I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK is an offbeat romantic comedy from director Park-Chan Wook, the man responsible for some of the darkest visions in modern cinema (OLDBOY and SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE to name but two titles). Wook is one of my favourite directors since, well, ever, but I hate watching rom-coms. How would I fare with this film? The answer is that I found it enjoyable, even if the material left me cold; at least it's something different. The film begins in classic Wook territory, with a factory worker discovering that she's a cyborg and being shipped off to a mental asylum. Once there, a relationship with an equally crazy suitor, played by Rain (NINJA ASSASSIN), develops.
The film has the requisite cuteness and offbeat situations we've come to expect from the director and from South Korean cinema in general. The entire movie is pretty much set in an asylum, so there's lots of fun from the bizarre antics of the lead's fellow inmates. Wook's direction is sublime, as ever, and he draws creativity and imagination from each and every scene.
The acting is odd and the characters odder, yet there's so much humour thrown into the mix that this is never a problem. I seem to recall that some of the Jackie Chan ensemble comedies of the 1980s (such as WHEELS ON MEALS and the LUCKY STARS series) features scenes set in mental hospitals and I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK has much the same vibe as those movies: packed with energy, likability and verve and an overall anything-goes mentality. Hardly profound, like some of Wook's other movies, but a genuine slice of cinematic entertainment.
The film has the requisite cuteness and offbeat situations we've come to expect from the director and from South Korean cinema in general. The entire movie is pretty much set in an asylum, so there's lots of fun from the bizarre antics of the lead's fellow inmates. Wook's direction is sublime, as ever, and he draws creativity and imagination from each and every scene.
The acting is odd and the characters odder, yet there's so much humour thrown into the mix that this is never a problem. I seem to recall that some of the Jackie Chan ensemble comedies of the 1980s (such as WHEELS ON MEALS and the LUCKY STARS series) features scenes set in mental hospitals and I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK has much the same vibe as those movies: packed with energy, likability and verve and an overall anything-goes mentality. Hardly profound, like some of Wook's other movies, but a genuine slice of cinematic entertainment.