On Children is a 2018 Taiwanese TV Series currently airing on Netflix. It's probably best described as a family drama with some fantasy and horror elements, and it makes for a terrific blend of melodrama and craziness.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
This TV show (I guess you'd call it sort of an omnibus miniseries) essentially consists of 5 different movies that are about 90 minutes each. Each episode/movie is its own self-contained story, and they each have a different cast (although several actors & actresses appear in different roles in more than one episode/movie). You can watch any episode/movie on its own, or in any order; it doesn't matter as they aren't really interconnected in any way. However, they do all share a common thread that's based on mothers wanting a better life for their children and/or themselves, and the effects this has on everyone involved (for better or worse; mostly worse).
I imagine this series would resonate better in Asia than in the West, but the general message translates very well anywhere; after all, doesn't any "loving" mother on the planet want their child to succeed? And as such, many parents will spend a great deal of time, money, and effort in order to accomplish this, and this is particularly true in countries like Taiwan and Southeast Asia in general. The overall goal is for parents to improve their children's lives and futures, and this is obviously a good thing (in theory). But is that what they're really doing, or are they doing it for more selfish reasons? And, are these parents actually causing more harm than good to their children with the ever increasing pressure they put on them to do better?
This series explores the consequences of this "try/work/study harder at all costs mentality" via several themes that are actually quite common, such as; tiger mom syndrome, families trying to rise out of poverty or improve social status, confused young kids trying to cope, parents counting on their children in the future, or controlling or living vicariously through their kids, etc. These are all rather simple stories at their core, and if you didn't know anything about this show at first, you might mistake it for a quaint or semi-serious drama about mostly high school kids and their families, friends, first loves, etc.
Each episode primarily focuses on a mother and her prized child; fathers are only occasionally relevant to these stories. It's clear from the start that most everyone involved has problems and relationship issues, and this often leads to the child or parent being depressed, falling behind in school, getting divorced, losing face, going crazy, committing suicide, or worse. The mothers come across as rather unlikeable in most every instance; too demanding, too controlling, and too self-centered. They view their offspring more like a property investment that must produce dividends, as opposed to a child that also needs some fun and love every now and then.
While watching these stories unfold, you're often momentarily lulled into forgetting that this "melodramatic family mini-series" also happens to be VERY dark and surreal much of the time. It is excellent at mixing melodrama and sci-fi/fantasy genres together very effectively, as all of these stories are each set against the backdrop of a dystopian future, a parallel universe, a world that has a wish granting animal or a time altering remote control, and so forth. These settings and circumstances serve to augment the main story lines, and this series did a terrific job of weaving its way back and forth between simple or serious (and sometimes endearing) everyday moments, to the often bizarre and crazy fantasy world that it coexists with.
Each episode was well written and directed, and all of them were quite effective. The actors were very good in their roles overall, and some the younger ones were outstanding. Production values aren't lacking either; Taiwan doesn't have "Hollywood money" to throw around, so don't be expecting a lot of super-duper special effects or CGI, but nothing looks cheap at all (except for maybe the goofy Stormtrooper dudes of the future). In fact, this show is shot and framed very well, and the bulk of these episodes look downright gorgeous with their wild imagery and use of various visual themes (from sterile white environments, to a variety of hues, on up to some extremely vivid color palettes).
This show/series does many things well, but storytelling is what it does best. And, in typical Asian cinematic fashion, it often blurs the line between protagonists and antagonists, and you never quite know which direction a story will go. Maybe things will work out for everyone, or someone, or maybe nobody; Good Luck trying to figure out what will happen to the primary characters in any given episode, and how each story will be resolved.
You might not quite understand some of the customs and differences of another culture (if you're not already familiar with it), but it's not so "foreign" that you can't understand the overall theme and story. And yeah, you'll have to read subtitles to watch this (if you don't know the language). NOTE; there may be an option for you to watch this dubbed in English (or another language), but DON'T DO IT! If you cannot watch a foreign production from any other country in their native language (with subtitles as/if needed), then you are wasting your time; you will just miss out on the nuances and subtleties of the actor's performances that post-production voice over artists simply can't replicate.
Ratings: No sex or nudity whatsoever. Some blood and occasional violence. Occasionally creepy. Not for little kids. Do your diligence otherwise.
Summary: This is a highly entertaining genre mixing project that combines common timely themes with some creative storytelling and a good dose of the bizarre to great effect.
Bottom Line: VERY GOOD! 8 out of 10 stars.
