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?
Blake’s 7.
The world is shit. Fascism keeps coming back from collapse. Everyone is out for themselves. Peaceful revolution falls apart immediately. Violence actually gets results. Stupid people and stupid decisions bring everything crashing down.
The only part that doesn’t feel true to life is all the space oddities that exceed anything on Earth.
Primer
It has a vibe. A proper science fiction / mythology / tripping / mystic / religion vibe. Reality shakes. The world crumbles away to reveal something else.
Matrix and Chronicle have it a bit too, but lesser.
“Mythic Quest”. It very much mirrored the work place dynamics at the creative place I worked at for a decade. It made me question whether I was too broken and far gone to function outside of it. Time will tell.
“The Studio” is another one. I actually had to stop watching the show, because of how much anxiety it was causing me. It’s really well done.
Firefly. Perfect combination of space and wild west.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Back when I was single and living alone, I did my share of nature photography, mainly landscapes and wildlife. Sitting for hours, waiting for the perfect moment, was my meditation. And yes, there were times where I just lived for the moment, rather than taking the pucture.
I saw the movie a few years after I settled down, and it triggered my only occasion where I questioned my life choices and wondered what might have been if I remained alone and unattached.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Yeah life is rigged. What’re you gonna do, cry about it? Or get all your buddies together and turn to face life, and say “Who the hell do you think I am?”. Row row, flight the power.
500 Days of Summer. Had no idea what I was about to do to my relationship. In a way, it just sped up the inevitable, but damn. I was not ready to see our relationship resonated down my throat that hard. Still hurts.
Oofh. I sorry friend, it’s a fantastic movie but also a rough watch. Hope things are better now! 🤗
If you haven’t seen it, “Don Jon” (also staring Levitt!) approached the same flawed relationship story from a totally different angle but in a quite fuflling way.
Not my all time favorited but truly an unforgettable gem:
The Good Place.
Not only does it tackle the toughest questions in life, its the perfect thought experiment: okay, let’s say you have a heaven, what then?
I was not okay when that show ended. I caught myself zoning off and staring into the distance a lot that month. It really reframed things.
I got really into Six Feet Under 20 years ago. I kind of feel like The Good Place was like it’s surreal, light-hearted successor in some way. Life, death. One is messy and chaotic and dramatic and awful. Then death happens and everything gets really weird.
Logan
Watching Professor X mentally decline hit so fucking close to home. When it came out, I had just lost my grandad (who raised me), and it was like watching a home movie in certain parts. Stewart nailed the fog of dementia that can ebb ad flow, and the relationship between him and Wolverine was pitch perfect.
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.
Season 1 of The Last of Us. I was very close to my dad, and my real dad isn’t my biological dad. I miss him and I’m often in !dadforaminute@lemmy.world
Watching a daddy daughter relationship develop was really powerful for me, I have NEVER connected with a show or film so much. They weren’t biological and started as strangers just like me and my real dad, but they fiercely were at the end. I couldn’t watch s2 because s1 is perfect for me and I don’t want to change that.
Good call on not watching season 2. You’re not missing out
Yeah I just finished season 2 and was super meh compared to the first. It did get a bit better the last couple episodes but the first half of the season was a melodramatic snooze fest.
Yep so I gather! I got spoiled about The Event in the 2nd game when I looked into the plot, it’s just not for me. S2 just doesn’t seem to be any good as well
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The hardest part of life is the problems you can’t just decapitate with a sword.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_the_Legendary_Heroes
Ryner just wants to take a nap but he’s the main character. He literally gets thrown in jail and is OK with it so he can nap. He writes essays on napping.
I, too, just wanna nap
They didn’t make me a manager until I had been on the job for over a decade.
One day I look at an old favorite, “The Dirty Dozen.”
Early on, the Major is ordered to meet with the General, who tells him he has to train twelve condemned prisoners for a suicide mission behind the German lines. The Major obeys the orders, but opines that whoever came up with the plan must be insane. The General tells him to shut up and go; then the General tells his staff that the idea is insane.
Then the Major has to meet the troops and convince each man that it’s in his best interests to join the mission.
Being given stupid orders and then having to lead a bunch of psychos and idiots to achieve the goal is the essence of being a middle manager.
Northern Exposure, I think it captures something universal about living in a small town.
I haven’t revisited it in some time, but I loved Northern Exposure as a teen. Shit, I even applied to (but didn’t attend) The University of Alaska Fairbanks from Florida. They called to make sure I wasn’t just fucking with them, but I don’t think the admissions person had it in them to put on the hard sell.
