[Movie Note] 5 Movies for Your Career: Finding Work-Life Hints on the Screen

Hello, this is Shibamoto.

“When things aren't going well at work, what should I rethink?”
As for me, when I was in my second year of working, I couldn't do my job at all, and I stubbornly held onto the second-worst sales record.

If I were to give some lighthearted advice to my past self from back then, it would be to “watch movies.”

Movies are not just entertainment. They are another reality where you can experience someone else's life, and they are also a “collection of career hints” that can shake up your way of working and your values.

In this article, I will introduce five movies that supported me when I was lost in my career or struggling with my path. Not only are they all compelling stories, but they are also works that will prompt you to face essential questions like “What does it mean to work?” and “How do you carve out your own life?”

Please take some time to rethink your own career through the screen.

1. The Bucket List (2007)

This is a story about two men who are told they have six months to live and decide to carry out a “bucket list” of things they want to do before they die.
However, I think what this movie is really depicting is not the “second half of life,” but the “current location of one's career.”

The feeling of being chased by work, realizing you've aged, and suddenly stopping to wonder, “Have I left behind what I really wanted to do?” is something that can happen to anyone at any age.

This movie teaches us that a career is not just an accumulation of promotions and job changes, but the very act of “choosing a life that is true to yourself.”
And that it is never too late to make that choice.

2. Living (2022)

A quiet, moving film about Mr. Williams, a rigid civil servant nearing retirement who is diagnosed with cancer and begins to re-evaluate his life.

The protagonist's transformation from a way of working where he just “gets through” each day to a work philosophy of “for whom and what do I leave behind?” is something that many people, regardless of age or occupation, will surely empathize with.

What is particularly noteworthy is the final scene. From the sight of him quietly singing while swinging on the swing set in the completed park, the pride of a person who “finished the job for someone else,” even if it was “unnoticed work,” oozes out.

When you are tired of your daily routine, or when your career becomes hard to see,
this work will ask you once again about the “meaning of working.”

3. Hotel Mumbai (2018)

The 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that actually occurred.
This is the true story of the staff members who risked their lives to protect the guests left behind in the hotel during that time.

What is depicted in this movie is the ultimate form of a “professional career.”
Even though they had the option to “run away,” the actions of the staff who prioritized “protecting the guests” and tried to fulfill their duties show their resolve and pride in their careers.

This is a work that poignantly drives home the fact that a career is not about impressive titles or flashy achievements, but an accumulation of the attitude of “who am I working for?”

4. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Jamal, a young man raised in the slums of Mumbai, India, answers questions correctly one after another on a popular quiz show, leading to suspicions about how he knows the answers.
The answers were all found within his own past life experiences.

This film presents the perspective that "success in a career is about the meaning you give to your past." The sight of him, with no academic background or work history, using his lived experiences as a weapon to carve out his life, gives great courage to those of us living in today's diverse working world.

When you find yourself wondering, "What good has anything I've done so far actually been?", this is the one film that will shine a different light on your past.

5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Andy, a banker, is sentenced to life in prison for a crime he did not commit and is incarcerated for 20 years. However, he does not view that terrible environment as a "place of despair."

What this film teaches us is that "the outcome changes significantly depending on how you interpret things." In a space where everyone else had lost hope and become accustomed to the daily grind, Andy alone continued to create "meaningful time." He organized the library, provided educational opportunities for his fellow inmates, and, while navigating a corrupt system, prepared step by step until he finally carved out a future.

A career is exactly the same. When you feel like blaming your environment or your treatment, changing how you interpret things can drastically change the view you see. It is a masterpiece filled with both hope and reality.

A career is a repetition of meaning-making and choices.

A career is not a list of skills or a resume, but "the ability to give meaning to any situation you are in and take action." I believe that achieving an ideal life through that process is a highly valuable way to live.

The five films introduced here all deeply question the "essence of a career." When you are lost in your way of working or lose sight of the meaning in the job right in front of you, please try picking up at least one of these.

The way they live on the screen might just illuminate your own "future."