Na Hong-Jin's 'Hope' Draws 7-Minute Cannes Ovation as Fassbender, Vikander Explain Alien Roles
Updated
Updated · Deadline · May 18
Na Hong-Jin's 'Hope' Draws 7-Minute Cannes Ovation as Fassbender, Vikander Explain Alien Roles
14 articles · Updated · Deadline · May 18
Seven minutes of applause greeted Na Hong-Jin's competition entry "Hope" at Cannes, where Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell play antagonistic aliens from the royal family of planet Gh'ertu.
Vikander said she joined after discovering Korean cinema at Busan and hearing Na's long-developed alien pitch, while Fassbender joked he signed on because "Alicia told me to do it."
Na said he had not planned to cast English-speaking actors as the extraterrestrial villains, but built those characters into their own world after deciding he wanted to work with Fassbender.
Set in rural South Korea's Hope Harbor, the film follows an alien crash-landing that unleashes conflict between locals and invaders; it is Na's fourth Cannes premiere and his first feature since 2016's "The Wailing."
Can a Korean sci-fi epic with divisive VFX continue its distributor's unprecedented winning streak at Cannes?
How does Korea’s master of horror Na Hong-jin blend his signature grit with a Hollywood-style alien blockbuster?