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Pachinko Critics Review: Lee Min Ho's Web Series On Apple TV+ Impresses Critics Across The World
Lee Min Ho, Minha Kim, Youn Yuh Jung-starrer K-drama Pachinko was recently released on Apple TV+ for the global audience. With the first three episodes, the show has already impressed fans as well as critics
Lee Min Ho, Minha Kim, Youn Yuh Jung-starrer K-drama Pachinko was recently released on Apple TV+ for the global audience. With the first three episodes, the show has already impressed fans as well as critics across the world.
Directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon, Pachinko takes place across Japan occupied South Korea from 1910 to Japan in 1989. Following one Korean family through the generations, the show begins with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family. Her unplanned pregnancy threatens to bring shame to the family. However, after being deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved by a young tubercular minister who marries her and brings her to Japan.
The show has been praised for its cinematography as well as the performances by the leading stars Lee Min Ho, Minha Kim, Youn Yuh Jung and others. The eight-part series is based on the 2017 bestseller written by Min Jin Lee.
NYTimes' Mike Hale said "Pachinko the TV series has a thoroughly contemporary sensibility, and it works overtime to ingratiate itself with all possible viewers." He also talked about Hollywoodization of the project, however, he said, "But beneath its shine and its likability, Pachinko is pretty ordinary - a lot of hard work has gone into making something easily digestible."
Meanwhile, Sneha Biswas of TOI praised the show and said the makers used Pachinko (the arcade game) as a delightful "metaphor to explore the hopes and dreams of a woman, Sunja and her Korean immigrant family." She added, "Each character brings their best to the story with their honest shades of grey. Lee Min Ho deserves a special mention for shedding his boy-next-door appeal and stepping into the shoes of an anti-hero character."
Daniel D'Addario of Variety said, both directors Kogonada and Justin Chon have developed a "crystalline distinction between timelines and worlds," and added "Pachinko does not, finally, cohere. One yearns for the show that let its key moments sing without the at-times forced collisions between eras, ones that can keep viewers feeling both on the hook and in the dark."
Pachinko is currently streaming on Apple TV+.
