I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
2007 ‘Ssa-i-bo-geu-ji-man-gwen-chan-a’ Directed by Chan-wook Park
Synopsis
Young-Goon works at manufacturing plant assembling radio’s. She also believes she is a 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. Her action gets Young-Goon a mental hospital full of bizarre characters. At New World, Young-Goon spends her time listening to the radio, talking with vending machines, and licking the terminals of 9 volt batteries. She soon encounters a guy named Il-Sun. Il-Sun is a thief of souls in the mental hospital. Young-Goon and Il-Sun soon form a strong bond as their odd personalities complements each other perfectly. Unfortunately, Young-Goon becomes gravely ill from malnutrition. Young-Goon doesn't believe cyborgs should eat human food. She soon loses most of her energy and becomes bedridden. Doctors say that Young-Goon 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.
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Popular reviews
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30 Countries, 30 Days.
Day 10
Actual reviewCountry: South Korea
Time Period: present, I think
Theme: Mental disorder, effects of treatment in childhood on adulthood, revenge fantasy
Style of Subtitle:
Funniest / Oddest Subtitle: "you shithead!" * It should be noted a subtitle from Thirst inspired this idea.
What did I learn about the country:
Coincidental relation to last country I watched: Some of the characters from Micmacs could mistakenly be admitted at this hospital
I heard there's an American remake planned: Starring Li Bingbing and Justin Timberlake. Directed by Quentin DupieuxSo here's a proper review. This movie caught me off-guard. I was going to watch I Saw The Devil (on my list for this challenge) and this…
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Like a Korean Wes Anderson film. That thought didn't occur to me until one of the final (well-composed) shots but now I can't unthink it.
Fun visuals, fun characters, fun editing, fun dialog, fun setting. This was by no means a perfect film but I didn't stop smiling once so I'd have trouble faulting it.
Most of the characters are absolute caricatures of mental illness but I still loved the way it was handled and how bizarre the whole thing felt. The way the doctors were all the crazy ones, and the patients just needed different socks so they could fly away in the night time.
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Though perhaps a bit too silly for its own good, I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK is a much more lighthearted film from Park Chan-wook than his usual fare, providing plenty of laughs and surprisingly surreal moments. Im Soo-jung and Rain also have a great chemistry on screen, giving the film an undeniably charming feeling to it that makes you smile from beginning to end. A great film as well as a great opportunity for Park to do something different after having finished the Vengeance trilogy.
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30 Countries, 30 Days.
Day 10I'm tempted to write "what the hell did I just watch?" and leave it at that.
More review coming soon.
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Ελα να κλέψουμε το volvo από την άκρη του δρόμου και να ζήσουμε τρώγοντας μπαταρίες.
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"The vending machine says 'hi.'"
I only hope if I am ever stuck in an insane asylum, I get to have this much fun.
Recent reviews
More-
30 Countries, 30 Days.
Day 10
Actual reviewCountry: South Korea
Time Period: present, I think
Theme: Mental disorder, effects of treatment in childhood on adulthood, revenge fantasy
Style of Subtitle:
Funniest / Oddest Subtitle: "you shithead!" * It should be noted a subtitle from Thirst inspired this idea.
What did I learn about the country:
Coincidental relation to last country I watched: Some of the characters from Micmacs could mistakenly be admitted at this hospital
I heard there's an American remake planned: Starring Li Bingbing and Justin Timberlake. Directed by Quentin DupieuxSo here's a proper review. This movie caught me off-guard. I was going to watch I Saw The Devil (on my list for this challenge) and this…
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That business card, you guys.
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30 Countries, 30 Days.
Day 10I'm tempted to write "what the hell did I just watch?" and leave it at that.
More review coming soon.
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RAAAAAAAIN!
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This 2006 film from Park Chan-wook, best known for his Vengeance trilogy, stands apart from the rest of his work in a large number of ways. The film centers around Cha Young-goon, a young woman who, through various psychological complications from her past, believes herself to be a cyborg. After being checked into a mental hospital, she refuses to eat any of her meals, convinced that it will disrupt the complex machinery that keeps her running. Because of this, she starts to starve, drawing the concern of both the doctors and the patients. Despite the subject matter and the setting, the film has a much lighter tone than the rest of Park's work, which is a nice change of pace…
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They're aren't many films in existence with titles as outstanding as I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, nor are there many other films like it, in general. It's only the second film I've seen from director Chan-Wook Park, the other being the masterful Oldboy, and it wasn't at all what I expected from him. It's undoubtedly beautiful to look at, but also surprisingly sweet while being completely deranged.
It centers on a woman named Young-Goon who thinks she's a cyborg and is sent to a psychiatric ward filled with several other equally or even more highly delusional people. It's here that she meets Il-Soon, a man with deep issues of his own, and they begin to help each other, whether…
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Quirky, charming and confusing. Park Chan-wook is a master of tone, always a mix of seriousness and levity. In this case the humor dominates and it's hard for me to really connect with the serious themes.
The surrealism is amusing and I don't know if we ever get to see anything real. Nor do I care, because it's a fantastic world to get immersed in.
Hopefully the movie will ferment a bit in the back of my mind so I get something more out of it, because it really feels like there was more to it. I have had the same sensation before with Park, that the style suggests that there's more depth that I just don't connect with.
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A silly film with a silly title from Old Boy director Park Chan-Wook.
Unlike One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, this does not address the issue of mental health with any seriousness, instead depicting it's characters as quirky imbeciles who seemingly live in a dreamworld and display nonsensical traits such as walking backwards, compulsive stealing or believing oneself to be the titular cyborg.It's all very comedic and lighthearted. Look deeper though, and there are many hidden, serious undertones to the characters and the message of the film.
This however is too much hard work, and superficially the message of the film comes across as very lost in translation. Sometimes a film and it's characters at least have to be… -
Not what I was expecting, but still very good!