Like a Chinese saying goes.. 人生如戏，戏如人生. Our life is like a drama, with its ups and downs. What we see on the television, we see it in everyday life and vice versa. Everyone has a story behind them, be it a stranger on the street or family members, each of us has a different story to tell. Although there is a difference in the storyline, we share similar philosophies.
This reminds me of a 1999 Japanese drama that I am very fond of, Over Time (オーバー・タイム). Set in the year 2000, the show was about a young newspaper photographer and a 30-year-old hairdresser. Written by Eriko Kitagawa, directed by Kozo Nagayama and Hideki Takeuchi, starring Takeshi Sorimachi, Makiko Esumi and Yoshino Kimura, this drama was a popular television drama in 1999. Unfortunately this title is not on sale already.
Even though efforts were made to make this a light-hearted drama, I personally feel that the main theme is about life. Yes, to emphasize the main theme, the characters play the well-known boardgame, The Game of Life (known simply as LIFE[1]). Come to think of it, Life is also like a game...Following the characters in the story, one is introduced to the different characters' own philosophy of life which I find very insightful. One of them was portrayed in the first episode as shown here about viewing our problems from a different point of view to search for an answer or solution. The character, Soichirou, also brought to my mind about ethics in our area of work. As a photographer for a newspaper, one is often caught in a dilemma between what one believes in and what their work requires of them.
Every episode, every scene is equally captivating and stimulating. The story is written in a way that allows the viewer to relate to the moral of the story (hmm.. sounds like Moses Lim in Under One Roof), thus beckoning the viewer to continue watching.
Every episode, every scene is equally captivating and stimulating. The story is written in a way that allows the viewer to relate to the moral of the story (hmm.. sounds like Moses Lim in Under One Roof), thus beckoning the viewer to continue watching.
Overtime (episode 1) – You tube
Entertaining yet inspirational, I feel that this one of the best drama I have seen. Besides Over Time, there are other Japanese dramas that have similar themes but I still feel that Over Time is unique in its own way. Titles like Long Vacation and Beautiful Life are just some of them. All in all, we have many different ways of telling our stories and ultimately, ultimately they share the same theme – Life and its philosophies
[1] The Game of Life – Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_of_Life)
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