Move to Heaven (2021)

A real class act from fine young actors!

Prepare your kleenex for this one. A beautiful story about beautiful souls. Move To Heaven is a 10-episodes drama, not your typical drama. If you don’t have time to spare, this is a good option.

Death is unavoidable. We are familiar with various grieving stories. We see plenty of forensic drama. We have more than enough drama involving death but there are not many dramas that could tell a story about death like Move to Heaven. I don’t even know that this service exists!

Remember this phrase “hurt people hurt people”. Thus, only loved people are able to love others even if their love language is not a common one like our protagonist in this movie. Han Geu Ru is loved by his father despite his condition and therefore he has been living in a secured bubble full of love. This movie is about how that love allows him to overcome the challenges in daily life and in particular his struggle to accept his uncle. This is about what family means to you.

The one that left the biggest impression is the acting of the casts. I watched this in parallel with Taxi Driver. Basically, I saw Lee Je Hoon playing two characters at the same time and I am in awe of his acting. He is handsome (don’t even start) but that’s not why I was charmed throughout this series. It’s the way he expressed Cho Sang Gu, a person that kept a bitter memory for so long that he doesn’t believe in happiness. I enjoy his acting throughout the episodes.

The production paired LJH with Tang Jun Sang who played Han Geu Ru in immaculate way. The interaction between these two are beautiful. I saw Tan Jung Sang in Crash Landing on You and Racket Boys. For sure, TJS will go places. He still has a long way to go in his career and is already able to convey subtle emotions. I heard he couldn’t watch Move to Heaven because of the rating.

If you are big fans of classical music, you will be pleased with Move to Heaven just like me.

I suggest you watch it if you want to have a good cry and appreciate good acting. Well, LJH is a nice bonus :-)

Watch: June 2021

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POW Match‼ Sang-gu vs Tree is Lights-Out-Knockout‼ °8.4° °Outstanding°

The title didn't recruit me, I'll admit. It looked like an afterlife show that takes place in Heaven. The ratings were too good to be ignored, however. So I wagered my time on this contest, & so should you.

In typical Kdrama fashion, they introduce people that, early on, are impossible to imagine caring for each other in a neutral corner. Geu-ru is a 20 y/o w/ Aspergers Syndrome. It's on the ADHD spectrum w/ bonus challenges. Aspergers victims are akin to fragile angels. They tend to be highly intelligent & focused on a narrow range of topics that captivate their interest. They have no social skills, no comprehension of non-verbal communication, body language, or other such subtleties. Innately pure, they would never understand stealing, cruelty, or even white lies. They don't have the resources to roll with the punches. Without proper oversight & gentle handling at home, they won't make it. Geu-ru's intellect is the glove on the hand that prepares him for a counter punch. His name means “tree”, and like a tree, he's hard to move.

Geu-ru & his father are "Trauma Cleaners." Cleaning up messy deaths, crime scenes, & the aftereffects of deaths occurring at businesses or other properties is what Trauma Cleaners do. But Geu-ru & Dad don't just clean. They respect the deceased. They also console the "survived-bys". Geu-ru and his father would doggedly follow the departed's wishes regarding disbursement of their worldly goods. Absent explicit instructions, detective Geu-ru pieces it together w/ the evidence at hand.

Many of the early episodes are about the work-ethic and care Ge-ru has adopted from his father. Geu-ru is inspired & compelled to scry the deceased's wishes & carry them out to the shock of the bereaved. These scenes are emotional. Don't get Caught Cold: Hankies out!

Geu-ru is suddenly left alone. His father had pre-bequeathed a domicile & occupation to his brother/Geu-ru's uncle, Sang-gu. - as long as Unc cares for Geu-ru in dad's absence, that is. Sang-gu is a pugilist and a boxer who competes in underground fights. He's suffered a series of low blows in life. Just released from prison post an attempted murder sentence due to a tragedy in the ring, his life is on the ropes. Geu-ru, unaware of the arrangements made by his father, had never met his uncle. Unannounced, Sang-gu arrives at the house one day. He takes a dive onto the couch, & demands a beverage. He's angry, impatient, flippant, & aggressive - the scary variety.

Sang-gu must carry on the business w/ Geu-ru or lose the income & the sofa (Geu-ru won't allow him in daddy's BR). Their first job together is cleanup of a corpse that had been there a while. The scene is... unpleasant. Sang-gu has the heaving & hurling reaction one might anticipate. It progresses from there. It's hilarious to drive w/ them for the 1st time. We'll just say that Sang-gu is not methodical like his brother. He's a brawler, in & out of the ring. Upon landing, Geu-ru cites every law Sang-gu had just violated, along w/ the fines & imprisonment levies. Sang-gu starts to see that he's moved, not to a house, but down the rabbit hole. Sang-gu additionally learns that he can't win a battle of the wills with Geu-ru. As he's rarely wrong, Geu-ru is, in essence, landing a Bolo Punch to Sang-gu's hard shell. It's starting to crumble.

The distance characters must cover, to reach the main event and eventually unite, always makes the journey better. The bigger the better. In MTH, a vast quest handed down to viewers. The main 3 characters did an excellent job. Tang Joon-sang, as Geu-ru, is authentic. In the same year, he starred in Racket Boys-8, an adorable show, playing a hot-headed & uber aggressive/competitive athlete. Then there's Crash Landing On You-9.1. He's in that,and he's convincing in the roles, to his credit - a trifecta! (Don't miss CLOY, btw.)

Lee Jehoon is fantastic as Sang-gu. I'cve seen him effectively play a romantic lead, but he really dazzles in this sort of role. Did they speed up the camera for Sang-gu's punches, or is he actually that fast? He's ripped, too... Convincing body suit? I think not. He beats up people (all are in acute need of it) by slapping them. As a boxer, he could be arrested for attempted murder again if he punches anyone. Given their power, fists of some boxers may be considered lethal weapons. Sang-gu forgets all of that when he schools that abuser, though. Dude hit a nerve, after all.

There's no glass in Na-mu's jaw. Geu-ru's friend from across the street is played by Hong Seung-hee. Na-mu's a brawler herself; an indefatigable one. Ms Hong is an upstart with only 3 bouts on her card, but all of them are winners. In fact, having just finished Run On-7, in which she's part of the 2nd couple's story, her talent is evident. She steals the show, along with her other half, in convincingly playing the "poor" little rich girl. She looks leaner, taller, & as hot as burning thermite. (Apparently, nothing burns hotter than thermite). Anyway, between the 2 roles she's barely recognizable.

Having already been plagued by a twisted desire for Na-mu to hook up with Sang-gu in a S2, I now see that Ms Hong's potential to rock Sang-gu's world is just "Mama-said-knock-you-out." Can you imagine how stunned he'd be, once he realizes that Na-mu would outmatch any ring girl? It writes itself. Oh please, please, bring it on! We should keep her in the family, shouldn't we? Given her competitive hostility toward him, it would be hilarious,. While the cop who's been scouting her is a better man than Sang-gu - at the moment - she was quite tenderized by S1's final ep. Sang-gu should be a contender. The ending is oblique. Hopefully they are leaving an opening for a S2. More rounds with them is a good thing.

Let's now take an intermission to evaluate proper treatment of those with special needs. In several scenes Geu-ru is misunderstood & mistreated. Sufferers of Aspergers are human beings, and being so, they long for positive interactions & relationships. The tragedy is that they are denied the skills to satiate this longing. For example, they are unable to make small talk, but they love to talk about their favorite topics, as with Geu-ru & fish.

Ignorance begets fear. Modern day living does as well. Our innate reaction when confronted with somebody different, is to recoil. Understandable; it's a dangerous world. Here's a challenge to help make the world a better place: Stop for a moment & assess. Whether you sense danger or not, utilize politeness. An "Excuse me" will do. If you recognize that this fellow human merely wants to talk about h/h favorite subject, be an angel & exchange a few smiley sentences. Watch their beleaguered guardians un-tense as warmth replaces protective anxiety. Always be safe, but also be decent.

While Geu-ru has no obvious affliction at first glance, many precious humans do. We have friends w/ a severely disabled child, and it's obvious to spectators. I had the honor of escorting this little soul down the boardwalk one night. His parents never warned me about the looks. People blanched unpleasantly at the sight of him. At least we were afforded the benefit of a wide berth, lest they get too close. Being taught when growing up that every person is of the same value, I was naively shocked - More than that, I was ready to slug someone, People will subconsciously act casually cruel. We all love us some Rainman... in a fictional tale. In real life? Give it some thought. Shining the spotlight on our repulsive behavior should be the cure. Seriously, who is truly repulsive in the prior scenario? Not me & my boy. Kindness is free. It costs you nothing, yet it provides life's highest rate of return.

As this bout ends, we go to the Cards for a decision: Right before Sang-gu threw in the towel, Geu-ru calculated his final move for the win. Sang-gu hits the canvas in round 10. Geu-ru is the new champ.

You'll also feel like a champion after spending time with this group; this family.

QUOTE~

You see things as you are.

IMHO…

?8.5 ?6 ?8.5 ⚡5 ? 6 ? 9

Directing 8.5
Thought provocation 6
Acting 8.5
Action/Excitement 5
Warmth 6

Age 13+

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Heartwarming and heartbreaking

Ahhh this show warms the heart then breaks it then warms it again! I have such shallow tears for sad/crying fathers and this show brings it on like there's no tomorrow! The plot and characterization are both challenging that the task of being able to show this and bring out the right emotions would have been daunting for a less competent actor. Guess what, all leads in this series are such great actors that they can change the mood of the scene as fast as required. My recent favorite LJH is at it again with his expressive eyes and distinctive voice. The father is just as convincing as the son in portraying honesty and integrity in their work. This is a must-watch for families who have somehow drifted apart.

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Move to Heaven Review - ZyKuu

This drama was very powerful! The cast was the standout for me as I believed that the three main leads nailed their roles. Geu-ru played his role perfectly as he had to become a 20 year old with a developmental condition. Hopefully his role brings the viewers to understand the reality of people who may share the same disorder as Geu-ru. Na-mu is the neighbour everyone would love to have. She is very loving and caring for Geu-ru and worries for him as if he is family. Speaking of family, Sang-gu is the uncle of Geu-ru and he is my favourite character in this drama. To witness his character development from the first to last episode was special. You could tell that as he spent more time with his nephew he grew a fond love for him. The story was very intriguing as majority of the episodes focused on the stories of the deceased and what led them to their demise. Each episode did it's part in revealing some lore upon our main characters and managed to connect everything together by the end. The genre of music used in this drama was classical, and the scenes in which they played the pieces eloquently matched the tone of the moment. This show delivers a unique storyline and contains a stellar cast, which in combination creates an impactful drama everyone should experience.

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about disability as a masterpiece

My first impression of this drama was quite skeptical. It wasn't thought of as it would appear that it might have acted intentionally, but fortunately the worries weren't right. The drama presents in a very nice way how people with difficulties, such as Asperger, can live and act normally as people. It was beautiful.

According to the story, which was interestingly interesting, the concept of how it works in Korea was not retained ... I mean - cleaning and funerals on the other hand. Getting to know something they don't really know. It shows the attitude of Korean culture. For the first time, I saw a masterpiece in which imaginary love is not in the foreground. I want more...!

But the plot also has some disadvantages ... an episode about the relationship between the lady and her uncle quite incomprehensible, as if a few episodes were missing. I don't understand why - will it be season 2? I hope there is something that goes with the house and the lady ... Yet the main reader that is still a trace from the family, although from the episode on the channel after death this channel is that he has to be with himself and be for society .

Can I play - I can't say anything - because it was just nice. The same thing about music - it was a pleasure, but I don't remember the song.

All in all, it is one of the best dramas of 2021, based on a story worth winding and missing in sweet dramas.

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Great Show with no Unnecessary Fillers: Loved the Characters

I love when kdramas are 8-10 episodes, I feel like it's a sweet spot for kdramas, they tend to get straight to the point. To be honest when I saw that the dad died in episode one, I was actually going to stop watching, thinking it was another cliche drama, but I'm glad I continued because the death was meaningful and is a huge part of the plot as the story goes on. This is a very character-driven plot, and I LOVE plots like that, I loved Geu-Ru, the uncle, and nam-u they are such a fun cast and perfectly balance each other out. The amount of times I CRIED in the show is unreal, it hurt me so much to see the uncle realize that his brother always loved him and never forgot about him, it seriously was so beautiful.

My only drawback is that I do find the 'genius' disability character to be one that can be tricky to balance since people with disabilities should be accepted, and not judged, whether or not they are geniuses. I find that they try to 'justify' disabilities by making the character a genius, when in reality, no matter the intelligence level an individual with a disability should be respected. I also was annoyed at the random scene at the end, it felt so unnecessary.

The main this I love about the show is how they deal with grief. I hate when shows gloss over death, and make the main character easily forget, so I loved that this drama made it show just how devastating loss can be and how you never truly move on.

Would highly recommend the show if you're in need of a good cry, and love character-driven plots.

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RARE SYNOPSIS

I thought at first I am going to be bored with this drama, an Asperger young man that has above normal intelligence, works for his dad a Trauma Cleaner 'Move to Heaven' company that pack items left by the deceased - with bow for respect the dead they box in meaningful personal belongings and get rid of the rest - a service that goes beyond what's expected. They'd be able to tell the story of the diseased to pass it on to their family. Geo Ru's father passes on, his uncle Sang Koo becomes the guardian of him with condition that he has to work at the company and live with him. Although Sang Koo has issues, went to jail for illegal underground fight, his demeanor is 'care less - hell with everything' does not bound well with Geo Ru's habitual and repetitive behavior.

This is the type of rare story line that we don't see, very interestingly there is called a Trauma Cleaner - a service to provide clean up what dead people left behind. Different cases has different uniquely background stories when the diseases were still alive. The synopsis is their personal stories, the family (or none) that they left behind; unspoken wishes and hopes, sadness, love or hate, regret and abandonment. A dirty work that emotionally burdened, personally I won't do their job. It's a very touching not from the main actors but mostly from the supporting actors who portrays the dead people. Not matter how good this drama I don't think i can rewatch it....the kind of drama that you only want to watch once.

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Feelings

Move to heaven title that may seem strange and incomprehensible without watching the series.

This is quite an interesting and engaging series that tells the story of a young boy who who lives with Asperger's, who helps run his father's business as a trauma cleaner. At the very beginning of the series, I had the feeling that nothing bad would happen here, but I was wrong already in the first episode Han Geu-roo meets misfortune like the loss of a father. For people who are emotional, they will definitely burst into tears, even when I started to cry, come on, it doesn't happen to me often. I can honestly say that I cried the whole series for the first time in my life.
The following episodes were as emotional as the first. In this series, we can definitely see a reflection of our own private lives to some extent, and it will give us some thought to think about what we can do to be better for others as well as for ourselves.
In this series we also encounter problems that accompany sick people like the main character. We also see that it is not worth judging people until you have met them. We looked at the misfortunes of young people who wanted to help their families or just get to know them.

Move to heaven these words are significant for the heroes I mentioned above. Because all the cases I listed are stories of people who died. You can guess that their last will was to tell their loved ones how they feel. And the trauma cleaner was there to fulfill their last wish so that their souls could go to heaven.

That's why this title is important to this show because it reflects, if I may say so, honor to those who died.

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