On the afternoon of the 17th (local time), the Lumiere Grand Theatre in Cannes, France, with its 2,300 seats, was packed with audiences from around the world dressed in tuxedos and gowns. It was the moment director Na Hong-jin’s new film “Hope,” his first work in 10 years since “The Wailing,” premiered in the competition section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
The setting is Hopo, a port town near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Minefields surround the village, and anti-communist and spy warning posters are plastered everywhere.
Beom-seok soon realizes that the entity he is facing is beyond human dimensions. A massive hole is ripped through a real estate building in town, and corpses and brutally destroyed vehicles litter every alley. The roar of an unidentified monster echoes, leaving the entire village in ruins.
This is followed by breathtaking action set pieces where Beom-seok chases and desperately flees from the mysterious entity. The direction in the early stages is marvelous. The monster always vanishes just before Beom-seok arrives on the scene. For about 45 minutes, the film builds tension while keeping the monster hidden. When the creature finally reveals itself, a giant hand leaps out from a dark interior, grabs a person’s head, and flings it away. The 3 to 4 meter tall creature is reminiscent of the creature from the movie “Predator.” It is incredibly fast and aggressive, and its hard exoskeleton makes it impervious to bullets.
Beom-seok and police officer Seong-ae (Jung Ho-yeon) barely manage to subdue the monster. However, the existence of another monster is soon revealed, and the film spirals into an endless chase.
Unusually for a film in the Cannes competition, it reveals almost no message. Instead, it focuses all its energy on massive action and survival thrills. It feels surprising that this type of pure blockbuster even made it into the competition section.
International actors Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Cameron Britton, and Taylor Russell perform the alien lifeforms using motion capture, creating an otherworldly atmosphere by speaking a language different from humans. The setup is reminiscent of the “Stranger” Jun Kunimura from “The Wailing.”
“Hope” does not hide its ambition to be the starting point of a new franchise. The final scene explicitly hints at the possibility of a sequel.
After the screening, a standing ovation lasted for about 7 minutes. Director Na thanked the audience, saying, “Thank you for staying until the end to watch this.” He also expressed gratitude to the colleagues and actors who worked with him for years, as well as the festival for inviting him once again.
