I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (Saibogujiman Kwenchana) Review

Chan-Wook Park's international reputation is rooted in his so-called 'revenge trilogy', making it tempting to describe his latest work, the romantic comedy I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK, as something of a departure for the director - but then, each of his three 'revenge' films (not originally conceived by Park as a trilogy at all) displays a remarkable breadth and versatility of genre.

Conversely, this new film, as its title implies, is no straightforward romantic comedy. In fact, with its plot concerning a young woman who plans deadly retribution against her perceived enemies while spending time in an institution, I'm A Cyborg bears at least as close a family resemblance to Lady Vengeance as Lady Vengeance does to its two 'revenge' predecessors (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy ). In the end, like all Park's work, I'm A Cyborg is very much its own film, and unlike anything else out there.

Ever since the trauma of witnessing her beloved grandmother (Sohn) being taken away by white-clothed doctors, Young-Goon (Lim) has harboured the belief that she is a cyborg - and now, following a disturbing incident of self-harm in a radio factory, Young-Goon has been sent to an asylum. There she keeps largely to herself, talking to the lights and vending machine, taking instructions from a radio, and plotting to return her grandmother's dentures and kill all the "white-'uns" - if only she can first find a way to lose her all-too-human sense of sympathy. The problem is that her habit of licking batteries instead of eating food means that she is also starving herself to death. It is a breakdown from which she may never recover.