Review of When the Weather is Fine

This show is slow. While I like drama that takes its time to fully develop its characters and storyline, I still find this a little too slow for my liking. Yet, somehow I was never bored and I wanted to find out more as each key character gets closer to others... That the story takes place in a bookstore with no customers, in the countryside near a small town during winter, with almost no dramatic actions to speak of other than a slow reveal of the backstory of each of the main characters probably tell us something. That life can be simple, banal or boring. But it can also be sad, beautiful, heartbreaking or heartwarming. It's really up to each person to decide what you want in life, how actively you want to achieve that goal, how you allow it to affect your happiness if the goal is not achieved. The goal may be as typical as finding love or as banal as being content with your simple life.

The winter countryside scenery is beautiful but filmed in a very understated way which I find brings out the mood of this show. There are a few surprises or twists in the story but they are not the real focus or the highlights. What keeps us interested are the relationships between the characters and the emotional journeys they go through. In this respect, the ending is a good fit with the mood of the story. I like it that the show starts in winter and ends at the imminent arrival of spring. Life goes on and hope is in the air...

I enjoyed this show very much despite its slow pace. The experience is a little like reading a book in a quiet corner, in your own rythme, sipping a coffee and taking the time to contemplate here and there.