Na Hong-jin’s ‘Hope’ stuns Cannes with sci-fi spectacle

Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin’s long-awaited return to cinema has made one of the strongest impressions at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, with his sci-fi thriller “Hope” leaving audiences both stunned and divided after its premiere.

Competing for the Palme d’Or, “Hope” marks Na’s first feature in nearly a decade since his acclaimed 2016 thriller “The Wailing”. Known for blending psychological tension with genre storytelling, the director returns with what is being described as one of the most ambitious Korean films ever produced.

Set in a rural village, the film begins with the discovery of a mutilated bull carcass before spiralling into a large-scale sci-fi narrative involving mysterious extraterrestrial forces, violence, and paranoia. Actor Hwang Jung-min stars as a police chief investigating the incident, while Jung Ho-yeon and Zo In-sung appear in key roles. Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander also feature in the film as extraterrestrial characters.

Spanning nearly two hours and 40 minutes, “Hope” shifts rapidly between monster horror, action spectacle, and cosmic science fiction. The film’s scale, pacing, and tonal shifts have sparked strong reactions among critics and festivalgoers alike.

Speaking to international media at Cannes, Na admitted he was overwhelmed with nerves ahead of the premiere. “I’m really nervous,” he said. “I didn’t imagine it would feel this nerve-wracking to the point of not sleeping.”

The director explained that the story originally began from a much smaller emotional premise before gradually expanding into something larger. “I wanted to talk about a story that starts with something very trivial and builds into something that impacts the entire universe,” he said. “To tell that story, I felt I had to incorporate aliens.”

Na also revealed that the world of “Hope” extends beyond the current film. According to the filmmaker, a sequel centred more heavily on the characters played by Fassbender and Vikander has already been written and would largely take place in space.

The production itself took years to complete, with Na saying much of the delay came during editing and visual effects work. “The CGI took forever,” he said, reflecting on the film’s decade-long journey to Cannes.

For many of the Korean cast members, the opportunity to work again with Na was reason enough to join the project. Hwang Jung-min, who previously collaborated with the director on “The Wailing”, said actors place immense trust in Na’s filmmaking instincts.

Jung Ho-yeon expressed hope that the Cannes premiere would introduce the director to an even broader global audience. “He has such a cool filmography,” she said. “It would be nice if more people around the world discovered his work.”

Despite its sprawling action and genre spectacle, Na said the film is rooted in themes that have long interested him, particularly fear and misunderstanding between people. He explained that the project initially emerged from thoughts on xenophobia and immigrant experiences before evolving into something much larger in scale.

“In any major tragedy, it does not necessarily begin with malicious intentions,” the director said. “It often begins with differences in perspective and misunderstanding. That is what I wanted to explore through this story.”