There are many reasons why the new South Korean drama When Life Gives You Tangerines — in four seasons (two of which have already streamed on Netflix) — must be watched by every fan of human dramas.
Although deeply rooted in Korean culture, this drama emphatically embraces universal humanism. Who doesn’t feel the pangs of love while the harvests of history are being reaped all around?
Balancing The Political And The Personal
The interplay between the political and the interpersonal is remarkably achieved. Director Kim Won-seok’s worldview is purely cultural; he avoids volatile regional politics to focus on the communal rhythms of a seafaring, sea-loving community. A similar attempt was made in the Telugu film Thandel recently — but with far fewer undercurrents.
Much of the conversation, essential to constructing intimacy, converges on the elderly women of the tiny fishing village. They define daily life through the various fish species they catch and serve as tangential sutradhars (narrators) with their asides and chuckling observations.
A Timeless Love Story Across Decades
At the centre of this delicately drawn drama — marked by brutal passages on life’s vicissitudes — are Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, a couple in love from their youthful beginnings to the shores of mortality. Their epic love story spans decades, beginning in the 1950s.
Although Ae-sun and Gwan-sik are portrayed by different actors in their later years, it is their adolescence and young adulthood that linger in the mind. Young actors IU and Moon Woo-jin capture innocence and its end with glorious instinctiveness, imbuing their roles with restless anxiety, awareness, and acceptance of the challenges they face together.
Love, In Its Purest Form
Love, as they say, is a many-splendoured thing. I have rarely seen a more heartfelt portrayal of ‘true love’ in any film or series. Ae-sun is the whining, demanding, and confused half of the pair. Gwan-sik suffers from no uncertainties; he knows, on behalf of both, that their love is for keeps.
Looking back at this lengthy series (with no corners cut), two episodes stand out. First, when Ae-sun bawls and wails as Gwan-sik’s ship leaves the shore — after she insists he must go for her to grow. Second, when an irreversible tragedy overtakes their lives, leaving a lasting impact.
Minor Flaws Amidst Brilliance
Not that When Life Gives You Tangerines is without flaws. I found the crisscross of conversations and clannish cadences among the village folk too tenebrous and undefined at times. Writer Lim Sang-choon could have telescoped the couple’s life without making the village a constant presence. It sometimes feels distracting. But perhaps that’s the point — no individual and no relationship grows outside its environment.
