Myeong-wang-song

The things these success-driven, elite kids engage in to bully one another in order to come out on top is completely ridiculous and implausible. It's like the Hogwart's of psychopaths. Nothing makes any sense either and there is no tension.

A number of years back, Korean cinema was heralded for its originality and non-conformism in a number of its films. Times have moved on but still it holds its own in trying to make original films. In many ways Pluto does and doesn't fall into this sphere.

What we have is one young bright kid finding that to make up his grades to reach the top he will have to sell his soul out to a clique at his new school who are populated by sociopaths with a bent to abuse to remain at the top of the class.

We have here a dark satire on the pressures of the education system in East Asia (and lets be honest increasingly everywhere now), and the angst & extremes that some feel they need to go to. This film takes the premise further, and combined with some fine cinematography, some good dialogue and a fine cast we have a good film.

Yet it also falls short. Starting well, it does seem to fall into cliché later on and you can seen parts taken from other highly regarded teen movies in the genre (such as 'Heathers'). It's a brutal movie at points and some may feel uncomfortable.

I liked it but not as much as I thought I was going. It loses its way and some of the early promises seem to be side stepped to give it a more orthodox feel into the final third.

A fine dark film, questioning much of what we already know about education, but just doesn't reach the tape at the end of the race. Still I'd say it is worth a shot.

This was a very likeable little drama that i guess develops, rather naturally, into a thriller about competitive school children.

As a westerner, it's somewhat fascinating for me to observe this culture's image of its own high standards and how it intersects with the issues of class and relationships.

I don't know how much reality there is in this elite club but this was a stirring story of a character who eventually rebounded against the the high pressure he was constantly subjected too in a way that is frightening, but very satisfying.

This downbeat South Korean school drama reminded me somewhat of another film from that country, the animated movie The King of Pigs (2011). Both those films dealt specifically with the themes of bullying and the privileged cliques that exist in the South Korean school system. In this one it looks unfavourably at the system of ranking students, creating different classes of pupils; the film considers the possible violent outcome of this type of rigid system and the way that it can be manipulated by the students themselves. The story begins with the murder of a boy by an unknown assassin. Blame quickly falls on another boy whose phone was found at the scene of the crime. He is released and quickly entraps several of his school mates and from here the story alternates between the present and extended flash-backs that slowly unveil how we got to this situation.

This is a pretty gloomy film with no humour. It's title derives from the fact that the main character identifies with Pluto which was outcast as a planet because it was the wrong shape and too far removed from the central Sun. He himself feels like an outcast and is a loner who wishes to be part of the privileged group. It's no coincidence that events in the story are designed to culminate at the point of a total solar eclipse, the very moment the Sun is blocked out; the very moment the core group is wiped out. In truth, the set-up has more potential than is ultimately delivered. The central secrets of the story are not especially surprising and it does maybe lack a certain emotional core. Because of this it's difficult emphasising with the characters and caring all that much as to what happens to them. Still, it's a very well-acted film indeed and the cinematography is very fine with plenty of shots that capture the geometric almost prison-like shape of the school.

This should be considered a serious topic. Korean education system, which is similar with ones seen in other countries, is pushing students to their limits. Mental problems, even suicide, and unfair competition are mentioned in many films and TV series. The issue is more significant in Korea, where the gap between the rich and the poor is being extended.

The theme of the movie revolves around "Pluto", a small planet is not considered a planet owing to its small size and too far distance from the Sun. People will find June resembling the planet so much since he's poor and always sitting at the corner of the class. June is excellent, he's just not lucky enough to have a rich family.

I'm not the type enjoying too dark movies. Too much blood, too much tears, too much pain - that's not what I expect from a psychological thriller. Pluto is in a slow pace, capturing alternatively the present scenes and past scenes, and gradually reveals the dark curtain in education behind a famous high school. June, the central character, has been pushed to an extreme that he captures and threatens all the classmates who have killed Yujin.

The actors act very well, especially Da-wit Lee (Kim June). He must play both mental sides - weak and innocent, and dark and fearless. June possesses an abundant set of psychological features, and it's hard for a juvenile actor to play this role well; but Lee has successfully made it.

The crazy things in the movie will not make the audiences vomit. They don't haunt them, either. But as many Korean thrillers, they do leave a trace on people's mind.