Master director Lee Chang-dong poured praise on Hope.
Amid explosive interest that set this year's record for advance ticket sales, the film Hope (HOPE), which opened today, held a successful GV featuring directors Na Hong-jin and Lee Chang-dong.
The Hope GV with directors Na Hong-jin and Lee Chang-dong, held at Lotte Cinema World Tower on Tuesday, July 14, the day before the release, ran for about an hour amid high interest from an audience that filled the seats. Conducted in a format where Na Hong-jin and Lee Chang-dong asked and answered each other, the GV grew more heated as Lee Chang-dong shared his impressions and interpretations of the film and Na Hong-jin discussed everything from the planning intent of Hope to behind-the-scenes details of the shoot.
Regarding his impressions after watching Hope, Lee Chang-dong said, 'Soon after filming Hope ended I called cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo. When I asked how it was, he said, "I shot a crazy movie," and I had a feeling. From the short descriptors "crazy movie" and "an amazing movie" I imagined many things, but when I saw the film it was literally a crazy movie,' he said. He added, 'I thought Hope was a film at the extreme end of entertainment movies. I want to say it is at the pinnacle, the highest state, even beyond that. I think it is a film that shows every element we feel in movies—tension, suspense, impact, speed—beyond their limits. I felt truly grateful that such a film was made,' offering high praise.
On the film's new cinematic attempts, Lee Chang-dong continued, 'I am grateful purely as an audience member, but also as someone who makes films; I am thankful that you opened a path no one has gone down. I felt a lot about things beyond limits that I never even imagined. I felt you technically expanded and boldly did things we could not do until now,' he said.
Lee Chang-dong's assessment of the action sequence that decorates the film's latter half also drew the audience's attention. Lee Chang-dong said, '(The film) got more fun as it went on. I especially felt the latter part was overwhelming, and the scene where "Seong-gi" rides a horse and goes over should not be described as fun. It's crazy. If actor Zo In-sung had not been there, it would have been difficult for the film to have that crucial center of gravity. He is truly remarkable,' he said, leaving a deep impression.
Lee Chang-dong added to the remark that "it should be called the Na Hong-jin genre," saying, 'Although genre films tend to follow the grammar of the genre closely, Na Hong-jin's world thoroughly has Korean spaces and the appearances of Korean people,' drawing attention.
When asked what he hoped Hope would become, Na Hong-jin said, 'I wanted it to have a style different from my previous works,' and 'I want to say clearly that this film aims for and was made for a point completely different from my prior works,' and during the GV Na Hong-jin continued a warm yet serious conversation with Lee Chang-dong, drawing enthusiastic responses from the audience.
On its opening day, Hope surpassed 600,000 advance ticket sales, making people curious about its opening-day score.
Hope, which opened that day, reached first place in advance booking rate starting 11 days before release, rising to the top faster than any 2026 release, and continued to break advance booking records day after day by setting this year's highest pre-sale record. The overall booking rate approached 70%, and advance ticket sales totaled 603,601. This is a figure that even The King's Warden, which drew a cumulative audience of 16 million and ranked second all-time, did not achieve.
[Photo] Plus M Entertainment
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