Lets face it, Korean cinema has been far from impressive of late. Especially when we put things in contrast to earlier this very same decade that saw an emerging new generation that inventively crafted genre films capable of drawing huge international markets. Whether it was Park Chan Wook, Bong Joon Ho, or Kim Ki Duk, it was obvious that there was a shifting paradigm away from the more classical mentalities of old blood like Im Kwon-taek or even the monotonous flood of mainstream romance comedies or period films on the other side of the spectrum.
Overall, films that were both commercially viable and critically successful on a global scale were becoming increasingly more likely. This was in direct contrast and often times in conflict with a parallel trend that was heavily aimed at drawing in domestic tween markets, with embarrassingly sappy melodramatic fare that was often times both formulaic and utterly mindless. Unsurprisingly, this latter trend won out and the emergence of this domestic innovation seemed to disappear altogether. Park Chan Wook and his contemporaries were still pumping out yearly works for the festival circuit, but it didn’t appear that anyone new was entering the limelight.
Its quite a sad affair and one that has honestly decreased my personal attentions to Korean film making on the whole. Thus I watch less films as years pass and pay increasingly less attention to industry developments. This isn’t to say I’ve completely given up on them but merely that my attentions are focused elsewhere on the globe. I still catch the new Kim Ki Duk or Park film when the opportunity presents itself. And on some rare occasions, still catch that oddball film that may have peaked my interest via a blog post or blind rental. Castaway on the Moon is such a film and one that I viewed wholly by accident.
I first read about Castaway on the Moon over on Twitch a few weeks ago and it caught my attention rather quickly. The director was unheard of but the premise itself seemed promising. A man attempts to kill himself to escape social ills by jumping into the Han River. By an ironic twist he doesn’t succeed and ends up stranded on Bamseom, a small untouched island in the middle of Seoul. It paints a rather striking image of urban isolationism rather literally. Here we have a man who in the middle of a bustling metropolis, seemingly goes ignored much like the rather odd island that miraculously goes equally undisturbed by the surrounding populace.
The narrative overall seems to resemble a comical version of Robert Zemeckis’s Cast Away. Kim, the man in question, even has his own version of “Wilson” and goes through the process of subsisting off the wild. Though instead of the more realistic pursuit of fishing/gathering by Tom Hanks, Kim opts to grow his own greens to make himself some Jajangmyeon; a rather ridiculous and nearly impossible stunt.
There is also a parallel narrative that bears some striking similarities. This one concerns a female hikikomori who literally 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 wholly on the net. Like Kim, she is seemingly caught in the middle of a bustling urban society but easily goes unnoticed. Its as if on both sides of the spectrum, both of these characters have failed to consolidate themselves satisfactorily into the social sphere at large.
The significant difference between the two though, is that while Kim is in actual physical isolation, “Ms” Kim is in a self-imposed simulacrum of the former. Her retreat away from social interaction itself seems to emerge more as a phobia then anything else. The reluctance to interact is so strong that to her own mother, she communicates via text messages rather then simply speaking directly to her.
The rather convoluted and irrational manner of socialization poses an interesting duality. On the one hand, Kim is faced with forced separation from society. On the other hand, Ms Kim is in the midst of society yet hides away, instead choosing to socialize and subside through the internet. The virtual distance of Ms Kim is therefore quite analogous to Kim’s physical distance and separation away from the surrounding city.
As the film progresses and the two narratives converge, viewers get treated to an Amelie-like quirky romance that brews between the two Kims. Both of whom never actually meet but communicate instead by long distance. Kim by writing large messages in the sandy beach and Ms Kim by chucking bottles with messages in the cover of night. Through this interaction, the presumed isolation wears away and Ms Kim actually ventures outside although in a characteristically Rube Goldberg-like manner.
There is also definitely a critique upon urbanization akin to Edward Yang’s Terrorizers. Ms Kim although shying away from society seems to revel in its cultural artifacts. If her bleached hair is any indication, she seems to hold a certain degree of vanity and obsession with keeping up appearances for wholly non-existent social interactions. She exercises daily, browses and occasionally buys objects of fashion, and participates in avatar-ism.
It is thus all the more ironic that such a character is overly concerned from exposure, going so far as to cover her face with a motorcycle helmet on those rare skirmishes into the outside world. Her bubble-wrapped closet also seems to fall into these notions of over-protection or fear of contamination. She treats sunlight like foreign pollutants, fearfully backing away from its radiance.
As Kim himself comes to terms with his situation, he seems to develop a respect for his new-found life. Away from the worries of societal life, he pleasantly goes day to day directly making a living off the land. Its a far cry from the monotony of everyday urban life that seemingly has become absurd to the likes of Kim.
Ms Kim also seems to open up in unison. As Kim starts to work a small farm he has constructed, she finally vocally interacts with her mother. She starts to grow her own plants and takes in the sun’s natural radiance. Her once comforting bubble-wrapped commode, becomes agitating and she finally shifts her sleeping space back into the openness of her room.
The ultimate conclusion of the converging narratives is quite the ironic development. The final and surprisingly delayed realization by government workers of Kim’s residence upon Bamseom is rather shocking and comedic. Their appearance is as sudden as it is unexpected, but as viewers we simply wonder why it even took this long in the first place. The ignorance of society upon the individual is startling and Castaway On The Moon provides a clever representation.
Despite all this, its hard to summarize the film as completely critical of urban society and contemporary modes. While the ending may end hopefully and on a seemingly positive note, its somewhat of a contradiction. While the two Kims finally meet and seemingly come out of their individual bubbles, the means in which this is made possibly is troubling.
As Kim is being ferried away back to the mainland, Ms Kim in a courageous burst runs across town to meet him. She barely misses him as he steps onto a bus that speedily retreats. As both Ms Kim and viewers give up hope, Seoul is hit with a regular emergency drill which stops all traffic and business. Thus in an ironic twist, these escapees of society are saved by the very same institution they were seemingly trying to detract from. Its a somewhat enigmatic ending and is highly reminiscent of Mike Nichols The Graduate. Both coincidentally also end in a bus with a possible false veil of positivity.
Regardless, Castaway On the Moon is possibly one of the first mainstream films to deal directly with some of the much ignored social ills arising in East Asian metropolises. The desocialization isn’t relegated simply to otaku and social rejects like hikikomori, but increasingly becoming a major trend. Freeters or parasite singles or more common then ever and arguably occurring with increasing rate here in the West. Its not so much a dilemma of the social fabric irrationally tearing down, rather the reluctance of the institutions in power to come to terms with these emerging trends.
External Links
Castaway On The Moon @ Han Cinema
Castaway On The Moon @ Twitch Film
Embedded Trailer (off Vimeo)
Castaway on the moon, Trailer *김씨표류기 from Imagebakery on Vimeo.
Tags: bamseom, hikikomori, indepth, jeong jae yeong, jeong ryeo won, korea, lee hae joon, review
