[Sportschosun Ahn So-yoon] Director Na Hong-jin said he did not know that the running time of the film Hope was the same as his previous works, The Yellow Sea and The Wailing.
Na met with Sportschosun at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, on the 7th and said, "I also didn’t know it was the same running time as my previous films." He added, "Some people say I’m obsessed with the number 156, but that is absolutely not true."
Hope, which opens on the 15th, tells the story of Beom-seok, the head of the Hopo Port Branch Office located in the DMZ, who hears from local young people that a tiger has appeared. As the entire village goes on alert, he faces an unbelievable reality. The film is directed by Na Hong-jin, known for The Chaser, The Yellow Sea, and The Wailing.
Returning to the screen for the first time in 10 years since The Wailing in 2016, Na said he was nervous. "When I first made this film, I wanted to shift the balance toward a pure genre movie," he said. "I don’t think this is a time when we can think only about the domestic market. I felt it would become risky if I didn’t make films with other markets in mind as well. Also, Korean audiences tend to like works that mix different genres in one film. If you were expecting the structure of a typical Korean movie, our film may feel a little unfamiliar."
He also explained the meaning behind the title Hope. "For the first two hours and 20 minutes, the film shows violence and tragedy," he said. "The last 10 minutes may seem like an epilogue, but I would appreciate it if viewers saw it as a summary and a resolution in a different sense."
Notably, Na’s films The Yellow Sea, The Wailing, and Hope all have the same running time of 156 minutes. Film fans praised him, saying, "Na Hong-jin is a perfectionist" and "He’s a freak, in the best possible way." Na laughed and said, "Some people say I’m obsessed with the number 156, but that is absolutely not true. I’m not even sure if there is some rhythm inside me, but I was surprised too. First of all, I didn’t even know The Yellow Sea and The Wailing had the same running time. Before the film review process, my assistant director came to me and said all three films had exactly the same runtime, and I was shocked. I’ll try breaking that rule next time."
Ahn So-yoon, antahn22@sportschosun.com
