Castaway on the Moon

While it's true my blog isn't completely finished -I'm making do with some preset background art until I get a usb cable for my camera/my own laptop back, I want to start making posts anyway. I think i've at least settled on a url and a title, although I do tend to change my mind a lot.

Anyway, I have a lot of new years resolutions, and one of them is to watch more films, especially foreign, indie, art-house films. Last year whenever I saw a film suggestion I noted it down somewhere, intending to but failing to watch. As a result I have tons of lists lying around of films to watch, books to read, and so on. I'm trying to get through these lists, and started with a film recommended to me on tumblr - the 2009 Korean film, Castaway on the Moon.

Castaway on the Moon is a film from director Hae-Jun Lee, and tells the story of a failed business man who tries to commit suicide, but ends up on a deserted island on the city river. Although fairly close to city bridges and high-rises, he chooses to stay on the island, living a simple life away from the society that has failed him.

He soon finds he is not completely alone - watching him through her telescopic camera, from the bedroom she hasn't left in 8 years, is a shy reclusive girl who has also chosen to reject society. What follows is a sweet, surreal love story, of two misfits somehow finding each other and a society they can believe in.

It is as bizarre and charming as you would expect from Korea, a country which is quickly becoming extremely popular amongst film fans. The film itself reminds me slightly of another Korean love story that starts with suicide - The Chan-Wook Park cult classic, I'm a Cyborg But That's OK.


I would just say to watch this film, it's perfect if you're feeling a little blue and need some sugar in your life.