Sci Fi London 8: UK Premiere of Cyborg She April 30, 2009

Jiro is a loner. Every year he buys his own present and celebrates his birthday alone, with a plate of spaghetti in the same restaurant. This year a beautiful, but kooky, girl joins in his celebrations and they spend the rest of the evening doing crazy things and having fun. Then, following a cryptic speech, she disappears.

A year later the girl turns up again, except this time she is a cyborg from the future... Her function is to protect him and the world around him.

This Japanese film is written and directed by Korean filmmaker Kwak Jae-yong (My Sassy Girl, Windstruck). Like many of the new wave of Korean filmmakers he manages to successfully mix genres, in this case sci-fi and rom-com. The rom-com part is both funny and charming but never contrived or cloying; the sci-fi element, involving cyborgs and time travel, is well thought out and ties in perfectly with all the other story elements.

And even with all the romance there is still time for heroism and urban destruction!

Beautifully shot, with great chemistry between the two leads, and impressive special effects that don't dominate the story, this really does have something for everyone. It's also the ideal sci-fi fans' date movie...

Official Website: http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2009/programme/