Persona (2019–2023) User Reviews

A production's strategic mistake, but, for the most part, good content.

[JustAManWithoutFace · 7/10 · 15 April 2019]

'Persona' is an anthology of four histories dealing with love, revenge and death. These are stand-alone episodes and they deserve to be rated in that way. But now I'm judging the product ('Persona') as one entire piece.

I would not like to call any form of art as a waste of time, but 'Persona' began like this to me. 'Love set' was not anything else than a 15-minute tennis match despite the good acting and the image composition. I almost stop watching the following chapters.

Fortunately, I continued. The three following histories are well scripted, well portrayed. And they are not superficial like the first one. 'Kiss burn' is fun, but also inspiring. You learn there are other elements than revenge to realize yourself. Especially when you are a teen and you are generally angry.

Even though, I would like to focus on chapters 2 and 4 ('Collector' and 'Walking at night'). These are good pieces of film art. They concern deep personal feelings, and, as a viewer, they are able to set you in a mood of tension or give you an embrace of warm sadness.

The storytelling of these two chapters is deliberately unspecific. That aspect joined to the fact of the concrete recurrent obsessions or fears of the characters, it makes you think that these two histories could perfectly have been extracted by one of the Japanese Haruki Murakami's anthologies of short stories.

I give to 'Persona' a rating of 7. It could have been higher if they had got rid of 'Love Match'. I think this is a huge mistake of the producers. But, apart from this fact, I was able to enjoy the remaining part. Especially 'Walking at Night'.

Good

[fatihahilmy · 8/10 · 18 April 2019]

I enjoyed all the series. From the first series, Love Set which is portrays Persona as a child (how she holds her persona till the end) until the last one, Walking At Night with more deep stories in it. We can't tell how people's life been going through (we don't know which persona they used) till they speak themselves. Eventhough its short but each series could expressed the persona itself. Well done. It's worth to watch for me

A somewhat uneven collection of Korean arthouse short stories

[Stinkerspotter · 7/10 · 18 April 2019]

Overall, Persona is an interesting and well-done miniseries that mostly succeeds in exploring its themes.

The miniseries explores what it means to love or care deeply for someone, across the span of four episodes. Each episode is stylistically distinct and unique due to the artistic freedom the four directors were given.

Although the same actress plays the main role in all four episodes, she convincingly portrays four very different characters and aspects of love. This serves as a pleasant thematic connection across all four episodes.

The shortcomings of this project lie in the overall varied quality. Episode 2 and 3 are undoubtedly the strongest. Maybe it was just me but episode 2 reminded me of Under the Skin (2013). Episode 1 fell short due to its bad pacing and jarring use of English, while episode 4 never got interesting, mostly because of its dull script.

Despite this, it is well worth a watch.

PERSONA: Anthology of Arthouse Bizarre

[Jinxxa_Wolf · 7/10 · 22 October 2023]

PERSONA was a well made Korean anthology of stories, but due to the one episode length span of each story there is only so much that can be conveyed in terms of character development and depth, and only so much that can take place, per story, so they don't really hit too deep not as other Korean dramas might, but they were still well made and acted, visually stunning and intriguing. In my opinion the writing struggled in these episodes, but do give the viewer pause to think.

Worth the watch mainly for the quality of the production and the acting by Eun-Ji Lee (IU) and Doona Bae, as well as the capable directing and visual effects.

Episode Rating: LOVE SET [5/10] COLLECTOR [7/10] KISS BURN [8/10] WALKING AT NIGHT [8/10]

What is the point of these stories?

[vanleong-86734 · 2/10 · 25 December 2021]

Have no idea what this series was about. Four unrelated short stories. I was surprised IU would stared in it. And that was the reason I watched.

Still don't see the point of this.

The first short film made by my favorite Korean actress was amazing! I look forward to her future movie journey.

[ccandlily · 9/10 · 16 March 2020]

All four short films were shot in different styles. The first "Love Zero" is a temptation that represents the seduction between maturity and maturity. It reminds me of iu's previous song "Everyone Has a Secret." The second "Long-No-Corruption" is a woman who plays with men and fleeting love. There is a saying I like, "A man chats with a woman to go to bed with her, and a woman wants to chat with a man before going to bed with him. "The third" Kiss is Sin "is an interesting and naughty short film. It means that boys and girls are always full of illusions about whatever they want in their youth, often because their unintentional actions hurt others without knowing it. The fourth "Walking in the Night" is my favorite. The story is set in a dream of walking with the dead at night. I think this method of dealing with the subject of death is very special, although dreams and the like often appear. Scene, but I was the first time to see the dream as a main story directly. In addition, director Jin Zongguan used black and white photography to make the entire film more poetic.

Weird and crazy

[lmerana · 1/10 · 17 March 2020]

Maybe I just don't like these kinds of dramas. It felt weird and crazy and appears to be a black satire. I also feel that the acting of IU are all the same for the four dramas. It has four different stories but it has the same delivery of strong but soft spoken-stoic face acting.

An must watch.

[nehabisht-74631 · 10/10 · 8 May 2021]

Overall an amazing series. This tells the four different personas of an character, although sometimes in a sexual way but contains deep meaning behind every episode. I think it's made for people with more mature mind and great understanding. Cuz I've seen many comments like that they didn't got the show. But in my opinion it's an must watch.

Intriguing, but overall it was good short film

[shantykurniawaty · 9/10 · 18 April 2019]

I love walking at night and collector. I think both of them is the most intriguing one. The love set was kind of confusing, but still it was fun to watch.

I love it! All the stories are very intriguing and fun to watch!

[erlinda-62107 · 10/10 · 18 April 2019]

It's an omnibus, consists of 4 different stories each made by different directors with IU as the muse and main lead 1. Love Set (Lee Kyung Mi PD) 2. Collector (Im Pil Sung PD) 3. Kiss Burn (Jeon Go Woon PD) 4. Walking at Night (Kim Jong Kwan PD)

1. Love Set Talks about a childish girl named IU who envy of Doona (her father's girlfriend as well as IU's english teacher) but at the same time doesn't want her dad to marry Doona. Lee Kyung Mi director made new looks for actress Lee Ji Eun in this movie, diferent from the old IU. Rather than 'polite, lovely' appearance, it's 'evil/ foul' IU. I love how the director filled this movie with tennis actions between two women without any lines throughout running time. IU's father and IU's boyfriend are all excluded at that moment. Only two women's misunderstanding and antagonism as well as steps to understanding projected through out the movie. Psychological warfare. I also love how both actresses act with their facial expressions. Also that moment when Doona's finger caressed IU's hand makes me thinking about the possibility of girl x girl love in this movie. The story is too short and the way the director took the angles in very unusual ways make the viewers interpreted the movie differently (student x teacher; father x daughter; girl x girl).

2. Collector It is a grotesque fantasy genre movie. Jeong Woo (Park Hae Soo) is suspicious of Eun (IU/ Lee Ji Eun). Kim Jeong Woo thinks that Eun's carefree nature is the main problem of their relationship. Actually, Eun is not a human but she is a witch, that's why there are a lot of witch's knots symbolisms through out the episode (the tattoos on her feet and chest also the drawings on the wall when she's doing yoga). The more Jong Woo eager to posses her, the more Eun asks of him. The "White room" controlled by Eun, reveals relationship problems between lovers. Eun is a witch (not human) who kills pushover men Witches used knotted cords to 'tie up' the weather, to create circles of protection and to bind things magically. Collector was made based on the discussions between Im Pil Sung director and IU about IU's song "Jam Jam" which the lyrics said "I'll keep it preserved so it won't rot, for a long time." This movie makes me think a lot. Searched the clues here and there, then analyzed the witch's knot, Patanjali's yoga sutra, and white room. I love how the director made Eun's character to be twisted in the end. I even had goosebumps watching it for a few times.

3. Kiss Burn Hyebok (Shim Dal Gi), caught for having hickeys by her father. The scenes show signs of violence as her hair got chopped and she was trapped at house without being able to go out. Her best friend, Hana (Lee Ji Eun) can not stand Hyebok's situation anymore and decided to intervene. Hyebok who was unable to fight her father and currently trapped, was fired up by Hana's words "We can't just sit back, let's get revenge." That's how the two friends getting bolder and exciting repertories against patriarchal violence begin. Kiss Burn is literally because of the kiss, Hyebok got beaten by dad, her hair got cut of and her best friend, Hana come to rescue and revenge for her. This story was made based on Jeon Go Woon dorector's own memory in high school. Kiss Burn tells about the mischiefs of high school students. The story is very light and funny but we all can relate to it the most.

4. Walking at Night Small talks between two lovers, Ji Eun (IU/ Lee Ji Eun) and K (Jung Joon Won) during walk through the night. It seems like an ordinary lover's walk, but their conversations are somewhat suspicious. Kim Jong Kwan director said previously that this movie is about dream and death. He also said that he got the inspiration at his first meeting with IU, right after he saw IU's eyes. He said that she looks lonely. Ji Eun, who was lonely, died a while ago and appears in her lover's (K) dream, and looks back on their time spent together. The ghost that Lee Ji Eun potrays is also somewhat diferent, her character is cute and lively. This story is my favorite out of all Persona series. I love the dialogues, the light setting, even the background music and sound effects. She was lonely even though she had a lot of friends bcs the ways of them treating her made her lonely. She also doesn't want K to blame himself for not being able to save her when she was still alive. She also said that no matter how hard people try to remember her, she will eventually be forgotten and no one will remember her. I love how the director used lights to differenciate the ambiance when they talked about death and memory or dream. They talked about death when the lights went off, and they went on when the conversations changed to dreams and memories. The still figures at the background when they walked at the last part show that the time stopped and that's why Ji Eun can meet him inside of his dream and K won't remember anything once the time starts ticking.

If you like kdramas, it's not the same

[prashilprakash13 · 10/10 · 10 July 2020]

This is 4 short films told in a a surreal and black mirror-ish way. IU is great with her acting skills, which she has proven multiple times (specially with 'my mister' IMO)

The 4 films span out to roughly to 1 hour and 20 minutes. And are each directed in a different way as they are directed by different directors.

If you liked IU from "Moon Lovers" and other kdramas like "Dream high" you might not find the same charm.

Don't fret about the low ratings as the sample size is quite low (while I'm writing it)

Its a must watch if you like movies and series which are weird and sometimes create more questions than answers them.

Don't miss it

Dream and death lead to nowhere

[alaningle7 · 8/10 · 25 September 2021]

Four short films starring the incredibly talented Lee Ji-eun ( I. U.) looking at her different personas. It is well produced and each story draws you in and holds your attention. You can enjoy the individual stories or can try to interpret the deeper meaning that each director was probably trying to convey. Whichever you do it is an entertaining set of dramas.

A beautiful experiment

[moldovan_o_alin · 8/10 · 22 April 2019]

Persona. So what is Persona ... well a work made up of 4 short films with only one constant IU (S.K. singer) making here debut as an actress. The only other work I've seen her in is a reality show called Hyori's Homestay so this was curiosity for me to see here debut. She is joined by a cast of grate South Korean actors which I've seen in movies/ dramas so they are skilled and give a believe performance throughout the segments. Regarding IU must say here acting was convincing and it was interesting seeing here go from a bratty teen to a femme fatal to a childish teen and finally to a tragic human. Do the fact that each story it's one universe I will review them as they are. Love Set. Stars Doona Bae, Kim Tae-hoon and Pierce Conran as a woman rival for IU father attention and here would be boyfriend. The segment is an intense tennis match with high stakes, at least from IU characters point of view. I must say it's a well-executed piece from a technical point of view intensity is well conveyed and also the emotions are easily understood, but suffers more from the lack of lengthier development. Also the male actors are relegated to bystanders and not given much the only few interactions given to them dose bring a chuckle I would like to have seen a bit more from them. Collector Stars Park Hae-soo, Bae So-young, Jo Hyuk-sub, Andrew Royce Beasley and Mario Leon Adrion. This story is a more developed one. It's a look on love and the relationship in modern day from a more male perspective, an older man that has a crush / relationship with a younger woman. It's was unsettling (in a good way) to see how easily IU shift gears into a femme fatal in contrast to the first segment. I must say she did a great job and here playing partner Park Hae-soo did an excellent job to portray despair - hope and the shifting between the two throughout them. Kiss Burn This segment stars Shim Dal-gi and Lee Sung-wook , father and daughter who have a bit of a fallout and IU comes with wacky plans to get back at him. I must say this one I found really humoures and would love to see as a full fledged movie. Also I got a really good vibe of Black Cat, White Cat like astatic and absurdity so a good view and my favourite of the 4. Walking at Night The final segment is one that is a beautiful work, first of all it only stars Jung Joon-won opposite to IU. It has reminded me the beauty of white and black movies that relay on shadow play and contrast, it always seems that with shadows you can create a melancholic or frightening scene in transitions from scene to scene. The dialog is also a very sad one is dialog between 2 lovers. It's hard to elaborate without spoiling so I'm saying this; Watch it at your leisure if you want to laugh watch the 3 segment if you want to contemplate on relations in modern day watch segment 2, if you want a sports drama ;) watch segment 1. The 4 one is special (for me at least) I suggest to watch it if you want to take a moment afterword and think over the modern days pitfalls and the pain we cause and can cause with our actions. Also watch it if you wish to maybe take a bit of insight on what happens when you are left ... no more don't want to spoil it. Overall it is a beautiful experiment IU shows good acting skills and interesting ideas are being conveyed through this shorts films that maybe couldn't tell this stories in a full movie without becoming preachy or troublesome.

Deserves better

[snawx · 10/10 · 28 June 2019]

Persona pleasantly surprised me. I didn't expect this mini-series to be so interesting, unique and of high quality!

Each episode had its own unique story, the common factor being the persona. (IU) She appears in each episode as the central point of the storyline. What I noticed was that she was always in control, assertive and had a dominant character in each persona.

The acting wasn't anything special. I could rate it average.

What really stood out to me was the montage, light and sound editing. In those aspects, the episodes were put together almost perfectly, my favourite being the fourth and final one.

Though such short storylines could be a bother to some, it didn't stop the mini-series from being very artistic and well put together. The editing made a great impact on me and each storyline left me wondering afterwards. Not because of a cliffhanger, but because I wanted to know more about the persona.

Overall, this is worth a 10 to me. Considering shows like these are gems in the Korean tv show industry.