The Moon (2023): The Loneliness of the Lunar Horizon
2023 • Kim Yong-hwa • 1.90:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
Following the commercial success of the two-part fantasy epic Along with the Gods, director Kim Yong-hwa continued to pursue ambitious projects by developing a large-scale space drama. The Moon (2023), a high-budget Korean sci-fi film, starts with a catastrophic accident during a lunar mission. With only one astronaut left alive, bringing the survivor home becomes a national crisis.
Like a South Korean version of Apollo 13, the film alternates between the stranded astronaut on the moon and the mission control team on Earth who worked at bringing him home. The film goes from the cold grey of space to the blue and yellow tones of Earth, creating a visual contrast between inescapable death and life.
Although it is a VFX-heavy film, its focus on characters helps create an immersive experience, making the occasional wide shots of the lunar surface seem overwhelming, especially under a hail of space debris. It is a spectacular film with an emotional payoff, as well as being an homage to space explorers from the past and the future.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: After a catastrophic accident leaves a lone astronaut stranded on the Moon, South Korea’s space agency races against time to bring him safely home, battling technical failures, political pressure, and the limits of human endurance. Read my review of The Moon.
- Actors: Sol Kyung-gu, Do Kyung-soo, Kim Hee-ae, Park Byung-eun, Jo Han-chul.
- Director: Kim Yong-hwa
- Year: 2023
- Cinematographer: Kim Young-ho
- Origin: Korean Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 1.90:1
- Genre: Sci-Fi
