‘Page Turner’… An amiable mini-series about friendships, dreams, and music.
Page Turner has one of the most exceptional opening scenes; it lasts for almost half an hour, but within that time, we meet Yoon Yo Seul (Kim So Hyun), Seo Jin Mok (Shin Jae Ha), and Cha Sik (an earnest Ji Soo), and we see their different personas, their relationship with one another, and with those around them, all through their actions in leading up to and in a competition (Cha Sik participates in a sports meet, while the other two in a musical contest) and through interjecting flashbacks, masterly weaved into the present narrative that provide details and reflect the jealousy, anger and resentment that the characters feel towards one and another.
Except for the running commentary from two students from the audience, the exposition is a perfect introduction for a show that is equipped with a short running time.
A Page Turner is someone…who well, turns the pages of the music sheet during your musical performance. This becomes a crucial aspect of the performance when the player is not versed with the music and if the page is turned too fast or too slow, it can ruin the entire performance.
This actual definition is displayed in the very first episode when Jin Mok purposefully drops Yoo Seul’s music sheet to sabotage the performance but later, when an unexpected event occurs, the Page Turner changes into the metaphorical meaning. Like how Yoo Seul continues her performance unfazed, can she do the same with her life?
Page Turner’s biggest strength lies in the way Yoo Seul, Jin Mok, and Cha Sik support each other and push each other to always succeed. Even though they don’t get along with one another, there is no blatant jealousy between them that causes them to pull down each other to rise up. We empathise with each one and understand from where all the pain and anger is coming from. All Jin Mok wants is validation that he is talented and gifted enough to become a pianist, all Yoo Seul wants is some breathing space, and all Cha Sik wants is a dream to live for again.
This is where my problem with the show comes in. Though they tried to make it as convincing as possible (and also addressed the issues of it being completely unfeasible) of Cha Sik learning to play complex pieces of music in just three months, I wasn’t completely sold out on the fact that his mother decided to direct him to become a pianist (from a pole vaulter) to begin with. But even with this slight plothole, Ji Soo is completely convincing as the eager, childlike and hardworking Cha Sik. The bigger problem, however, was how after such an excellent performance, he is still playing supporting roles in the shows that followed?
