Plan Man is a Korean foreign language film about a man who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who has to make a plan for everything in his life.
The film is both light and fun but packs a punch of reality with how mental illness is portrayed by others.
Altogether Plan Man is about breaking out of your shell and to not to be afraid to pursue your passions despite setbacks, as hard as that may be.
Synopsis
The main character Jeong-seok always has a schedule. And by schedule I mean he plans every single thing he does every day. To the second.
He works as a librarian in his town and lives a fairly boring life. With his obsessive-compulsive episodes increasing, he joins a therapy group and is also forced to become friends with a girl who is the polar opposite from himself.
The remainder of the Plan Man is about Jeong-seok tackling his crippling fears in different ways and letting people a into his life as depicted in many wacky scenarios.
Important Themes
As cute and silly as Plan Man is, the film surprisingly has a lot of depth to it.
Mental illness in today's society is not being treated as something akin to a person's physical health. Therefore at large, many in today's society do not deem mental illness as being tangible and real.
But with today's pressures, expectations and our growing relationship with technology, mental illness is on the rise. As we have gone from traditional forms of work, communication and entertainment to virtual alternatives. Mainly through our electronic devices.
OCD is defined as: "a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviours (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over", according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH).
Specifically in Korea, OCD is on a rise.
This article by the Korea Herald, notes that in 2014 the number of OCD patients went up to 24,000 which was a staggering 13 percent increase from the year prior. With half of the patients being in the 20-30 age range.
In the present time, is is easy to just hide behind a computer or live an extraordinarily bland life.
The most important thing is to live in the present time and not to think about the past or future. Mental health is something that is different to everyone, and every single one of us deals with their issues in their own way.
Conclusion
All in all, Plan Man is a very good film. To me, it had everything. It was a comedy, drama and even had some mystery to it.
Unlike many films Plan Man went full circle and left no loose ends at the finish, which is always fulfilling. In doing so it culminated the film brilliantly making for a spectacular ending.
I would give Plan Man a passing grade with flying colours. It should be a definite add to your personal watch list.
