I've always been a fan of science fiction. The theme of cyborgs especially captures my attention, alongside the arguments for and against their incorporation into society, coupled with the philosophical discussion on whether they can potentially acquire human feelings. Natural City, with its beautiful landscape, detailed effects and impressive vision grabbed my attention, however, the aforementioned ideas above appear fleetingly in a film where they are essentially paramount.R (Ji-tae Yu) is a member of the police force of 2080; a team of elite troopers, who keep the fragile peace in a post-apocalyptic society, where humans and cyborgs live awkwardly beside each other. Once a revered officer, R has been forced to commit illegalities in order to keep his beautiful cyborg girlfriend, Ria (Rin Seo) alive, pitifully fighting her short life span, that will inevitably consume her. His actions have turned him against his best friend, and fellow officer, Noma (Chang Yun), who tries desperately to keep R out of trouble.When R is told by the brilliant, but deranged Cyborg specialist, Dr Zero (Jung Eun-Pyo), that Cyon (Jae-un Lee), a beautiful, young working girl, has all the ingredients he needs to keep Ria indefinitely alive, R will stop at nothing to find her. Unfortunately, rogue combat cyborg Cypher (Doo-hong Jung) also requires Cyon to increase his life expectancy, culminating in a violent battle for preservation.As a lead character, R is difficult to sympathize with. Often aggressive and bitter, the only times he is shown to be compassionate, is in the company of Ria, whose screen time is minimal in contrast with the other characters, despite the pivotal part she plays. Characterization in general is sparse across the narrative, with little back-story, most characters having a very narrow agenda. Ria on the other hand, says several key phrases over the course of the feature that have considerable impact, however, their importance is undermined by the focus on the action-oriented story-line.Moments of beautiful tenderness, accentuated by the touching musical score, are equally short-lived, though are more memorable than the fight scenes. These are considerably violent, containing a combination of gun battles and martial arts, and though occasionally impressive, these are also handled by using slow motion and quick shots, that do not always result in appealingly fluid moments.Though Natural City is a film thematically focused around relationships, I couldn't help but notice the distance between the characters, even in scenes when they were barely an inch from each other. Feelings of hopelessness, and the debate on mortality gnaw at you from every angle, until even the sweetest parts of the film seem so utterly depressing. Perhaps I'm a romantic, however, I would have liked a deeper, more passionate focus on R and Ria, which offered a unique perspective to the audience, rather than the clichéd plot concerning killer cyborgs.

Several times in my comments i've said how i'm getting more and more interested in korean current cinema (i still don't feel comfortable to investigate its past). In later years, i think some of the best films coming out are korean. Among their vast production, we have two directors with whom i commit seriously. Because i have this interest, because korean films appeal to me, even when they fail, i've been wondering of the reasons for this. So far i think korean cinema reflects their culture. And that culture is a thin balance between west and east values. Korea is, in most aspects, apparently a country ruled by western principles. Yet, at root, it is an eastern country, coming from the same cradle as Japan and China. So these films i enjoy, beyond their own characteristics, reflect this balance, reflects the essence of two opposed visions of society.Sometimes the film presses more on the spiritual construction of koreans, which i think still remains oriental in its core. Other times it marvels at topping western narrative structures. Kim Ki Duk and Wook Park are the best in each case. The reason why i mention all this is because this film is totally inserted in this context. But here the balance falls totally for the western side, and is not at all satisfactory in it. The film tackles Bladerunner in its cosmology, in how the world works, in how people in this world face their reality, and even in the physical shape of that world. But where Blade Runner was a matter of memories, dream-real, parallel versions and constant redefinition of realities, here all this is exchanged for a pure "love" story. None of that Dick ambiguity, instead a plain soap operish story about how a man overcomes rejection and compromises to save his forbidden lover, a 'replicant' who will die soon. There is no trick in how the story unfolds, there is no surprise to amaze us, there is no origami in this one. Anyway we don't have that grand scale eye Ridley Scott placed at the service of Phil Dick's vision. We have a mere celebration of huge sets, strange worlds (which are not that fascinating , by the way), and Matrix based slow motion. We have few things to see here.My opinion: 1/5 http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com

I'm a huge Blade Runner fan and discovered this movie through a BR site. Although I tried to get into this movie without any biases or preconceptions, it was quite difficult because everything in Natural City screams of Blade Runner. Some of the scenes were so blatantly familiar that it would make me nostalgically smile and even rewind just to see it again. Even the characters that some of us came to love after the Nth watching of Ridley Scott's masterpiece are quite apparent in the story. But don't get me wrong, the fact that Natural City is trying to mimic one of the greatest sci-fi movies in history is not a bad thing at all. In fact, it manages to pull it off quite nicely and delivers a great movie, but unfortunately it is far from being a perfect cyberpunk sci-fi that Blade Runner was. For one, I was sort of disappointed with the music. It's too shallow and a bit too melancholic compared to BR's powerful Vangelis tunes. Scores in Natural City that are mostly composed for piano are not bad, but they're far from being good. Most of the time, you won't even notice the music and I think a lot more emphasis should have been put on this since one of the lesson's from Blade Runner was that sound track plays an extremely important role in mood setting and overall effect on the movie. Also because this is an Asian movie, I had trouble relating to the emotional aspects of it. Characters, at least female characters, were just too shallow for my tastes. There was no Rachel to speak of and the girl who sort of played her was constantly sitting in the corner with a blank expression on her face. Although it's understandable in the context of the storyline, I think they could have done better than that. It does in the end make you concentrate more on the male protagonist, but I think that makes the female actors kind of ignorable, which I think is not right. Romance is the center of the story, so having a strong female role is quite crucial. But all these disappointment are really quite minor. I have to stress that Natural City is a really interesting film and a strong contender amongst Sci-Fi masterpieces. I'm sure it will have more fame in near future and will probably become a cult like so many other great under-appreciated sci-fi movies did.This is definitely a must see for anyone who's interested in sci-fi, but is also a good action flick to satisfy an average Joe. The story might be a bit complicated for a person that has never seen this type of movies before, but visuals are pretty enough to keep anyone on watching.9/10 (10 for being a great sci fi, -1 for somewhat generic music)

Directed by Byung-chun Min, as well as being the cinematographer and writer of Natural City, it then stars Ji-tae Yu (who played the antagonist in the movie Oldboy, 2003) as a member of the Military Police, and known only as "R" in the movie, who has the unenviable task of policing the city of the small group of renegade Cyborgs that have run wild, killing the city's population. The plot revolves around the Love that has captured Ji-tae Yu's heart as his battle to keep her with him, at all cost. Here, we see the plot seemingly watering down this movie, and I do say seemingly, a typical Love story, and the struggle to keep the two protagonists together. This may seem your typical love story, but most definitely not in the same vain as the 1970 movie with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, on the contrary, this is a completely different kind of love, for a different kind of mindset, in a future World that has changed all recognition between love and defeating loneliness. This is, after all, the year AD 2080.Where we would feel that this is an old age story line, and then why not, it works well, it gives us the sense that love can hold no boundaries, however obscure they tend to become.Where Natural City does stand out is its wonderful achievement for the Sci-Fi / Futuristic movie genre; Natural City tips over the edge of aesthetic wonderment quicker than a barrel over the Niagara Falls, and really is suited for the Big Screen, to watch this movie in any other form would truly be a wasted opportunity. The fantastic images and beautiful cinematography are to be envied and duly respected for their artistic qualities. The fantastic scope of depth, colour, light and shadow are just pure cinema brilliance, the feeling of involvement in the City and its dark streets and even darker characters have us hooked on the first view of this amazing city and its surroundings. From street level grime and dirt to the ivory tower offices, this is Sci-Fi / Futuristic heaven, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and behold a stunningly imaginative movie indeed.Natural City was nominated by the Festival International De Cinema do Porto, Portugal, during 2005, for the Category of International Fantasy Film Award. Best Visual Effects went to and was won by Byung-yong Moon, at the Grand Bell Award, South Korea, in 2004.Natural City is a future World that is possibly inevitable for us all, but, for the human race, there will always be a longing for the past, a past of when the longing of a future was only a dream.Visually stunning and sheer Sci-Fi brilliance.Go to Natural City.