Spanish critics praise Na Hong-jin's monster film Hope, but find its crude comedy weaker

The story

Hope takes its name from the village where it is set, not from any idea of hope, as El País points out. The opening shows the local police chief examining a cow torn apart by claws from an unknown animal, and soon the village wakes up upside down after an uncontrollable force destroys nearly everything. El Confidencial describes the first hour as a relentless chase through the streets, shops and markets of the ruined settlement, with the creature kept out of view until the middle of the film. The EFE synopsis adds that the village is cut off by fire and has no communications. There a small group of police tries to protect elderly residents while villagers head into the mountains to hunt a fearsome creature. El Periódico says the story follows the police chief, a young female officer and a group of locals.

Production and Cannes premiere

Hope is the fourth feature Na Hong-jin has both directed and written, and El País calls it the most expensive film in South Korean history. Its ending stays unresolved because it is meant to open a science fiction trilogy, a point El Periódico also makes. The film was shown in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, a placement that generated some controversy at the French event. La Razón gives its running time as 160 minutes, while El Confidencial puts it at more than two and a half hours. The cast listed by La Razón includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon and Taylor Russell, and El Periódico adds Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.

Critics on pacing and monsters

La Razón gives the film four stars and argues it is less a story than a celebration of speed and of a destruction that seems to spread across the frame. Its critic says the first chase runs at least forty minutes before the enemy appears, an effect the review finds unusual. The same review places the film nearer to Mad Max: Fury Road than to the Fast and Furious series. El Confidencial praises the handmade sets built to be blown up and describes the film as an amusement park of action, gore and comedy. ABC gives three stars, noting a slow, sneaky first part that gives way to a fast, surprise-filled second half, and it calls the creature design notable. EL MUNDO also gives three stars, calling Hope a cult film and admitting its digital effects need improvement.

Reservations and genre mixing

El Periódico praises the film's technical dazzle, especially in its chases, while saying its crude comedy does not always land. Its critic describes Na Hong-jin as switching between thriller, comedy, monster film and science fiction, with humour that comes from characters struggling to make sense of events. The same review calls the genre crossing fascinating. La Razón notes that the film does without the ecological and ideological concerns found in Bong Joon-ho's The Host. EL MUNDO counts 137 uses of the Korean curse word ssibal and treats the film as a deliberate experiment in chaos.

The director and his earlier work

Na Hong-jin's earlier films include The Chaser and The Yellow Sea, both cited by La Razón, and El Periódico names The Yellow Sea (2010) and El extraño (2016). El Periódico calls El extraño his best film to date. El Confidencial notes that Hope arrives nearly ten years after El extraño, his previous feature. ABC describes him as a frequent visitor to Cannes and, above all, to Sitges. El País says he had already shown a gift for wild thrillers in his earlier films.