"Hope," the new film from director Na Hong-jin that was cited as the most talked-about work at this year's Cannes Film Festival, will open July 15. Plus M Entertainment, which is handling distribution, said Thursday it had confirmed the release schedule.
"Hope" was an invited entry in the competition section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival and marks Na's first new film in 10 years since "The Wailing." The work was named the top talking point during its run in the Cannes competition section, drawing interest from the global market. Although it did not win an award, it was pre-sold to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, proving its status as a most-anticipated release.
Following its world premiere, favorable reviews from major overseas media outlets continued. Critics praised the film with comments such as "direction that twists genre conventions while keeping audiences immersed to the end" and "energy and polish that races from start to finish," while reactions to its intense action and the presence of its actors included "a spectacle that overwhelms recent American action films."
The film begins with the process of tracing the truth behind a mysterious incident that strikes a rural village, expanding into a story about the crisis facing the community and the truth that emerges within it. The work is known for focusing on a theater-style experience, built on fast-paced development and a tense narrative.
The story begins when Beom-seok, the head of a field office at Hopo Port near the Demilitarized Zone, receives a report from village youths that "a tiger has appeared," after which the entire village falls into chaos and the incident expands uncontrollably.
