Review of I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) by Walter M — 20 May 2010

Years after watching her grandmother being sent away to a mental hospital for her radish obsession, Young-goon(Su-jeong Lim)succumbs to the notion that she is in fact a cyborg who can talk to electrical appliances and vending machines(If so, could you please ask it why it did not have my favorite cupcakes today?) and that she needs to plug herself into a power outlet for electricity to keep her energized, with predictable results. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a mental hospital herself being given a tour by Seul-gi(Hei-jin Choi), a patient, and is introduced to Il-sun(Rain) who wears a mask and is accused of stealing everything, including Thursdays.(Oh darn. That means I can't watch "Fringe.").

I usually never pay that much attention to film titles but with a title like "I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK," one would be right to expect a certain level of weirdness, and director Chan-wook Park does not disappoint. What the movie accomplishes visually through sheer verve is showing the world through the eyes of a mentally ill person which is mindblowing to say the least. Outside of this, there is not a particularly strong story, as it simply revolves around therapy and the healing process. What separates this movie from others of its ilk structurally is that there is not a strong doctor figure to sympathize with, leaving the patients to attempt to heal each other, taking on each other's pain.