When I think of musical movie, my mind tend to go back in time to my childhood days to the times I was literally obsessed with music movies and cartoons, I would repeatedly watch them and could sing all the songs in every scene. Those days were a joy to me because I've always been a lover of music. I could actually say, musical movies are my favourite go-to for entertainment.
But considering the fact that I'm not the only lover of musical movies, and that I've seen really good reviews about the movies I had in mind for this contest, I'm choosing a more recent musical series that have got me hooked on all the songs since I saw it last two year. I've seen a few other musical series but this one tops my 2023 list.
"Castaway Diva" will easily warm into your heart if you're a lover of musical movie, just as it did with me. The storyline is very fictional and unreal but somehow, it hits deeper whenever the songs are sang by the female lead. Park Eun Bin shone so brightly in this series as the main lead and also shared really good songs that just fit right in.
It's a 12 episode series released in the year 2023 starring Park Eun Bin, the castaway Diva, Chae Jong-hyeop, the lover boy and Kim Hyo-jin, the dying star who meets a special fan. The series has the genres: Coming of age, comedy romantic, drama and music. A fictional but well played light and heavy story in combine by the characters.
It starts with a fan who is going everywhere in school looking for a way to speak with her idol on a phone call during a radio session. She uses a guy's phone but gets cut off half way by the student because of her too much excitement. They went from fast enemies to a very unrealistic friendship that turned true love as he searches for her since she went missing for fifteen years.
Seo Mok-ha as her character name, didn't just get stranded in the island and forgets her dream. She kept practicing while hoping for a miracle that she would leave the island someday. Her wait was over when her first love found her but she didn't know he was the one since 15 years had passed, she just felt grateful. The journey didn't work out easily to become a Diva (her dream).
She finally meets her idol only when her idol is struggling to keep her career as she had lost her touch in music, Mok-ha pushes Ran-ju, her idol to believe in music again right from the scene where she played a backstage for a presentation of one of her idol's songs. It's my most favorite from all the songs in the series and I shared a video of it below. A Ran-ju Mok-ha best scene.
It was unrealistic for a guy to wait on a crush from during high school for 15 years but I love how well played the whole story went, and I like the constant references back to the island life and lessons the lead character gave when she began her career as a Diva. The series wasn't just about a diva and her music career, it also shows the dark side of having parents who are toxic.
In a happy storyline, there were scenes I got a bit scared and hooked with suspense thanks to the villain well played by Lee Seung-joon, the father of the male lead who is bent on living with his family that long ran away from him because of his toxic self. Aside that, it's all music and the pursuit for making a career out of music. I'll give rating of 8/10 and highly recommend the series.
My entry to the Cinetv Contest you're invited.