Audience divided over film 'Hope' as director explains unconventional choices

The film 'Hope' has ignited a fierce debate among viewers, splitting opinions as dramatically as political divides. While it rapidly surpassed 2 million admissions, becoming one of the fastest films to reach this milestone this year, audience scores are notably polarized. At present, the film garners an 82% rating on CGV and a 7.1 on Naver's real viewer reviews, with a significant number of ratings falling into the highest and lowest score brackets.

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Na Hong-jin's films always depict fear and reactions to the other, and 'Hope' is no different. While the 'other' in his previous works contained metaphors for our lives, the aliens in 'Hope' are transcendent beings, allowing for a pure reaction (without linking them to our lives), which creates the film's pure entertainment value. Why did you want to make an alien movie?

This extreme division stems from the film's narrative structure, which deviates from conventional storytelling. Instead of a clear resolution, 'Hope' concludes with an ambiguous ending that places significant weight on the aliens' story, leaving some viewers feeling bewildered and even betrayed. Director Na Hong-jin, however, defended his choices during recent "Audience with the Director" events, alongside acclaimed filmmakers Lee Chang-dong, Bong Joon-ho, and Jang Jae-hyun.

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I was surprised to hear a critic say that my films now show a certain routine. So, I decided that no matter what story I told, I had to make it in a different style from my previous works. While doing so, I conceived a work that looks at human society from a supernatural perspective, that is, from God's point of view. I thought about disguising that form as aliens and making it a cosmic story.

Na explained his departure from established narrative formulas was a deliberate choice. "I wanted to create a film that, with just one sentence as the text – 'A police officer chases an unknown entity and gets into a chase with it' – could sustain an hour of runtime," he stated. He aimed to move away from predictable routines and explore a supernatural perspective, viewing human society from a cosmic viewpoint, which he manifested through the alien characters.

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I felt that the reason for the overwhelming suspense and excitement for the first 62 minutes, until the first alien is hit by a tanker truck, was the amazing flow from tracking the traces of past events to moving into a present-tense urban warfare.

Discussing the film's open-ended conclusion, Na expressed a desire for audiences to engage actively with the narrative. "I don't think of the audience as a single lump," he said. "I want to make films where each audience member draws their own conclusion." While acknowledging 'Hope' moves closer to a specific conclusion than his previous works, he maintained that the aliens' final conversation offers a more concrete resolution, aiming to connect more directly with viewers.

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Instead of the usual design, I tried to sacrifice the flesh of the narrative to gain the bones of detail. The text is a simple sentence: 'A police officer chases an unknown entity and gets into a chase with it.' I wanted to make a movie that lasts an hour with this sentence. The way to embody that was through sound, which gradually approaches the audience over the course of an hour.