Review of I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) by Reynald M — 22 Jun 2008

Chan-Wook's latest feature is a definite U-turn from his revenge trilogy as it chronicles a young Korean girl's psychosis as a cyborg. Should be approached as a dramedy rather than a straight whimsical comedy, "Cyborg" seems familiar as it derives its fantasy from Gondry's "The Science of Sleep" version A and its darker side of version B.

No doubt, it's pretty hard to get into but once the obligatory character introductions are set aside, rewards are acquired as the movie finally focuses on the main protagonists. Supporting characters are admirably quirky but sometimes feel forced, only necessary to label the movie quirky for quirkiness sake and lift the movie's running time to more than 2 hours.

The movie impresses as it forces empathy to the main protagonists by allowing the audience to see things through their perspective, only to be grounded to 'reality' by non-patients. It's sometimes an interesting exercise, but can be distracting because as the film verges on to metaphorical wonder, it slings the tone right back to reality.

Even though bloated and not on par with his best work, "Cyborg" rewards in emotion and fantasy. Music, set pieces and directing has the director's trademarks. Fans won't be disappointed.