“Hope” surpassed two million admissions Sunday, just five days after its release, reaching the milestone faster than any other film released this year. But what do cinema’s leading directors make of Na Hong-jin’s first film since “The Wailing” (2016)? “It stands at the pinnacle of cinematic entertainment, pushing every element — tension, suspense, visceral impact and pace — beyond its limits,” said director Lee Chang-dong, who joined Na for an audience Q&A at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Seoul on July 14, a day before the film’s release. Lee was Na’s teacher during his first year at the Korea National University of Arts. Bong Joon-ho, whose film “The Host” (2006) similarly centered on a mysterious creature, joined Na for another audience Q&A at Megabox COEX in Seoul on the film’s release day of July 15. “I watched it in a state of complete exhilaration,” Bong said. “The first 62 minutes offer the thrill and madness of action, but they also gradually build up all the wretchedness, insignificance, cowardice, sordidness and frailty of the human characters.”
