Na Hong-jin makes films slowly. He directed four features in eighteen years, with The Wailing arriving six years after The Yellow Sea. Another decade has passed. Hope opens in South Korea on July 15.
Set in Hope Harbor, a remote coastal village near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the film follows a police chief and a rookie deputy confronting a mysterious creature, while a local hunting party finds itself becoming the prey. Produced on a reported budget of $46 million, Hope is the most expensive Korean production ever made. Hong Kyung-pyo served as cinematographer; Michael Abels composed the score.
The ensemble brings together Korean and international talent. Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon lead the Korean cast, joined by Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell. The film had its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May, entering the main competition, the first South Korean film in that category since Decision to Leave in 2022. Reception has been divided: direction and action sequences drew praise while visual effects drew criticism. The film holds an 82 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes across 39 reviews.
Neon will release Hope in North American theaters on September 9. The North American premiere screens July 20 at the New York Asian Film Festival, where Na will also receive the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema. NYAFF is presenting a retrospective of Na's full filmography alongside the centerpiece screening, the first time all four of his films have screened together.
Na describes Hope as "a human drama," grounded in what he calls his core belief: "All the world's tragedies stem from misunderstandings."
