Director Na Hong-jin Takes on Aliens in 156-Minute Sci-Fi Debut 'Hope'

The rhythm was familiar, but the approach was new. After "The Yellow Sea" and "The Wailing," director Na Hong-jin returns with "Hope," a 156-minute film that marks his first attempt at science fiction. He expanded his world to include aliens and outer space, and reshaped the way his story unfolds in its opening stretch. It is another step down a new path.

"Hope," which opens on the 15th, follows a local field office chief named Beom-seok, played by Hwang Jung-min, who confronts an unearthly presence that appears in his village and fights to protect the people around him. The cast also includes Jo In-sung and HoYeon Jung.

Na took on the sci-fi genre for the first time with "Hope." He wanted to try new material and a new form. To deliver his message in a fresh way, he pushed the world of the film out into space. Bringing the aliens to life through CG was not easy either.

"Honestly, it was much harder than making my earlier films," Na said. "You have to look after every single finger on an alien. It's not a small job. I gained a lot of respect for animators. I kept revising the sound too, until the mixing team basically told me to please stop coming back. Ha ha."

The new approach shaped the direction as well. For roughly the first 50 minutes, the film never shows the alien. Instead, Hwang, as Beom-seok, chases an unseen presence, carrying the tension almost by himself. The audience follows his point of view, piecing the situation together from the occasional sound of the creature and glimpses of a ruined rural landscape.

That choice may split audiences. Some viewers will read it as a way to build tension. Others may find the repeated pursuit slow. Na himself called it "a gamble." He said he was only able to take that risk because he trusted Hwang.

"Hwang Jung-min has already proved himself across so many roles," Na said. "You have no choice but to trust him. In the early part of the film there is barely any dialogue. He is running and hiding alone, tracking the alien, and we didn't even shoot those scenes in order. It's difficult acting."

The film moves between two figures, Beom-seok and a young man named Seong-gi, played by Jo In-sung. The first half centers on Beom-seok as he comes face to face with what the alien really is. The second half shifts weight to Seong-gi, whose confrontation with the creature is more physical. Seong-gi keeps fighting even though the alien towers over him. "Through Seong-gi, I wanted to express the stubborn life force of a human being," Na said.

Na first started thinking about "Hope" around 2018. It has taken more than eight years to reach audiences. What he focused on most while developing the project was folding the anxieties and absurdities of real life into a sci-fi frame. "'Hope' is a film that concentrates on making the genre itself work," he said.