Today’s movie recommendation is a bit of a hidden gem, titled ‘I’m a Cyborg, but that’s OK’. It’s directed by Park Chan Wook, starring Rain and Im Soo Jung.
Before I ever knew who Rain was or what K-pop sounded like, I happened upon the phenomenal masterpiece that is ‘Oldboy’ during a search for Monte Christo-esque tales of vengeance. This quickly led into a rabbit hole of watching every Park Chan Wook movie out there.
If you’re not familiar with the work of this highly acclaimed Korean director, ‘Oldboy’ is a good place to start, followed by ‘Lady Vengeance’. If you have watched either of those, then you’ll easily understand why he said that ‘I’m a cyborg, but that’s OK’ was ‘a chance to blow off steam’ for him. While it doesn’t share the neo-noir vibe nor the violent streak of his previous works, his signature variety of surrealism and cinematography is very much present.
The plot
The story follows Young-Goon (Im Soo Jung), a woman who is admitted to a mental hospital after an ‘incident’ at the factory where she worked. Young-Goon believes she’s a cyborg, as she came to realise after her grandmother was taken away. She’s stopped eating, and instead licks batteries to recharge, she confides to the vending machine, and wants to kill the ‘men in the white robes’ who took away her granny.
Unfortunately, her pesky ‘sympathy’ stands in the way of her murder spree. Enter fellow inmate Il-Soon (Rain), an antisocial kleptomaniac, whom she asks to ‘steal’ her sympathy. He wears handmade bunny masks, believes he can steal others attributes or souls, and compulsively brushes his teeth. The two eventually become friends, and he decides to help her.
The verdict
This movie is very cute but also very very weird (obviously). The surrealism is kicked up a notch, and it mixes together images of hard reality and colourful daydreams. On the one hand we have the fact that Young-Goon is, in fact, insane, and in the very real danger of dying of starvation, and on the other the strange but heartfelt ways two troubled people are finding and helping each other.
I particularly loved the characters in the asylum, from the patients to the doctors. They’re all portrayed with such sensitivity, and coupled with the overall colourful and surreal visuals of this oddball movie, they draw you in.
If I had to pick something not to like, the worst thing about it is the trailer. Somehow it managed to show zero useful information while completely botching the tone, and giving the impression of a super fluffy film. This is a story that could be told as a dark and sad tale from another perspective, and it doesn’t shy from revealing the elements that would make it so. But instead, it’s told as a light and heartwarming tale of finding purpose, hope and love, without infantilizing its themes.
‘I’m a Cyborg, but that’s OK’ is Park Chan Wook’s idea of a movie for young teens, as he wanted to make something his then 12-year-old daughter could enjoy. That said, this is *so* far from what you’d expect from a movie addressed at teenagers. He’s certainly one of the most idiosyncratic film-makers around, and this movie is another testament to his talent, despite being very different from his other works. If you’re up for an exceptional performance by Im Soo Jung, Rain yodeling, and some general weirdness, go give this movie a go.
