COUNTRY SPIRIT

Cast
Gordon Lam- Ah Shun
Charmaine Sheh- Shun Fung
40 chapters
Before watching this series, I didn't really like Charmaine Sheh or Gordon Lam due to their performances in the serial "Crimson Sabre". It was quite boring, and Charmaine didn't exactly play her 'evil' role very well. In "Seven Sisters", at times she was annoying. I thought that in this series was going to be boring because of Gordon and Charmaine, but I decided to give a chance since my Mom brought it home anyway. That's when I completely changed my point of view on both of them.
Plot
This story is about a poor girl named Shun Fung (Charmaine Sheh) who makes money by pulling a small boat across the water for other people. Her father is always drinking and her brother is not "sang sing", as in learning to act like an adult. He always lies and tricks his sister, along with his father. Ah Shun (Gordon Lam) lives with his mother who's a bit 'crazy' since her husband left her. Ah Shun makes money off working at the winery. In the beginning, Shun Fung highly dislikes Ah Shun because... well... she's got a bit of an attitude. As the story progresses, she will begin to like him, but unfortunately, she is forced to marry *Joe Ma*. Everyone is really mean to her and Ah Shun is the only one who actually cares.
My Ratings for Characters
Charmaine Sheh- She was excellent in this series. She could be bratty, serious, and make you cry all at the same time and in the same series. She was a bit bratty in the beginning, but that made it funny! And at times, she made me cry because everyone was being mean to her and stuff. She clearly portrayed her character well, and acted stubborn perfectly!
Performance rate: 5/5
Gordan Lam- He was excellent in this series as well. He played a dumb character very well, considering Ah Shun was a gullible guy with... basically NO self-respect. Eating food off the floor, getting pushed around... he REALLY needed a stubborn girl with an attitude like Shun Fung to teach him how to have self-respect. He did really well in this series, and was really funny at times too.
Performance rate- 4.5/5
Sheren Tang- She played the owner of the winery's sister. She played her role really well also. I don't really like her though, in my opinion, her acting is a bit unnatural. She is all right though, her acting is decent.

Performance rate- 3/5
Yuen Wah- He played a wine expert. He has the funniest role in this serial! He had a crush on Sheren Tang, so it was really funny between the two of them. As usual, he's a consistent actor, so he acted very well. Nothing new here, he's just GREAT as usual.
Performance rate- 4/5
Joe Ma- One word: ANNOYING! He was an annoying character in here. First, he was childhood friends with Gordon. Then later when he finds out Charmaine and Gordon love each other, he totally ditches them and almost gets both of them killed! Maybe he's all right, but I clearly disliked his character. I didn't think he was that good in this series, either, in my personal opinion.
Performance rate- 2.5/5
Winnie Yeung- I felt they chose the wrong girl to play her character See Chy in this series. There was not much character development for her and her character was hardly in the serial. I didn't even know what See Chy's real personality was considering how much screen time she had. I felt she did a lot better in "Gods of Honour". Besides she kinda looks like Sheren Tang! She didn't have many facial expressions here either.
Performance rate- 3/5
Tsang Wai Kin- In the beginning, he was REALLY good. He played a short-tempered but nice guy in the beginning, and in the end, he was a selfish man and a coward. He played his role flawlessly. He can make you like him, and make you hate him. He played two roles in this serial, so it's amazing how he could make the two characters seem totally different. As usual, he delivered an excellent performance as he did in "Treasure Raiders" and "Gods of Honour".
Performance Rate- 4.5/5
My View on the Series
This was overall an excellent serial. I highly recommend it. The first few episodes just explained about how wine is made and introduced the characters, so it might be a bit boring, but when Shun Fung and Ah Shun meet, the tears begin, and the interesting storyline comes in! You have to watch this series, rent or buy, but JUST WATCH IT! I really recommend it if you're a fan of Charmaine or Gordon. And if you just want to watch a sad serial for once, watch it. And if you don't like Charmaine, give her a chance here! She really has improved throughout the years. In my opinion, this was a well-developed story. Unlike most ancient and modern TVB serials, this is semi-ancient semi-modern, not exactly kung fu and all that, but not exactly modern clothes either. You'll learn so much about the poor and appreciate what you have. The love between Ah Shun and Shun Fung is great here. They had great chemistry and great acting. Unlike the ancient series where this guy sees a pretty girl and they fall in love right away, this series actually shows their love progress. It has 40 enjoyable episodes, too!
PS I do not own this review.