As an avid watcher of kdramas, I was finding it hard to settle on a particular drama and not find it dissappointing. I decided to pick one out of the dramas I had downloaded earlier and I finally settled on Castaway Diva. This movie has been on my To Be Watched list ever since it came out. Why is that? This is because recently, I've been drawn to underrated kdramas. I realized that some of those dramas that don't get the hype or the fame other dramas are getting, usually end up becoming one of the best for some of us.
I watched the drama and it reminded me of why I chose korean dramas as my comfort dramas. I had been quite frustrated with the turn out of the dramas I've been watching for the past two weeks and I was so glad I got to watching Castaway Diva.
Castaway Diva is a 12 episode drama, each episode with a running time of about 80minutes that stars actors Park Eun-Bin, Kim Hyo-jin, Chae Jong-Hyeop and Cha Hak-yeon. The movie follows Seo Mok-ha (Park Eun-Bin), a girl who dreams of becoming a k-pop singer but has no means to go about it. She hears about a competition organized by her favourite singer. Having no resources to participate in the competition, she employs the help of Jung Ki-ho (Chae Jong-Hyeop), her classmate to help her with his camera and to shoot the video. He agrees only because she offers to pay him for his service.
After she had completed all the requirements for her to participate in the competition, she is hindered by her father on the last day of the competition and has no hope of participating anymore. Jung Ki-ho, then helps her apply for the competition without her knowledge and she gets to win the competition and goes to Seoul for an audition, but is stranded on an uninhabited island on the way due to an unfortunate accident and gets rescued after 15 years by Kang Bo-geol and Kang Woo-hak, two brothers on a voluntary mission to cleaning deserted islands. Getting back to the real world, she continues to strive to become a singer, not letting her age be a barrier.
Although the series isn't romance-centered as characterized by kdramas, I still found the themes in this series satisfying. The fact that the series explored themes of domestic violence and mystery without making the drama seem dark is something I found commendable.
The OSTs (soundtrack) in this drama were also totally outstanding. I was surprised when I went through the OSTs and found out that Park Eun Bin sang some of the songs herself. She did a great job with the songs considering singing isn't something she does everyday. Her voice, coupled with the slow tunes made everything emotive and soothing.
Worthy of notice also, is the excellent cinematography. The crew did a good job where cinematography is concerned, thereby creating a fascinating experience that makes you feel engrossed all the while the series is on your screen. The colorful grading made the visuals even more attractive, giving you a truly enjoyable watching experience. I'm a lover of appealing visuals and this drama was up to my standard.
Were there flaws? Probably yes. I didn't get to notice any as I was so engrossed in the fun aspect of the series. Although, I must mention that the series lacked the humour peculiar to kdramas. There were some scenes that were laughable but they were just very few.
Overall, I totally enjoyed this series and would definitely want to give it a re-watch. I'll rate it a 4.5/5 as it brought me back into my kdrama girlie era. I loved the series and would recommend to all kdrama lovers out there and to those non-kdrama fans, you sure are welcome to check this series out.
Images that aren't sourced are screenshots taken by me while watching the movie