Since it's kind of a spring cleaning, I'm starting lots and lots of dramas that are occupying my virtual space. Among them, I finally got to start Drama Stage 2020 - a series of 10 short movies made for tv. A similar concept to KBS Drama Special, but here we do have a merging of cinematic experience with the format made for tv.
And since tvN is a big fan of long episodes, this even feels like a real movie.
The third year of Drama Stage has even its own name, the episodes are assembled as Color of My Life.
To write about this in detail would mean to spoil pretty much everything, as we don't have the continuation and that's why I tend to not write much about specials.
The story starts with Hansu, a gambler who has a big loan to fuel his gambling addiction. And loan sharks boss gives him three days to come up with 100.000.000 won or else he's going to be marinated in concrete.
He tries to contact his younger brother to lend him some money, who is working at some esteemed company but turns out, he disappeared. Hansu tries to track his brother down but to no avail, until one day a message comes from Hancheol with an address to meet. On his way to the place, Hansu passes by a group of police officers hanging up a banner, but he pays no attention to them, instead is invited by a taxi driver who says since his work day is over and he goes home, and Hansu seems to be going in the same direction, he will give him a lift.
Hansu goes there - and here where the nightmarish journey really starts. The address that Hancheol gave his brother points to the derelict apartment building, but there are inhabitants. Each one of them weirder than the previous one. Hancheol's home is empty and the layer of dust tells the chilling story - no one was here for some time.
The building, rotting away and falling apart, serves as the visual representation of every character Hansu actually meets here. It has dark corners that didn't see the light for years, it has pipes breaking, corridors full of throwaways littering the floor. In every sense it is as organic and sentient as people living there. It is as mad as people living here.
And his brother lived here, leading a double life - and experiencing a double death as well. All because of the flowers on the roof.
Turns out - you can grow poppies also in "planters, pots, containers, as well as beds and borders in the garden or indoors." (info from here). Opium poppy as well.
I will not disclose completely how it ended but I guess the power and charm that blood red poppies hold is simply irresistible.
