I was somehow able to take time out from my super intense SXSW music schedule Saturday night to catch the North American premiere of Park Chan-Wook’s I'm a Cyborg, But That’s OK. Was I ever glad I did. Sitting a couple of seats down from Ain’t it Cool News’ wheelchair-bound Harry Knowles, I was treated to one of the best film’s I’ve seen in a long, long time.
It’s something of a stylistic departure for Park, whose gritty, existentialist revenge tale Old Boy continues to draw considerable critical praise well after its 2003 release. Cyborg is much sweeter; you could even call it a quirkily comedic love story, but that would be an injustice. Various films by way of comparison come to mind: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Delicatessen, Peter Greenaway films, David Lynch. But those comparisons are sort of like grasping at straws, as Park has a visually sumptuous style that is authoritative and uniquely his own. It‘s no stretch at all to say that he’s one of the most brilliant international filmmakers working today.
The principal action takes place in a psychiatric facility in Korea, where Cha Young-goon winds up after falling under the strange spell of her grandmother, who believes she’s a mouse and therefore only eats turnips. Young-goon similarly starts to hear the voices, and they are telling her that she’s a cyborg. After being incarcerated, she falls for Park Il-sun, a strange boy who believes he can steal people's souls. Lush nature scenes in the strangely expansive wilderness area behind the facility ensue, along with some of the most masterful revenge fantasy scenes I’ve seen committed to celluloid. You see, Young-goon’s toe nails glow soft colors on each toe, just like a nice little cute, punk-looking alien. But get her going the wrong way, and off come the fingertips, revealing ten lethal gun barrels. As she trudges down the hallways methodically massacring the staff, the blank shells fall from her mouth as she stares blankly. It’s too cool, but a shame these fantasy sequences aren’t included in the trailer above.
Park was unable to attend the opening, but film festival director Matt Dentler introduced the screening by saying that he worked harder to get this masterpiece here than any other at the festival. No U.S. distribution deal is set as of yet, but it seems a no-brainer that someone might want to snap this one up as soon as possible.
