I’M A CYBORG, BUT THAT’S OK (Korea, 2006)
Directed by: Park Chan-Wook
Starring: Rain, Lim Su-Jeong
“Witty, playful, romantic, tragic, Park Chan-wook's "I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK" is a whole chocolate box of emotions in a highly decorative but absolutely characteristic wrapping..." – Derek Elley, Variety

Not many romantic comedies begin with a suicide attempt and end with its two lovebirds blissfully trying to detonate a nuclear device, but not many romantic comedies are directed by Park Chan-Wook, either. In fact, this is the first one directed by the man who brought the world JSA, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance so you’ll forgive him if his romance takes place in a mental institution and if his Romeo is a kleptomaniac and his Juliet is a cyborg with machine guns in her fingers and battery level lights in her toes.

Il-Soon (Rain) is a kleptomaniac locked away in a mental institution because he couldn’t handle his mandatory military service. Enter Yeong-Goon (Lim Su-Jeong), a young woman who believes with all her heart that she is a cyborg who must return her institutionalized grandmother’s dentures. She meets Il-Soon and becomes desperate for him to steal something from her: her emotions. That way she can go on a killing rampage and avenge all the wrongs that have been visited on her in her life. First time actor, Rain (aka Jung Ji-Hoon), was voted by TIME magazine readers as the most influential person of 2007 (beating Stephen Colbert and leading to a showdown between the two) and his R&B career has seen him sell out Madison Square Garden and stadiums around the world. Lim Su-Jeong is one of the stars of A Tale of Two Sisters and her work here has earned her praise around the world. Their characters are protected from the world by their fantasies, which Park lovingly depicts onscreen with all of his customary technical élan, and they forge a tentative connection, but this ain’t Patch Adams – there aren’t any life lessons here. You may be a thief, you may be broken, you may be fat, you may be suicidal, you may be unhappy or depressed or even a cyborg, but this movie wants you to know that whatever it is, that’s OK. Beyond that, you’re on your own.