“At the Moment”(此時此刻) is latest taiwanese drama now available on Netflix! “At the Moment” is not only directed by four directors, but also invited 10 bands and singers to create their own songs for each unit of the story in order to make the story and emotions of the movie even more fulfilling, so that we can satisfy our visual and auditory senses at the same time! What’s more, the cast of 20 actors/actresses is one of distinctive features of this drama because they are currently most famous entertainers in Taiwan.
The core message conveyed by this drama
The background is set in Taipei during the covid-pandemic period, “At the Moment” realistically depicts the 10 facets of modern love.”At This Moment” is a drama that unfolds against the backdrop of an unexpected pandemic in the year 2020, where the world is forced to come to a standstill. The pandemic restricts human movement, but in this moment, people also confront the unpredictability of life. Individuals begin to reevaluate their relationships with family and friends, reflecting the changing dynamics and priorities in the midst of a new and uncertain reality.
In addition to delicately laying out each character’s state of mind and conflicts when confronting their feelings, it also skillfully connects the characters of different units, allowing them to be accidentally interspersed in other people’s stories, which adds a sense of surprise and authenticity to the overall plot.
The only drawback is that this drama is divided into different storylines without the strong backbone main line, and each espisode is kind of indepdent of each other.
I selected some clips of some episodes for the introduction below
Episode 2:The Night in Question 站一個晚上
This episode is describing the uncanny romance between a single hearing-impaired man and a single mother who is doing massange therapy for her occupation.
Liu Chun-chien(劉俊謙) plays the role of “Da Jun(大俊)” a hearing-impaired food delivery driver in the drama. He eagerly anticipates spending a night with a massage therapist he has long admired. The role is taken over by Guo Xuefu(郭雪芙), who plays the massage therapist “Yang Qianqian(楊蒨蒨)” During the massage, Da Jun experiences a erection reaction, while Qianqian is facing economic pressure and unexpectedly proposes a fee for additional sex services. This sets the stage for a unique and unconventional love story between a single man and a single mother.
Guo Xuefu, in order to portray the role of a professional massage therapist, went the extra mile to learn from experts and expressed admiration for the challenges and skills involved in this profession. Liu Chun-chien emphasizes that Da Jun is not a frivolous character but someone with a pure desire for love and to be loved. It is his first attempt at portraying a hearing-impaired individual, and he dedicated significant effort to learning sign language and gestures to authentically convey the character’s experiences.
Episode 7:The Promise of Karuizawa 說好的輕井澤
This episode is about issues of two-timer and marriage cheat.
I’m not sure if there are actually people in real life who catch cheaters and end up falling in love with the cheater’s partner. In the drama, hosts Dee Hsu(徐熙娣)’s husband and Wu Kang-ren(吳慷仁)’s wife have an affair and cheat on each other respectively. As a result, Dee and Wu also develop a mutual attraction despite the taboo nature of their relationship.
【顧家不是我一個人的責任，要兩個人一起才叫顧家】
One key quote from the drama is, “Taking care of the family is not solely my responsibility; it takes both of us.” This statement challenges the conventional notion of family responsibility that women usually sacrifice more like giving up the original career and social network.
【閉上眼睛是為了逃避，不去看該看的東西，睜一眼，閉一隻眼，就可以什麼都看到，也可以假裝什麼都看不到，我們所不願意去面對的，是曾經說好的幸福，到最後只剩下無止境的忍耐，不願意相信的，是當初說好的承諾，所有說好的，最後卻只剩下一個人要去完成】
“Closing our eyes is an escape, a refusal to confront what needs to be seen. Opening one eye while closing the other allows us to see everything or pretend to see nothing at all. What we are unwilling to confront is the happiness we once promised, reduced in the end to endless endurance. Unwilling to believe is the commitment we initially agreed upon. All the promises once made, in the end, leave only one person to fulfill them.”
When discovering that your partner is having an affair, the choice to confront or pretend not to see can be tough. Initially, people feel shocked and hard to accept, and the pain for many lies not just lie in the partner’s infidelity but also in the realization that the beautiful memories and promises made together will be buried along with the infidelity. The cost of cheating is significant – it’s not just losing one person but losing the shared past and future of two people together.
Episode 8:Head of the Family 一家之主
The episode “The Head of the Family” stars Xiu Jie Kai(修杰楷) and Liu Pin Yan(劉品言). This episode portrays a story where the husband is responsible for household chores while the wife works outside, delving not only into romantic relationships but also exploring concepts of traditional family marriage. Xiu Jie Kai plays the role of Su Bo-rui(蘇柏睿), a procurement manager at a food company, who informs his wife Zeng Wan-yu (曾婉瑜) that he has been laid off by the company. Wan-yu, not accustomed to the life of a housewife, chooses to return to the workforce. However, their peaceful life is disrupted when Wan-yu’s mother unexpectedly visits, throwing their relationship into crisis.
Episode 10:Based on True Events 真實故事改編
This episode is about the issue of the romance relationship between younger man and older woman, which is also called mother-son love relationship(母子戀).
In the tenth episode, Jia Jingwen(賈靜雯) portrays the producer of a romance reality show, “Zhou Liwen(周莉文)”. Zeng Jinghua(曾敬驊) plays the role of her assistant, “Wang Kejie(王可杰)” Their ambiguous interactions evolve from a superior-subordinate relationship to a sister-brother romance. Zeng Jinghua passionately gazes at Jia Jingwen and tightly holds her hand, sweetly proposing, “Would you marry me?” In the latter part of the scene, their eyes look at each other, and they gradually draw closer. Liwen takes the initiative to reach out and gently caress Kejie’s face. The unfolding of their sister-brother romance leaves viewers curious about its future development.
Lastly, do not forget to use Language Reactor to to read the Mandarin scripts with pinyin and English explaination. Learning mandarin while watching dramas in couch is really fun!
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