Edinburgh 2013: Pluto (명왕성, 2012)

Part of Connor McMorran's coverage for MKC of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 19-30, 2013).

We often claim that mainstream cinema becomes unbelievable in its attempts at spectacle. This is usually the case, but such statements should force us to examine exactly why we watch films in the first place. What function should films ultimately aspire to in society? Entertainment? Art? Isn't the whole thing, as I tend to think, entirely subjective? Regardless of how we feel, it may be beneficial to rethink the role of spectacle and genre cinema and its ties to reality. As humans, we make narratives about ourselves, about our lives and struggles. However, mainstream cinema demands a certain detachment from reality, as it exists in a strange reality where expected narrative resolutions allow characters to overcome almost any kind of obstacle.

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Edinburgh 2013: Day II - Getting the Hang of Things

Part of Connor McMorran's coverage for MKC of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 19-30, 2013).

Having gained a better understanding of how a film festival operates, I used my second day to watch some films and better acquaint myself with other festival aspects like the videotheque. Getting to Edinburgh for 9AM was quite a challenge, but it was worth it to finally see Shin Su-Won’s Pluto. What was rather disappointing however, was the lack of people in the screening. It could have been the time of day, or it could have been the lack of awareness about the film itself, but whatever the reason it left me hoping that the two public screenings were well booked. Looking at the schedule for this morning, I noticed that Pluto clashed with Hideo Nakata’s latest horror The Complex and the UK/North-Korea co-production Comrade Kim Goes Flying. It seemed weird to me that three films from the same ‘niche’ were grouped together like this. I guess clashes are inevitable at any festival, film or otherwise.

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Edinburgh 2013: I Catch a Terrible Cat (こっぴどい猫, Japan) 2012

Part of Connor McMorran's coverage for MKC of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 19-30, 2013).

If there can be one major complaint of post-modern cinema, it is that it is far too aware. Not only of itself as a piece of cinema, but also of the limitations of genre. This can often lead to an over-eager attempt to break or push genre boundaries, or to reject genre in favour of observational, dialogue-heavy, or highly referential cinema. Thankfully, Rikiya Imaizumi’s I Catch a Terrible Cat manages to avoid such pitfalls whilst also providing a rather interesting and playful look at the romance genre.

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Edinburgh 2013: Day I - First Impressions at a Film Festival

Part of Connor McMorran's coverage for MKC of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 19-30, 2013).

Today was the first time I had ever attended a film festival. I had always longed to go to various different ones, but for various reasons – be it price or distance – I just never managed to make them. Perhaps because of this, film festivals have always seemed like magical places to me; places where you get to see a wide range of films, some of which may never screen in the country again. I have, over the years, looked at many programmes and hoped that some company would release these films in the UK at a later date. For the most part, this never happened.

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Breezy Rom-Com A Wedding Invitation Rings A Little Hollow (分手合约, 2013)

In the film business these days, China seems to be the word on everyone lips as its market is in the midst of a breathless expansion. However, strict quotas on foreign imports mean that only 35 international films get to share in the spoils. To get around this system, a number of foreign companies have begun co-producing films with China, though the results thus far have been mixed. The Korean media giant CJ Entertainment has been investing in the mainland for quite some time but they have just scored their biggest hit with the romantic comedy A Wedding Invitation, their first fully-produced film for the Chinese market.

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Edinburgh 2013: Introduction to Korean Showcase

Part of Connor McMorran's coverage for MKC of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 19-30, 2013).

Following last year’s retrospective of the works of the long overlooked Japanese director Shinji Somai, Edinburgh International Film Festival’s artistic director Chris Fujiwara now brings focus onto two likewise overlooked aspects of global cinema: the films of Sweden and Korea. Film festivals are an interesting concept as they bring films from all over the world to one particular town or city, allowing local cineastes to explore and discover a wide variety of directors and works. Yet, unfortunately, their main flaw is often their attempt to house such a diverse range of cinematic voices over the relatively short space of one or two weeks.

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Korean Box Office: Man of Steel Not Quite Great Enough for Secretly (06/14-06/16, 2013)

Business was up again this past weekend as just over 2.5 million tickets were sold, though this was largely a result of two blockbusters ducking it out for the top spot. Each scored over one million, a achievement in itself though not the first time it's happened. Meanwhile, the local market share stood at 45%, ecent given the time of year and on par with last year's figure. However, with only two Korean titles in the top 10, one wonders what that figure might look like with a stronger mix of local fare on the marquees.

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