Title: Movie Review- I`m a cyborg, But that`s ok (Korean)
agnesleong - February 28, 2007 05:51 PM (GMT)
To share a korean movie review...coming soon to Singapore.
I`m a cyborg, But that`s ok
cast by Rain, Im Soo Jung and directed by Park Chan Wook.
I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK
Posted by luna6 on December 30th, 2006
Movie : I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK /Saibogujiman kwenchana
Year : 2006
Country : South Korea
Director : Chan-Wook Park
Starring: Rain (Il-Sun), Im Soo-Jung (Young-Gyun)
Runtime : 105 Minutes
Rating : 8.0
Plot Synopsis : Young-gyun works at manufacturing plant, assembling radio's.
She also has a bit of secret, which is that she believes that she is an actual cyborg. One day, while working at the factory, she decides to re-charge herself, by slashing her wrist and implanting electrical wires into her arm. This quickly gets Young-gyun a ticket into "New World", which is a mental hospital full of bizarre characters.
At New World, Young-gyun spends her time listening to the radio, talking with vending machines, and licking the terminals of 9 volt batteries. She soon encounters a guy, that is somewhat on the same eccentric level, named Il-Sun. Formerly an electrician, Il-Sun is now a thief of souls in the mental hospital, along with being your run-of-the-mill kleptomaniac. He believes that posesses the power to steal the characteristics of other people. Young-gyun and Il-Sun soon bond together, as their strange personalities complements each other perfectly. Unfortunately Young-gyun becomes seriously ill from malnutrition. She believes that Cyborgs should not eat "human" food and thus has not eaten in weeks. She soon loses most of her energy and becomes bed ridden. The doctors say that she has only a few more days to live, if she continues her ways. Il-Sun must now find a way to connect to her soul and save her from imminent death.
Movie Review : I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok is the latest film directed by Chan-Wook Park. He has stated publicly that for this film, he wanted to move away from the heaviness of his last three films (based on Revenge) and make this film a simpler affair without having to worry about commercial expectations. Well after seeing "I,m A Cyborg, But That's Ok," I can say that superficially, the movie appears simpler then than anything he has done in the past, but there is quite a bit more percolating below the superficial teenage romance layer.
From the opening scene, I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok, grabbed my attention with visuals that seemed like technicolor art. The way Chan-Wook Park interwove the opening credits within the actual opening sequences was utterly impressive and made for one of the best opening scenes I have ever had the pleasure to watch. From there, the visuals were on par with "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance" mixed in with the surreal and colorful worlds of say Terry Gilliam (Brazil) and Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands). I can't emphasize enough how impressive the visuals were.
The main actors in the movie were Im Soo-Jung and the popular K-Pop singer turned actor Rain. For Im Soo-Jung, I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok may be the movie that gets her elevated beyond the teeny bopper films that she seems to get typecast for so often these days. There were moments in the film where she was completely unrecognizable and still delivered a very impressive performance. I was also very impressed by the fella known as Rain. He seemed to be a natural for the camera and delivered a performance that seemed uncanny for a first time big-screen actor.
Beyond the simple love story between the two eccentric main leads, you have a lot of other things occurring in the film that was harder to comprehend. Definitely Chan-Wook Park seemed to have been implying the importance of a strong motherly figure, because both main characters had mothers that were non-existent or virtually non-existent. As for Young-Gyun she was closest to her grandmother who was also mentally ill. Young-Gyun saw her grandmother taken away by paramedics at a young age and since then, has had a fear of people in white uniforms. When Young-Gyun herself was committed to the mental hospital, she had these persistent visions of her grandmother in the mental hospital. She also had visions where she would kill the hospital workers ala the Terminator, to protect her grandmother from them. Yet, in Young-gyun's mind, she still posssessed 7 traits that would prevent her from being a cyborg and being able to "terminate" the workers at the hospital. Some of the more notable of these 7 traits were: Guilt, Gratitude, and Sympathy. It seems Chan-Wook Park is still pretty keen on the importance of sympathy. These seven traits were also a play on a Korean word which is typically used for the 7 qualifications to get a legal divorce in Korea. There were also the words that the grandmother mouthed silently to Young-Gyun while she was being taken away in the ambulance. She never knew exactly what her grandmother was trying to say to her, but finally as an adult and with the help of Il-Sun she was able to figure out what her grandmother said. What the grandmother said could be translated roughly to "The meaning of existence is...1 billion volts." Yeah like I said earlier, there are parts in this film that are a little hard to comprehend. Certainly this is one of those movies that would provide more incite on second or third viewings and I certainly did not mind the eccentricity of this story.
Ultimately, I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok is an impressive film for its visual imagery as well as for its two main characters, that are as unique as any characters you will likely encounter in any film. You could just go with the flow and follow the movie for the simple love story between Il-Sun and Young-Gyun or you could try to delve deeper into their worlds to understand some of the more difficult to comprehend aspects that Chan-Wook Park laid beneath the love story layer. Regardless of what path you pick, the core of the movie contains a wonderful humanist theme, that goes along the lines of "to truly love a person you must try to understand & accept that person for what they are."
I`m a cyborg, But that`s ok
cast by Rain, Im Soo Jung and directed by Park Chan Wook.
I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK
Posted by luna6 on December 30th, 2006
Movie : I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK /Saibogujiman kwenchana
Year : 2006
Country : South Korea
Director : Chan-Wook Park
Starring: Rain (Il-Sun), Im Soo-Jung (Young-Gyun)
Runtime : 105 Minutes
Rating : 8.0
Plot Synopsis : Young-gyun works at manufacturing plant, assembling radio's.
She also has a bit of secret, which is that she believes that she is an actual cyborg. One day, while working at the factory, she decides to re-charge herself, by slashing her wrist and implanting electrical wires into her arm. This quickly gets Young-gyun a ticket into "New World", which is a mental hospital full of bizarre characters.
At New World, Young-gyun spends her time listening to the radio, talking with vending machines, and licking the terminals of 9 volt batteries. She soon encounters a guy, that is somewhat on the same eccentric level, named Il-Sun. Formerly an electrician, Il-Sun is now a thief of souls in the mental hospital, along with being your run-of-the-mill kleptomaniac. He believes that posesses the power to steal the characteristics of other people. Young-gyun and Il-Sun soon bond together, as their strange personalities complements each other perfectly. Unfortunately Young-gyun becomes seriously ill from malnutrition. She believes that Cyborgs should not eat "human" food and thus has not eaten in weeks. She soon loses most of her energy and becomes bed ridden. The doctors say that she has only a few more days to live, if she continues her ways. Il-Sun must now find a way to connect to her soul and save her from imminent death.
Movie Review : I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok is the latest film directed by Chan-Wook Park. He has stated publicly that for this film, he wanted to move away from the heaviness of his last three films (based on Revenge) and make this film a simpler affair without having to worry about commercial expectations. Well after seeing "I,m A Cyborg, But That's Ok," I can say that superficially, the movie appears simpler then than anything he has done in the past, but there is quite a bit more percolating below the superficial teenage romance layer.
From the opening scene, I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok, grabbed my attention with visuals that seemed like technicolor art. The way Chan-Wook Park interwove the opening credits within the actual opening sequences was utterly impressive and made for one of the best opening scenes I have ever had the pleasure to watch. From there, the visuals were on par with "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance" mixed in with the surreal and colorful worlds of say Terry Gilliam (Brazil) and Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands). I can't emphasize enough how impressive the visuals were.
The main actors in the movie were Im Soo-Jung and the popular K-Pop singer turned actor Rain. For Im Soo-Jung, I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok may be the movie that gets her elevated beyond the teeny bopper films that she seems to get typecast for so often these days. There were moments in the film where she was completely unrecognizable and still delivered a very impressive performance. I was also very impressed by the fella known as Rain. He seemed to be a natural for the camera and delivered a performance that seemed uncanny for a first time big-screen actor.
Beyond the simple love story between the two eccentric main leads, you have a lot of other things occurring in the film that was harder to comprehend. Definitely Chan-Wook Park seemed to have been implying the importance of a strong motherly figure, because both main characters had mothers that were non-existent or virtually non-existent. As for Young-Gyun she was closest to her grandmother who was also mentally ill. Young-Gyun saw her grandmother taken away by paramedics at a young age and since then, has had a fear of people in white uniforms. When Young-Gyun herself was committed to the mental hospital, she had these persistent visions of her grandmother in the mental hospital. She also had visions where she would kill the hospital workers ala the Terminator, to protect her grandmother from them. Yet, in Young-gyun's mind, she still posssessed 7 traits that would prevent her from being a cyborg and being able to "terminate" the workers at the hospital. Some of the more notable of these 7 traits were: Guilt, Gratitude, and Sympathy. It seems Chan-Wook Park is still pretty keen on the importance of sympathy. These seven traits were also a play on a Korean word which is typically used for the 7 qualifications to get a legal divorce in Korea. There were also the words that the grandmother mouthed silently to Young-Gyun while she was being taken away in the ambulance. She never knew exactly what her grandmother was trying to say to her, but finally as an adult and with the help of Il-Sun she was able to figure out what her grandmother said. What the grandmother said could be translated roughly to "The meaning of existence is...1 billion volts." Yeah like I said earlier, there are parts in this film that are a little hard to comprehend. Certainly this is one of those movies that would provide more incite on second or third viewings and I certainly did not mind the eccentricity of this story.
Ultimately, I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok is an impressive film for its visual imagery as well as for its two main characters, that are as unique as any characters you will likely encounter in any film. You could just go with the flow and follow the movie for the simple love story between Il-Sun and Young-Gyun or you could try to delve deeper into their worlds to understand some of the more difficult to comprehend aspects that Chan-Wook Park laid beneath the love story layer. Regardless of what path you pick, the core of the movie contains a wonderful humanist theme, that goes along the lines of "to truly love a person you must try to understand & accept that person for what they are."