With Hope, Na Hong-jin returns to Cannes with an unprecedented global cast in a wild, large-scale thriller — an intense, “out-of-space” spectacle.
Hope, and director Na Hong-jin, were enough to create a buzz that had everyone vying for tickets at any screening possible. Such was the urge to watch the latest film from a Korean director who had earlier given us The Chaser (2008), The Yellow Sea (2011), and The Wailing (2016), all of them thrillers with an edge.
There was excitement in the air to see what Hope would bring to the screen, and Na Hong-jin did not disappoint the audience, though perhaps not everyone, especially those who had seen his earlier works and felt that this film was a bit over the top and lacking his signature style of storytelling.
Hope marks Na Hong-jin’s long-awaited return to Cannes, and it does so in the Competition section, where the stakes are inevitably higher and the scrutiny much harsher. More than a comeback, the film feels like a test of whether one of Korea’s most exacting genre filmmakers can still turn dread, mystery, and social fracture into something both visceral and formally controlled.
The setup is quintessential Na Hong-jin: a remote community, communications cut off, danger gathering at the edges, and human behaviour unravelling faster than any external threat. Set near Hope Port and the DMZ, the film follows a police outpost chief and villagers as reports of a strange creature push the town toward panic, while wildfires and isolation make the situation feel sealed off from the rest of the world. That premise suggests not just a creature thriller, but another of Na Hong-jin’s elaborate pressure chambers, where fear exposes the weakness of institutions, kinship, and collective judgment.
What gives Hope its special weight is the sense that Na Hong-jin is working in a familiar register but on a larger canvas as part of the Competition, which itself is interesting in that even a blockbuster film with aliens is regarded as competition-worthy.
What Hope brings is Na Hong-jin’s ability to weave meticulous suspense, spatial precision, and an almost punishing ability to make panic feel structural rather than accidental. It is a quantum leap in terms of budget, reportedly higher than any previous Korean film; his earlier films were lean, punchy, low-to-mid-budget productions. Hope is a blockbuster in every sense of the word.
While his earlier films were entirely Korean productions with Korean casts, Hope stars Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Taylor Russell, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, and Cameron Britton, a global ensemble unprecedented for the director. Although the film runs for 160 minutes, there is never a dull moment; from the opening scene onward, it is fast, racy, and interspersed with Korean humour that provides slight breathing space.
The action in Hope is extraordinary, perhaps the best Na Hong-jin has given us, creating arguably an “out-of-space” spectacle. In the style of superhero movies, Na Hong-jin leaves us with a hint of a sequel.
Our team is on site for the 79th Cannes Film Festival, from May 12 to 23, 2026.
