Why The Moon (2023) Deserves an Oscar nod

On the 9th of August 2023, one of the most anticipated movies entitled ‘The Moon’ was released in Malaysia’s cinemas. Fans of EXO and any space-related movies were the most thrilled to be among the first to stream the movie. 

The Moon centers on the story of an astronaut, Han Sun Woo played by idol-actor Do Kyungsoo who is stranded alone in outer space after the tragic death of his two teammates due to the strong lunar wind. Former director of Naro Space Centre, Kim Jae-guk played by Sol Kyung-Gu, receives an urgent request from the Space Centre to help bring back astronaut Han Sun Woo as he feels compelled to do so due to a secret that he had long harbored. 

Outstanding Casts 

The list of stellar casts did amazingly well in portraying prominent roles while delivering mixed emotions throughout the movie. You can feel the pain, anxiety, and loneliness that Han Sun Woo needs to go through. Nobody could come to an immediate rescue and he needed to operate the spaceship and carry out the lunar exploration mission alone. 

Actress Kim Hee Ae who Kdrama fans would recognise her from The World of the Married aced her acting in this movie. Although she just sat at her desk, staring at the news, we could feel the tension exhibited throughout her eyes and body language. 

You would probably have some sort of a love-hate relationship with the minister played by Jo Han Chul. He talks a lot and commands the officers to solve the issues but does not contribute much to ease the chaotic situation. Instead, his words just make people feel even more panicked and pressured. Throughout his scenes, he keeps making people question what is exactly his role in the movie. But the good side of his character is his expressions that could make you laugh despite the tense situations without even trying hard. 

Details and Top-Notch Visual CGI 

With the 28 billion Won (roughly over US$20.5 million) budget received, the director and producers went all out to maximize the visual impacts and detailed actions throughout the entire scenes. It makes us feel like we are in outer space witnessing the struggles of astronauts to execute the mission. 

The scene where Han Sun Woo is trying to drive away from the meteorites crashing into the moon surfaces looks very realistic to the point it keeps you on edge and all that you can do is just scream RUN! As if it happens right in front of you.

You can see how this movie does not just focus on the moon mission itself but it also serves educational purposes. Being an astronaut takes hours of gruelling training to be physically prepared for extreme conditions in outer space. Astronauts must also be well-versed in every part of the ship and buttons to operate the spaceship. A straightforward mistake would lead to spaceship malfunctions and that is what had happened towards the two astronauts at the beginning of the arrival in space. 

Not just that, to go to the place where astronauts need to carry out the mission itself is a challenge. From afar the moon seemed like just an average sized round shaped object. The size reaches almost 1800 km. This is why Han Sun Woo needs to use the space rover to drive on the rough surfaces of the moon which by the way looks cool on it! Throughout his mission on the moon, he is accompanied by a special drone (Maru), to guide him back towards the spaceship. It’s fascinating to watch close-up how the space tools and equipment serve as crucial functions to help space-walkers complete the assigned tasks. 

Conclusion 

Overall, The Moon is without doubt well executed and even audiences who are not familiar with the aerospace field could learn so much about the operation of space rockets and the struggles of astronauts in carrying out the missions. It also instilled a sense of responsibility, patriotism, and unity in regaining its country’s honour to be qualified back as part of the International Space Committee.

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Aliah Shafirra

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