I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006)
"Ssa-i-bo-geu-ji-man-gwen-chan-a" (original title)

A girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls.

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Seo-Gyeong Jeong, Chan-wook Park

Stars:

Su-jeong Lim, Rain, Hie-jin Choi

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Su-jeong Lim	...	Cha Young-goon
Rain	...	Park Il-sun
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hie-jin Choi	...	Choi Seul-gi
Byeong-ok Kim	...	Judge
Yong-nyeo Lee	...	Young-goon's mother
Dal-su Oh	...	Shin Duk-cheon
Ho-jeong Yu	...	Il-sun's mother

Storyline

A young woman who believes she's a cyborg hears voices and harms herself while at work making radios. She's hospitalized in a mental institution where she eats nothing and talks to inanimate objects. She's Young-goon, granddaughter of a woman who thought she was a mouse (and whose dentures Young-goon wears) and a mother who's a butcher without much social grace. Young-goon comes to the attention of Il-sun, a ping-pong playing patient at the institution who makes it his goal to get her to eat. Will he succeed? Which way does sanity lie?

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Plot Keywords:

cyborg | mental institution | mental hospital | pink light | healing process | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [South Korea]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

7 December 2006 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joy Fund, Moho Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Su-jeong Lim had to get her weight down to just 39 kg to shoot this film.

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Quotes

Cha Young-goon: Mom, I think I'm a cyborg.
Young-goon's mother: ...What is that?
Cha Young-goon: I think it's kind of... like a robot?
Young-goon's mother: ...Have you missed your period? Because you're a 'sy-bor'?

User Reviews

A refreshing alternative romantic comedy

This film is an alternative comedy about the love between two psychiatric patients in a mental hospital.

The way the film opened was entertaining and clever. The psychotic factory girl almost killed herself under psychotic influence, against a background of cyborg looking factory workers who move in a coordinated and stereotyped way. There is really a contrast as to who is normal and who is abnormal.

The film contains a lot of absurd and yet convincing ways of how mental patients can be weird. In addition, the main characters' development are excellent. The reasons why they became psychotic were given convincingly. Despite all the absurdities, viewers get to feel for the characters.

It is an alternative romantic comedy. It does not strive to have perfect characters with the perfect life. It is down to earth and realistic. Viewing the world through a psychotic lens is definitely interesting.