This spring, I watched When Life Gives You Tangerines, and I honestly didn’t expect to be so fully transposed. Even though my own experience is tied to French Polynesia and the series is set in South Korea (Jeju), the depiction of island life - the good and the bad - the dream of escaping to the big city (in my case, the “Métropole”; in the series’ case, the mainland), and the struggles of adapting to that big city once you get there as an “exotic” person, all felt so familiar and well done that I cried during every episode. I’m curious - have you ever experienced something like this with a movie or series?
The Good Place - Excellent characters, excellent humor, brilliant commentary, and one of the most thoughtful endings I’ve ever watched.
Ted Lasso - Excellent characters, people who hate sports can still love this show, unexpectedly hilarious (not funny, not humorous, I almost died laughing a few times), the worst character becomes one of the best characters, the nicest character becomes the most tragic characters.
Pachinko - Absolutely perfect in design and execution, the best period piece I’ve ever watched (covers multiple periods, as well), biting (almost damning) commentary on Imperial & Post War Japan, characters you either side with out of the gate or grow to understand and empathize with.