Natural City

Blurb: "Earning comparisons to such classics as Blade Runner and The Matrix, this Korean sci-fi feature takes place in the year 2080. Following a battle that nearly destroyed everything, a city has been rebuilt. This city is technologically advanced, and has become dependent on the cyborgs that its people created. Similar in many ways to humans, the cyborgs gradually begin to rebel against their makers. Torn between his secret love for a cyborg and and his duty to his fellow humans, R must make a world-shattering choice." (rottentomatoes.com)

Notables: Won the Grand Bell Award in South Korea (Best Visual Effects), nominated for best film at Fantasporta (International Fantasy Film Award)

My thoughts: 4/5
I've only seen this once, but Natural City definitely made an impression on me. Unlike most sci-fi (especially a lot of Asian-country based sci-fi's) films, Natural City has a pretty good blend of amazing technological goodies and actual plot-line that's understandable. It surprised me, to be sure. I was watching an action packed thrill fest with lots of flashy lights and gadgets, when suddenly the age-old "human element" snuck up on me and whacked me over the head with a tear-jerking scene.

And yes, I know "snuck" is not a word.

Natural City's language is Korean, as mentioned above. The subtitles are on par, but I have not watched the dubbed version (I never do, to be fair). The main characters (R, Cyon, and Ria) each have their own likability that keep the story interesting. Though I will admit, if you're one for character development, it doesn't happen much in this film (barring a couple characters, and the changes are a bit minor in most instances).

I give it a 4/5 because the writers tried to use mystery as a plot device, and in my opinion kind of failed. It's entertaining, visually stimulating to boot, and the ending is heartfelt (albeit on the depressing end of the spectrum). But holding off valuable information pretty much throughout the film makes most viewers (especially those not savvy to the common blunders of subtitles) a little confused. Still, as long as it's worth a second watch--which I say it is--I guess the bits you miss out on the first round come into focus the next time.