Action Over Dialogue: Na Hong-jin's "Hope" Speaks Beyond Words

Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon in a Relay of Action
"Conveying the Will to Survive Through Body Language Alone"

Director Na Hong-jin’s latest film "Hope" tells its story more through action than dialogue. While his previous work, "The Wailing" (2016), built its message through words and symbolism, this time, emotions are conveyed through physical movement and sound.

Movie still from 'Hope'.

At the press screening and conference held at Megabox COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on July 6, Director Na stated, "'Hope' is a film where the audience should feel the story through action," adding, "Unlike 'The Wailing,' which had a lot of dialogue, action plays a much bigger role here."

One representative example is a scene where Jo In-sung’s character, Seonggi, a young villager, is chased by aliens. Na explained, "Without saying a word like 'I want to live,' the sense of survival was communicated purely through body language."

The action sequences are divided among three actors. The beginning is led by Hwang Jung-min as the branch office chief, Beomseok, and the finale is wrapped up by Jung Ho-yeon as police officer Seong-ae. Jo In-sung takes on the major action scenes in the latter part of the film.

Jo In-sung, on horseback, fires wildly at the aliens while narrowly escaping death multiple times in hand-to-hand combat. He commented, "The final action sequence was the most challenging," adding, "I feel proud because the scene turned out to be truly spectacular after all the hard work."

Actors Jo In-sung (from left), Director Na Hong-jin, Jung Ho-yeon, and Hwang Jung-min pose at the press screening and press conference for the movie "Hope" held on the 6th at Megabox COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Hwang Jung-min is the first character to encounter the aliens. He had to act by imagining the presence that would later be filled in with computer-generated imagery (CG), performing without a co-actor. He revealed, "I had to be extremely calculated and precise in my expressions even before filming began."

Jung Ho-yeon performed a police car drift chase herself. Director Na praised her, saying, "Jung Ho-yeon personally drove for a significant portion of the car chase scenes and acted at the same time. She was truly amazing."

Jung Ho-yeon said, "Just keeping up with my senior co-stars was a challenge in itself." She also shared, "By the end of filming, I felt like we’d become one team, and I enjoyed every moment."

"Hope" is a sci-fi action film set in a harbor village where a mysterious presence appears. It is Director Na’s first new film in a decade since "The Wailing" and had its world premiere in the competition section at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May.

Movie still cut from "Hope".

Post-production continued even after the premiere. Some scenes were added or deleted, and the quality of the CG was further improved. The running time was reduced from 2 hours and 40 minutes to 2 hours and 36 minutes.

Director Na said, "There were additions and deletions after the death of the first alien," adding, "I’m still considering which version would be most effective in theaters." He continued, "I feel like I’ve watched this film a few thousand times," vowing, "I will do my best until the release day so that I have no regrets."

"Hope" will be released domestically on July 15, and will reach North American audiences in September.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.