In the first few episodes, MEET YOURSELF had some charm, and I was hopeful that a genuine story would emerge. The FL is very pretty, but her face seldom changes expression. So far, it's hard to care about her. The ML is warm and engaging--and also a very skilled actor. But hour after hour, the story is pretty thin gruel.
An exhausted woman, who has just lost her dearest friend, retreats to a lovely hotel near a lake in Dali, Yunnan, to rest and recuperate. Just to give you an idea of how it goes: in episodes 3 and 4, the FL, Xu Hongdou, makes small talk with the other residents, naps, eats, plays with a cat in one scene and with an ant in another, worries about mosquitoes, takes a walk to a neighboring village to get her phone fixed-and that's about it. The ML, Xie Zhi Yao, gossips gently about his younger brother, who isn't interested in school. He talks with the mother of another resident, who wants to leave town. He takes a few photographs of the residents for his budding tourism project. He cooks, eats, gently bullies his brother-and that's it for him.
These two episodes took up a little more than 1 ½ hours of my real day. The narrative, such as it is, is slower than continental drift.
I'm a person who lives in a sunny, picturesque town, near the ocean. I, too, have friendly neighbors to chat with. I, too, take naps and run errands. Why spend a big chunk of my time watching people on the other side of the world pretend to do what I do every day?
One reason might be because - this is a chance to view a completely different culture. But is this a fair portrait of that culture? Or is this a romanticized version with all the ugliness omitted?
The description on IMDB is as follows: "After the death of her best friend, Xu Hongdou...takes a vacation in Yun Dali, Yunnan. There, she met wonderful people and did wonderful things." Again, an evasive description like that just doesn't cut it. When there's no central, organizing principal, it's not art-it's not even entertainment.
Later: Now I'm up to Episode 9. One character ran away. Another has left this backwater town for the Big City. The older characters lecture the young folks telling them the equivalent of-"don't underestimate the value of a good education" and "there are sleazy folks on the internet." The young'uns, as always, are duly impressed.
Many, many people say that MEET YOURSELF is peaceful and calming. But really - after several hours of this, there's not enough to stir my emotions or stimulate my intellect or my interest. Nothing to justify this much of my time. I'd rather go watch some ants. But I'll soldier on.
Later still: I'm now up to Episode 31. There's now the semblance of a plot, though the action meanders from incident to incident in a maddeningly leisurely way. The FL has developed some spunk and individuality, but mostly my initial impressions remain. It IS possible for a beautiful FL to have a unique and compelling personality (for example: see IT'S OK, THAT'S LOVE or MY DEAREST).
Cliff hanger: Will this review actually be made available for others to read? Stay tuned...
