Movie Review: I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (Ssaibogeujiman Gwaenchanha) (2006)
I have a good time every time I watch I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, it is one of my favorite "romantic comedies" (it is not quite a romantic comedy). I watched this film again recently to review it! It's not by chance that Park Chan Wook is regarded as one of the best Korean filmmakers, stepping outside of his usual style he doesn't disappoint with this out of the ordinary "romantic comedy".
 |
| Young Goon talking to the vending machine |
The movie starts with a young woman named Young Goon (Im Soo Jung) who ends up in a mental institution after cutting her wrists and inserting a wire plugged to a wall outlet into her skin. At the hospital, Young Goon mainly talks to machines (such as the vending machine) and electronics. At night she listens to the radio and learns about the 7 deadly sins of a cyborg: Sympathy; Being sad; Restlessness; Hesitating (about anything); Useless daydreaming; Feeling guilty; Thankfulness; With "Sympathy" being the worst of them. She refuses to eat "human food" believing she is a cyborg and that it will ruin her mechanical system, instead she "recharges" by licking batteries.
 |
| Young Goon "recharging" herself |
The doctor asks Young Goon's mother when did she stop eating, her mother claims she was too busy to know and that Young Goon was raised by her grandmother who also suffered from schizophrenia, ate radishes all day believing she was a mouse until she was taken away to a mental institution.
 |
| Il Soon wearing his rabbit mask |
In the group therapy we are introduced to Il Soon (Rain/Jung Ji Hoon), a kleptomaniac who believes he can steals the patient's souls/attributes, such as the ability to feel apologetic and play ping pong. Young Goon persuades Il Soon to steal her sympathy so that she will be able to kill the "people in white" (doctors and nurses) who took her grandmother away.
As Young Goon was told by her mother not to tell anybody that she was a cyborg, the doctors have a hard time finding out why she doesn't eat. As the movie progresses Young Goon's health deteriorates and she becomes so weak and malnourished that doctors resort to force feeding her through a tube. Seeing all that Il Soon, who now feels sympathy towards Young Goon, gets really hurt and must find a solution to end her pain.
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK is quirk, amusing, sweet and even a little sad. It is different from other Park Chan Wook's movies but it doesn't fail to impress. The film has bizarre but likable characters, polished visuals, creative plot and arise good points throughout it. One of them is that treatments such as shock therapy and force feeding won't cure a disease of the mind and how mental illness doesn't come from nowhere, showing the traumatic backstories of the characters.
I believe the "crazy" people are just deeply wounded mentally/emotionally as well as misunderstood by society. Young Goon's belief that she was a cyborg was just a metaphor to the emotions she couldn't handle anymore. The patients had a better understanding of each other than doctors and nurses.
This is also a story about love. According to the movie, love is to comprehend and accept someone as they are, it is to feel sympathy towards someone. There is much more to I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, but I'm going to stop it here (I don't want to spoil your experience) so you can check it yourself!
MY RATING:
TRAILER:
Director: Park Chan Wook | Writer: Jung Seo Kyoung, Park Chan Wook | 2006 | Genre: comedy, romance, drama | Country: South Korea
Comments
Post a Comment