[E-Daily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] “To be honest, I don’t really hear people saying they like the movie. Haha.”
When we met Director Na Hong-jin immediately after the press screening of the film “Hope,” his mind was still in the editing room. He said he had visited the studio the night before to double-check the sound, and planned to head straight to the post-production studio after the interview. Even after the film’s premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival, he continued to edit and refine the computer graphics (CG) and sound for one reason alone: his desire to make the film as polished as possible—down to every single scene and every single sound—right up until the day of its release.

◇“A film isn’t finished until it’s released”
For Director Na, “Hope” is still a work in progress. Although the press screening has concluded, the film is still undergoing revisions. Even now, as the release approaches, he believes that the process of constantly refining the work is an integral part of directing.
In an interview held on the 7th at a café in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Director Na said, “This isn’t a time to be thinking about whether I feel good or bad,” adding, “I’m doing my best to refine even the smallest details of what’s visible on screen right up until the very end.”
In fact, *Hope* has undergone significant changes even after its premiere at Cannes. The sound balance was readjusted, and the CGI in some scenes was revised. Work also continued to restore some scenes that had been cut during the editing process. “This is a film where music plays a crucial role, but there were parts where the sound differed depending on the screening environment,” he explained. “We’re making final adjustments right up to the end so that audiences can experience the film in the best possible condition in theaters.”
The same applied to the CGI. Director Na said, “Overcoming technical limitations was the biggest challenge,” adding, “There were even scenes that we practically had to rebuild from scratch to make the actors’ performances look as natural as possible.”
“Hope,” which opens on the 15th, is the new film from Director Na Hong-jin—known for “The Chaser,” “The Yellow Sea,” and “The Wailing”—marking his return to the big screen after about a decade. The film tells the story of Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min), the head of the Hopo Port branch office near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), who encounters an unimaginable entity while chasing a tiger that has appeared in the village. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander.

◇“The Audience’s Experience Is More Important Than Genre”
Although “Hope” features aliens, Director Na was cautious about defining the film as belonging to a single specific genre. Given that action, thriller, fantasy, and supernatural elements are organically intertwined, he believed that the sensory experience the audience has in the theater is more important than genre classification.
“I’ve always struggled with how to categorize ‘Hope’ by genre,” he said. “It was more important how the audience received the film and what emotions they felt than whether it was sci-fi or action.”
Aliens, too, were not a device to define the genre but rather a means of expanding the film’s universe. He explained that they were beings that naturally emerged as he took the supernatural world explored in his previous film, *The Wailing*, a step further.
Director Na said, “As I contemplated a world that was a bit more profound than *The Wailing*, I realized I needed the vastness of space and a new kind of being,” adding, “In that process, I chose the form of an alien.”
Over the nearly eight-year production period, the alien’s design underwent the most changes. The team repeatedly applied the design to the film, revised it, and sought new directions. Director Jeon believes that this trial-and-error process was an integral part of the production.
Director Na said, “The alien design also continued to evolve over the course of nearly eight years,” adding, “We repeatedly applied it to the film and corrected any issues. That time itself was part of the work.”
Even after pouring so much time into it, he remained strict with himself.
Director Na said, “Filmmaking is still a difficult task,” adding, “I think the day when I can create theatrical films with complete freedom is still a long way off. I always feel I’m falling short, but I definitely feel that I’m improving little by little.”

◇“I wanted to place the audience right in the middle of the film”
Director Na’s primary ambition for this film was not to expand the range of genres but to maximize the intensity of the genres he used. He wanted to create a film where the tension generated by action and thriller elements is heightened to such an extent that audiences don’t just “watch” the movie in the theater, but “experience” it.
“I wanted to shift the focus slightly away from the typical Korean film approach of mixing multiple genres,” he said, adding, “I wanted to achieve a different level of genre intensity compared to my previous works.” He continued, “The decision to withhold the monster from view for the first 50 minutes was also a result of that deliberation,” explaining, “I wanted to delve deeper even into familiar scenes to enhance the intensity and polish.”
This directorial intent was directly reflected in the filming techniques. For the chase scene in the forest, the crew used an electric bike to move the camera and tried every possible method, such as having actors run while holding the camera themselves or mounting the camera on a horse. Setting the story in an era without smartphones was also a choice made to eliminate unnecessary exposition and maintain the story’s tension.
Director Na said, “I wanted to give the audience the feeling that they were right in the middle of the film through the sound and visuals,” adding, “To maximize that thrill, we went through a long pre-production and filming process, and thanks to everyone’s extensive preparation, we were able to get close to the direction we wanted.”