It is a relentlessly brutal yet wondrous feast of action.
The film Hope, which opened on the 15th (written and directed by Na Hong-jin, produced by Forged Films, co-produced by Plus M Entertainment·Westworld Co., distributed by Plus M Entertainment), tells the story of Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min), the head of the Hopo Port Branch Office located in the demilitarized zone, who, after hearing from local young men that a tiger had appeared, faces an unbelievable reality as the entire village goes on alert and the events that unfold.
Seong-gi, played by Zo In-sung, is a local young man in Hopo Port who does various odd jobs that make money, and he is the character who sets out personally to find the existence that struck the village. Zo In-sung performed the difficult action sequences himself, riding horses across deep forests and vast highways, drawing the audience into the film.
The biggest difference between Beom-seok and Seong-gi is access to information. While Beom-seok goes around the village gathering information about the strange creature, Seong-gi encounters the alien with no information at all. Beom-seok starts alone and then gains an aide named "Seong-ae" (Jung Ho-yeon), who helps devise a future solution, whereas Seong-gi is entirely on his own. Although a person appears to rescue him from danger, even that person is hard to call a "helper."
Therefore, Zo In-sung, portraying Seong-gi who must fight the alien alone, delivered intense action and immersive eye acting. In particular, during the chase scenes that provoke the alien, Zo In-sung's shotgun action and horseback riding, reminiscent of western action films, captivate the audience.
Seong-gi fighting the alien is reckless but not foolish. From his entrance to the film's end he maintains a confident attitude, making it seem as if he could topple the alien. Zo In-sung's long legs are not emphasized in Hope.
In addition, actions such as riding a horse on one foot or hanging from a car and shooting delivered moments of awe that made one wonder, "Is that really human?" At this point, one even questions whether Seong-gi, who does not bow to hardship and adversity, might himself be an alien.
Zo In-sung said he practiced riding horses for more than three months for these action scenes and confessed that he ran until he thought he would die. Having performed most of the intense action without CG, Zo In-sung said, "I really filmed until I thought I would die. The results of that effort could be seen with the eyes," conveying the passion he poured into the work.
Despite having a poor physical condition after knee surgery, he took on Hope and said, "The doctor said jumping or strenuous movements are not good at all. But aren't such scenes essential in the film? If a Na Hong-jin film lacks those, it is not a Na Hong-jin film. I thought the film's quality should not drop because of me," he revealed.
Despite his bad knee condition and the tremendous actions of horseback riding and shotgun use, Zo In-sung said he appeared in Hope solely to take on the challenge, saying, "Is it complacency? The difference is whether you settle or not. When you have this level of activity, you naturally want to do something new, and I think it's better to try new things even if you fail."
Zo In-sung said, "I have a career, and I prefer taking new challenges even if they might fail rather than choosing safe options. I hope my filmography will someday be finalized in that way," and added, "Doing something new requires a working method that drives you to the extreme. If it's a Na Hong-jin film, I thought I should still try harder," expressing his convictions as an actor.
[Photo] Provided by Plus M Entertainment
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