There are comedies, dramas, satires and strange stories, in fact, this movie can be place among all those genres at the same time and maybe either. I would define it like Jung Jae Young’s style comedy, because I think that these scripts wouldn’t be so appealing if it wasn’t for him.
Even tho the scripts are written by someone else, truth is that he is the one staying in the delightful middle line between tragedy and comedy that never gets you depressed, contrary to what we may think, we get to see situations that mixed up in other productions might be taken as hilarious manifestations.
Castaway on the Moon is a movie that has surpassed my Going by the book favoritism, most of all because it’s a little older and it delivers even more unique elements in the plot.
Synopsis of Castaway to the Moon
It’s unthinkable to be shipwrecked in a deserted island in the middle of Seoul, but this man, Kim Seung Keun, will make it possible. Escaping the debt collectors, Seung Keun was abandoned by his girlfriend and has no purpose in life. Devastated he decides to jump from a bridge and commit suicide.
He’s not a very lucky man as you may see, so his attempt won’t be successful, instead he will end up shipwrecked in a deserted island that happens to be at the entire Seoul’s sight in the middle of Han River. He will try to scape at first, but then, he finds out he could just run away from everything this way, and decides to wait.
On the other hand, there is this girl, Kim Jung Yeon, who suffers from agoraphobia and spends her entire time inside her room. She has been like this for three years and she doesn’t even talk to her mother who lives in the same apartment.
She lives a disastrous life if we analyze her situation from a regular person point of view. Someone without any irrational fear. But if we really enter her world, we will realize that she has everything under control. Even tho she lives in a room full of garbage and without even staring at the sunlight. One of her hobbies is to take photographs of the moon. One day while she is having one of her sessions she discovers the word HELP written in the sand of this deserted island.
From that moment on, this two characters start over an unconventional dialogue. One of them trying to survive with whatever the island gives him, which is mainly nothing. The other trying to understand this situation and the person (or alien) that speaks through sand messages.
Starring in Castaway on the Moon Korean Movie
Jung Jae Young (11:00 AM, Plan Man, King’s Wrath) is Kim Seung Keun. This man that will evade obligations by learning to live in this island that apparently has everything he needs to survive. One of the best performances I’ve seen from this actor, but then again, he does it every time. Amazing.
Jung Ryu Won (The King of Dramas, My Lovely Sam Soon, Medical Top Team) is Kim Jung Yeon. A young woman suffering from a terrible case of agoraphobia. With a lot of issues and no real connection with the outside world. She will find in this being a way to communicate in an unique way. Another great performance from this fantastic and versatile actress.
Situations will take you from the comedy to the emotional inner sight in seconds. Actors will make us go through all types of sensations. Two very different ways of living and. At the same time similar to the point that they both take what life gives them as options to survive. Search of their own happiness in the smallest things that will eventually become giant and meaningful.
I recommend Going By The Book and I Am Murderer as great movies from Jung Jae Young. But this one is also a great story to watch. He’s a master at picking roles and taking them to the limit. A splendid movie, highly recommended!