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Directed by SHIN Su-won
Starring David LEE, SUNG June, KIM Kko-bbi, CHO Sung-ha, KIM Kwan, SUN Ju-ah, PARK Jung-jae
Release Date: n/a

 

 

A large number of new Korean features premiered at the 2012 Busan International Film Festival, and among them, one of the films that drew particular attention was Pluto by director SHIN Su-won. There were several aspects to Pluto that made it stand out among the many other films screening at BIFF, including the film's topic. South Korea is well known, and in some respects infamous, for its intensely competitive educational system. This film captures some of the stress, anxiety and cutthroat rivalry of Korean high school in a manner that is in some ways exaggerated… but perhaps not completely so.

 

Pluto opens with the murder of a boy named Yunjin, the #1-ranking student in an elite high school. As a detective assigned to the case begins to ask questions, the film embarks on a series of complex flashbacks centered around a transfer student named June (played by actor David LEE from the acclaimed Poetry) who is a key suspect. In the weeks after he begins attending his new high school, June gradually finds out that the top 10 ranking students in his class are afforded special privileges, and have formed a closely-knit clique. This group not only studies together, but they are virtually immune from any school rules, and they have grown to abuse their power.

 

With great performances, a complex narrative structure, brisk storytelling, and creative editing, director SHIN Su-won imparts a great deal of energy to Pluto over its 120-minute running time. Indeed, the potential shown by the director herself is another reason that this film drew attention at BIFF. A former middle school teacher, SHIN studied screenwriting at the Korea National University of Arts and won the top prize in the Winds of Asia section at the Tokyo International Film Festival for her feature debut, Passerby #3. Earlier this year, she picked up the Canal+ Prize at Cannes for her short film Circle Line, which screened in the Critics Week section. Having tackled a number of very different styles in her films to date, she has drawn the attention of critics as a director to watch.

 

Over the past couple decades, many Korean films have tackled issues related to Korean high school, but in its style and perspective, Pluto displays considerable originality. Although it did not receive universal praise in Busan -- some felt that the film overreached in its second half -- it ranks as one of the more distinctive Korean independent features of 2012, and looks likely to garner interest from international film festivals as well.