If you have ever read the anthology Winesburg Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, the play Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, or Thr Gift ofThe Magi by O'Henry, or even the clasdic anime Naruto, you will instantly recognize the small town human drama motif. Each story is a small tragedy. Each episode highlights the use of a single magical sci-fi element in the hands of one foolish but very relatable if somewhat stereotypical character, to tell the tale of the power and the cost of poor human judgment magnified by that magical tech. This isn't really science fiction at all so much as a popular theme from fantasy fiction : the philosopher's stone. The slow pace and cinematography, as well as the exceptional acting help make up for an extremely lean and somewhat predictable anthology that by science fiction standards is extremely weak. The questions the story introduces as you meet the characters, place, time and tech are never answered. No one is ever redeemed. But everyone suffers. The tragedy is often created by simple poor communication. Just like the poorest of story writing. Characters don't listen to tech other or believe each other. Generally adults never believe their kids in any story. When a simple explanation would suffice from a character, they choose to remain silent, or simply aren't there, making the inevitable tragedy to come predictable. Each story follows this identical pattern, reliably. The one consistent element is that the charaters are well fleshed out and relatable. You will finish watching each episode highly impressed with the acting, direction and cinematography, but saddened and disappointed by the superficiality of the main characters and the tragedy resulting from their human failings. In some ways it is the same story elements repeated over and over. Unlike Winesburg Ohio, Our Town or The Martian Chronicles, there are no moments of hope or triumph to offset and deepen the tragedy. While the characters are nicely drawn, the script writing of their interactions is terribly thin. In these interactions the characters become two dimensional. It's actually hard to watch. This reflects the limitations of the script. Good characters weak dynamics. This belies the work of a technically brilliant writer who has yet to fully understand and experience the range of humanity.
Spoiler alert In one episode a young boy and girl experience a month together and then break up. In the midst of their romance the boy tells the girl he loves her, and she responds weakly with the same, in Chinese, "Wo Ai Nee". At the end after they break up the boy tries to forgive the girl and indirectly all for forgiveness. He says again "Wo Ai Nee" but as she can't forgive him she turns and walks away. And the story ends. But a moe mature author might have wrapped this up with a little more dialog, bringing closure and understanding, placing the tragedy into the simplicity and immaturity of youth....
Boy "Wo Ai Nee!" Girl, angrily, "I don't know what that means!" and turns and walks away. Boy quietly to himself, "I know." End.
These are missing elements of human dynamics that leave the viewer with a sense of thin storytelling, but masterful technique.
Spoiler alert In one episode a young boy and girl experience a month together and then break up. In the midst of their romance the boy tells the girl he loves her, and she responds weakly with the same, in Chinese, "Wo Ai Nee". At the end after they break up the boy tries to forgive the girl and indirectly all for forgiveness. He says again "Wo Ai Nee" but as she can't forgive him she turns and walks away. And the story ends. But a moe mature author might have wrapped this up with a little more dialog, bringing closure and understanding, placing the tragedy into the simplicity and immaturity of youth....
Boy "Wo Ai Nee!" Girl, angrily, "I don't know what that means!" and turns and walks away. Boy quietly to himself, "I know." End.
These are missing elements of human dynamics that leave the viewer with a sense of thin storytelling, but masterful technique.