what to watch (and read) after when life gives you tangerines
like everybody else i completely fell in love with when life gives you tangerines. i'm a huge fan of family stories & generational stories, so i thought i share my expertise with everyone, uf you are looking for something similar to watch! and for my fellow readers, there will be some book recommendations at the bottom. i will also share my personal pain factor so you can prepare yourself for more tissues. also some of these shows can have some quite triggering content, so please take care of yourself and look into them before to be safe (feel free to ask me too, i will try my best to help)!
1) pachinko (2022-, apple tv+, 16 episodes)
If you loved tangerines please, please watch this! Its one of the best things that has been made this decade and its so underrated! its another generational family set in korea & japan, following the family of korean immigrants in japan during and after the japanese occupation of korea. like tangerines it shows how parents are trying their best for their children even after one to many misfortunes. also from this list its the saddest imo (maybe even a touch sadder than tangerines 😖). Not a big cryier when it comes to media but both shows made me cry frequently. oh, and just to let you know i havent watched season 2 yet, so this is based on season 1 alone.
My overall rating: 🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊/5
2) our blues (2022, netflix, 20 episodes)
another show set on jeju, but modern day! It follows a community of people living on the island and the struggles they face. its kind of an anthology show by shifting on which characters to focus on, but most characters will appear in someway throughout the show. does both focus on family relationships and friendships, romantic relationships. Has bustling fish markets, haenyeo, complicated and flawed characters and beautiful writing.
My overall rating: 🍊🍊🍊🍊.5/5
3) the bond (2021, viki + youtube, 36 episodes)
is set around the same time as tangerines (but in china). following a family who just lost their mother, which causes the eldest son having to raise his younger siblings because their dad is trash. we then follow them all grow up, going through the ups and downs in their life. less so about the parent/child dynamics but still a lot about family and the joy and pain that comes with it.
(there is a short sub plot about the military interventions in taipei (during i belive the 80s or 90s) that i wasnt to fond of how it was handeled. while it only takes up a small part of the show, i wanted to mention it)
4) i'm married... but! (2025, netflix, 12 episodes)
first off all, i wish people would pay more attention to taiwanese cinema. so many great shows that fall under the radar.
but anyways, this is less so similar to the whole shows as it is to the first half which is focused on gwan-siks and ae-suns early marriage. It is about the complexities of marriage and finding a way to communicate better with each other. there are even some scenes that are quite similar, like when ae-sun has to get up in the early moring to fullfill ceremonies that will help her with pregnancy.
1) fatima farheen mirza- a place for us (2018)
like tangerines we have a in depth explorarion of family dynamics. and how you can try your best to be a parent, but at the end of the day you will always have blindspots that end up hurting your child. so beatifully written from different perspectives of the family members. so underrated, so lovely!
2) angie cruz- how not to drown in a glass of water (2022)
a mother looking back at her live so far. slowly her regrets are being revealed of mistakes she made while rasing her sun. a very short read with a very memorable main character
3) hye- jin kim- concering my daughter (trans. jamie chang, 2022)
quite similar to the last book, again a mother reconsindering her relationship with her daughter. its about aging, motherhood and change (and how its never to late to change)
4) min jin lee- pachinko (2017)
and at last the book to the tv show pachinko. while i have to admit that i enjoyed the tv show more, this is still a good book! pretty much everything i said about the tv shows applies her to eventhough i would say that the tv hits harder emotionally.
i hope you can find something to fill the tangerine shaped hole in your heart! always love media about family and generational stories. So feel free to recommend me something back!
dededos
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
andulkaphoto
