Castaway on the moon (2009)

Yesterday, Mr. Kim was just another statistic of the global recession, leaping off a bridge to a watery grave in the Han River. But when he washes up on a tiny strip of land in the middle of the river with Seoul’s skyscrapers glittering obliviously in the near distance, he realizes that his exile from the rat race may be the best thing that's ever happened to him. Unable to swim, he might as well be a millions miles away from civilization. And so, nesting in a paddleboat shaped like a giant duck, farming with bird poop, Kim goes native, embracing his new existence as the CASTAWAY ON THE MOON.

Back on dry land, Ms. Kim is a traumatized agoraphobe, a right-clicking blog bandit who electronically appropriates other people's lives to fill her own emptiness. Sleeping in a bubble-wrapped closet, texting her parents instead of opening the door, she's only able to bear the outside world during civil defense drills, when life freezes in place, and the silence of the moon falls over the Earth. But everything changes when she gazes across the river, and Kim meets Kim, beginning the strangest, coolest courtship in cinema history.

Castaway on the Moon delivers good old-fashioned storytelling from an unusual vantage point. Because of the distance between the main characters, the pair never have the opportunity to meet and so they manage to find other ways to communicate. – Mr. Kim by writing large messages on the sandy beach for Ms Kim to see via her telescope, and Mrs. Kim by communicating through messages in a bottle thrown over the bridge, onto the island.

The pen pal-style relationship allows the film’s director Lee to integrate several charming vignettes depicting both Mr. Kim’s plight as a castaway and Ms. Kim’s plight as another type of castaway. Mr. Kim may be stranded on the island, but Mrs. Kim lives her whole life in the confines of her darkened bedroom, completely isolated from the rest of society. She works through her computer and seemingly lives her life online. Like Mr. Kim, she is seemingly caught in the middle of a bustling urban society but easily goes unnoticed. The reluctance to interact is so strong that she chooses to communicate with her mother via text messages rather then simply speaking directly to her.

Lee wisely directs the actors into contrasting performances, with Jung Jae-Young leaning towards overacting and Jeong Ryeo-Won delivering a more introverted performance.

Lee also takes his time slowly leading the audience into the core of his story through odd but touching moments, such as the running joke where a bowl of black bean noodles becomes Mr. Kim’s motivation for existence. These moments make Castaway a brave, surprisingly absorbing film that takes considerable risks but ultimately succeeds.

Even more interesting is how the two become isolated from society in very different means.

Mr. Kim is faced with forced separation from society while Ms Kim who is in the midst of society chooses to hide away. The virtual distance of Ms Kim is therefore quite similar to Mr. Kim’s physical distance and his separation from the surrounding city.

Its hard to deny the film’s valid and poignant critique of urban society and contemporary modes, given an ironic twist at the end, wherein the city of Seoul is hit with a rare emergency drill, shutting down the city and possibly allowing for a fateful meeting.