Just watched: Castaway on the Moon

You know, the fact that I almost didn't bother with this makes me wonder if I know anything about films at all. In my defence, the poster doesn't help, making this look like a knockabout comedy but in fact it's a clever and touching story about two people who are, in their own way, trapped in their small worlds and who reach out to each other.

A man tries to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in a Korean city, but wakes up on one of the small islands along the river. A woman has never left her room in three years sees him from her apartment window and begins to watch. So begins their faltering relationship.

The film is funny, don't get me wrong. Jung Jae-Young is particularly good, especially during the opening half hour or so, which is basically him trying and failing to master survival techniques. The parallel with communicating with aliens and the two people communicating with each other is very neat. In these days where speaking to people has never been simpler, our two heroes are reduced to messages in bottles and words writ large on beaches which means that they can barely manage a sentence a day, like beaming messages into space and hoping for a reply.



Anyone who's ever felt like the person they most want to talk to may as well be on another planet will probably empathise with this. It's a great film, full of warmth, charm and wit.