery (TS) helps them grow as a person
and a doctor at the same time.
Award winning performances of the starred
actors over a great story plot, dialogue writing and use of psychological cues
and facial muscles for expressions regarding every day tension and romantic
strain have made the drama very close to reality.
Most adorable part of this movie is use of
every department and every side character that appears in the frame to create
plots and issues regarding administration to technical difficulties within a
hospital. Departments of Emergency Medicine, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, General
Surgery, Anesthesiology, Plastic Surgery and Trauma Surgery have been covered
beautifully showing each of their roles in respective places and all aligned at
the demand of script (and not in push-over style).
Personal growth of doctors and brave attempts to bear responsibilities in
difficult situations has been portrayed with great precision throughout the
screenplay.
Writer Choi Hee Ra deserves an applaud for
skillful scripting of the entire drama in an exact phase of "internship
period" of a year which gives the drama a digestible platform for the plot
showing actual scenario of hierarchy and its importance in a hospital, doctor's
nervousness on facing the guardian families, analysis of disease diagnosis,
discussion about taking responsibility and money based problems, politics
within a hospital and how ambulance is handled and emergency is addressed etc.
Presentation of nervousness of an intern, frustration, hassle, hurry, worry, a
bit spark among team mates etc. deserve an applaud. Panic and heroic actions as
a result of team work in hospital were acted next to real.
Discussion of personal problems with
professional team mates, friendship among the oddballs and relation between
colleagues has been aesthetically emphasized throughout the story. Especially a
professional chemistry and understanding between a senior and junior (not to
mention doctor Lee Sung Min and assisting nurse Song Seon Mi) has presented a
message of professional unity and empathy.
Apart from medical details which failed to
show much work on the special effects regarding anatomy during drama set
preparation (as expected from a drama that old in Asian region) and small technical
flaws like lack of surgical eye glasses in an operation theater and
occasional handing of equipment by the junior scrub nurse without being
asked by operating surgeon in an OT being major flaw by the crew, other
aspects like timing regarding the presentation were fabulous. Though a little
overdo of medical term explanation was prevalent, overall drama flow showing
turbulence in lives of medical staff was smooth.
Everything including makeup, costumes, VIP
and general ward sets, audit team, disciplinary committee and board
have been equipped in far from typical Korean fancy way which surely fits
the taste of audience and engages them to a deeper level. Original OSTs
directed by Moon Sung Nam with perfect timing on playbacks has been carefully
crafted by co work of directors Kwon Seok Jang and Lee Yoon Jung to sweeten the
story.
The preceding assumption of in-built love
stories in any genre of K-dramas has been shattered through perfect climax of
the drama showing ambiguous goodbyes between lead characters that makes
audience anticipate their meeting in future. However, the closing of screen
play is perfectly done by follow up of the patients that were treated which not
only lessened the burden of screenplay, but gave a satisfying wrap-up to a
well- narrated screenplay.
So, in a nutshell, Golden time or Golden hour as
a film project, shows a great team work both on and back-stage and meets a
four stars out of five from my side.
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