Life can be hard to manoeuvre but what do you do when you reach the end of your rope? For Mr. Kim, jumping off a bridge into the Han River seems like the best option.

Castaway on the Moon opens with Mr. Kim on the phone to a loan shark of sorts (more like a Money Tree but you get the idea). The woman on the other end of the line confirms his initial though: he’s in way over his head. With his romantic life in shambles, jobless and now with a debt he can’t repay, he concludes his only solution is death but the universe has other plans for him and instead, Mr. Kim washes up on an apparently deserted and somewhat filthy island in the middle of the river.

No one should be shocked to read that director Lee Hey-Jun continues in the tradition of other recent and notable Korean filmmakers who mix, very successfully, drama and comedy. Castaway on the Moon flips easily between the drama of a man trying to survive with no food or water and the same man who appears to be loosing his mind. The story takes an unexpected turn partway through when Mr. Kim picks up an admirer, a young woman whose entire life is lived through a computer, and though at this point the film could have gone off the rails into sappy romance, it manages to stay true to the original story while simply adding a layer. The relationship, a sort of romance from afar, changes them both while making some very valid and poignant comments on society.

Lee Hey-Jun’s film has many good things going for it. It’s funny, smart, touching and romantic but perhaps most importantly is the fact that it manages to entertain while making observations on our way of life. Though we may laugh at Mr. Kim’s dilemma of no food or water, it quickly becomes clear that most city dwellers in a similar situation would find themselves with the same conundrums. What to eat when you can’t walk into a grocery store or a restaurant? What sort of life are we leading sitting behind a computer for hours at a time? What sort of relationships are we forming or breaking?

Though it serves up a dollop of humor and an excellent performance from Jae-yeong Jeong as Mr. Kim (a performance that, in my opinion, gives Tom Hanks and his volleyball a run for his award nomination), Castaway on the Moon puts forth some big questions, ones that many individuals may be up against in today’s tough economic times. This is the best type of film: one that entertains but not at the cost of intelligence. It flounders a little at the end but overall, Castaway on the Moon is a must see.