Following his intense ‘Vengeance Trilogy’, Park Chan-wook directs K-pop superstar Rain in this quirky comedy set in a surreal psychiatric hospital. A young woman Young-goon (Im Soo-jung) is admitted after cutting her wrist and taping her wound to live wire. However, what was mistaken as a suicide attempt was actually an attempt to ‘recharge’ herself as she believes she is a cyborg. Once admitted, Young-goon convinces fellow patient Il-soon (Rain), a kleptomaniac, to ‘steal’ her sympathy so she can exact her revenge on the men in white coats for taking away her mentally ill grandmother. Il-soon, who is known for ‘stealing’ the traits of other patients, is initially reluctant to accept Young-goon’s request because he is incapable of feeling sympathy. But as the self-proclaimed cyborg refuses to consume food as a human would and withers away, Il-soon must find a way to get her to eat and stay alive. With a lot less blood and a dramatically more vibrant colour palette compared with his previous works, Park presents a story of compassion and acceptance in a bizarrely wholesome and funny feature.

Park Chan-wook (b. 1963, South Korea) studied philosophy at Sogang University in the 1980s. After working as a film critic for many years, Park made his directorial debut with The Moon Is... the Sun's Dream (1992), followed by Trio (1997). His political thriller Joint Security Area (2000) received rave reviews and became the high-grossing film in South Korea at the time. Park then directed Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2001), the first of his ‘Vengeance Trilogy’, followed by Oldboy (2003), which was awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, and Lady Vengeance (2005). After the intense trio, Park directed the offbeat romantic comedy I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2005). In 2009, he subverted expectations with the genre-bending vampire film Thirst. Park made his American debut with Stoker in 2013. Meanwhile, his streak at Cannes continued with The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022), for which he was awarded Best Director.