Des nouilles aux haricots noirs

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this movie until it showed up in my Netflix recommendations. Why isn't everyone talking about this movie? Why didn't it win best foreign picture? Why... Oh, right. No car chases. No sex scenes. No scenes in bars, or at football games. Subtitles. If you can enjoy a movie with subtitles, if you don't think someone has to look or act just like you to be comprehensible as a human being, if you've ever read a poem and loved it, you will likely love this movie.

I'm not even going to talk about the plot. The plot is wonderful, but not really the point. This is a movie about isolation, and human connections, and what makes us human at all. It is a social commentary, and a beautifully told fable. To call it a romantic comedy, to compare it to an American movie with a similar title, is to miss the point entirely.

Warning: before you watch this movie, you'd better figure out where you can find a local source for black bean noodles ('jajangmyun' in Korean). Even if you've never tasted them, you'll be craving them by the end of the movie. I have tasted them - fresh from a street vendor in Seoul - and I'm now nearly wild for black bean noodles.

And this basic hunger for a simple comfort food - for enjoyment of sustenance with all the associations that come with true comfort food - sums up the movie nicely.

This film, although simple in premise is beautifully told, and superbly acted. Jae-Yeong Jeong has now become one of my favorite actors on the strength of this film. His range is incredible, and is deserved of an Oscar (Hollywood, take note). This film is incredibly easy to watch and entertaining. It will make you laugh out loud, and will also pull on those heartstrings. The comparisons to Tom Hank's Castaway is inevitable, but like other reviewers have said, it's way more than what Castaway had to offer. It's a real gem of a movie and is highly recommended.

Bravo to all involved making this movie!

This is the most weird, amazing survival movie, I have seen far. It is full of weird stuffs, survival techniques as well as good moral ''Never lose your hope''. Besides,It works as spell on viewers. It is hard to get distracted while watching this. It's funny moments are really hilarious. The main leads are superb ,and I really can't comment about male lead, he is just too good:)

Castaway on the Moon is a beautiful film about self-made reality and what is actually real, about our infinite connection to the natural world, and how nothing is ever final even when it seems so. Although the mainstream man will squirm and sigh at certain scenes where love is apparent, it is a part of the human world and this movie, so if you cannot handle it then it is not for you. I almost feel like not everyone is worthy of this movie. It has many instances of magical realism and fantasy. The atmosphere reminded me of Amelie. I would give it a 12 if I could.

This movie is a gift, watch it.

Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.

I would assume that the director of this film saw that Tom Hanks flick and said to himself, "Hmmm, this is a good idea. I think I'll take the same general premise and transform it into a unique romantic comedy that blows away genre conventions." He then proceeded to do exactly that.

Some reviewers will claim that "Castaway on the Moon" (aka "Moon") is a rip-off of the American flick "Castaway", but what exactly are the similarities between these movies? Let me tell you. (1) There's a guy who gets stranded on an island, but that barely counts as a "similarity" because in "Moon" the island is positioned *within the city limits.* A man in massive debt attempts suicide by jumping off of a bridge, but he survives and is washed ashore an uninhabited, tiny island on the Han river. Even though he clearly sees the nearby metropolis, he can't swim across the river to civilization so he just stays on the island for a while. How is this in any way similar to Tom Hanks being stranded *in the middle of the ocean*? Answer: it isn't the least bit similar. (2) There are various day-to-day events that are similar (e.g., starting fires, growing a beard, entertaining oneself in simplistic ways, etc.), but anyone stranded on an island would do these things and people have been doing them for the better part of humanity's existence. These were not invented by a Tom Hanks movie. (3) There's an emotional bond with a few inanimate objects. Yes, this is one element of "Moon" that could be considered a rip-off of "Castaway." But that's quite literally the *only* piece of evidence one could muster. Hardly a compelling case. Heck, it's so thin that it probably qualifies as more of a homage than anything else.

So what exactly makes "Moon" so *different* from "Castaway?" Well, for starters "Moon" is a friggin' *romantic comedy!* This is evident at about the 30 minute mark when a hikikomori is introduced. For those who are unfamiliar with hikikomori, it's a severe psychological condition whereby introverts isolate themselves within a confined area and refuse to interact with other people. What the heck does this additional character have to do with some dude stranded on an island? My dear friends, that's the reason why this film is so fantastic, why it demolishes romantic comedy genre conventions, and why assertions of "ripping off" Tom Hanks movies are short-sighted and ridiculous.

If one really wants to milk the comparisons between these films, "Moon" exposes the romantic elements of "Castaway" as run-of-the-mill and dull. Just imagine a Joon-ho Bong film mixed with Chan-wook Park's "I'm A Cyborg, But That's Okay" (2006) and you might get a feel for just how quirky and engaging "Moon" turned out to be. These characters are carefully crafted by first establishing a certain psychological flaw, then allowing the characters to slowly face those flaws through the introduction of the stranded island theme. But how do these characters bond if they're isolated from each other? Watch the movie and see.

Oh, and the previous reviewer might like to know that it was Hollywood who remade "A Tale of Two Sisters " (2003), "My Sassy Girl" (2001), "Il Mare" (2000), "Into the Mirror" (2003), etc. – all Korean movies. And they're planning on remaking more because it's Hollywood that has run out of ideas. If you think Korean films have no originality, you might want to check out "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (2005), "Save the Green Planet" (2003), "Crush and Blush" (2008), "Dasepo Naughty Girls" (2006), "Forbidden Quest" (2006), "Rules of Dating" (2005), "If You Were Me" (2003), "Iri" (2008), "Oasis" (2002), a Chan-wook Park film, a Joon-ho Bong, a Kim Ki-duk film, or about 50 other films that I don't feel like listing out.

You know what, I'll suggest that everyone watch "Moon" and "Castaway" in the same evening for proper comparison. It's obvious that the former has stronger, more interesting, more *creative* characters. A lot more time and effort was put into the script, and it shows.