Na Hong-jin’s Hope may not be leading the Palme d’Or race, but the film is still being watched closely ahead of the 79th Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony. The closing ceremony will take place on May 23 at 8 PM local time at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France. Major awards including the Palme d’Or, Grand Prix, Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Actor will be announced.
Among Korean films, Hope is the only work invited to the main competition this year. After its official screening on May 17, the film received mixed but strong attention from international media. According to foreign press predictions, Hope is being mentioned as a possible contender for Best Director or the Jury Prize. However, its chances of winning the Palme d’Or are not considered high.
AP described Hope as a “breathless Korean sci-fi monster film,” noting that it is rare for a large-scale action film involving alien beings to compete for the Palme d’Or. Still, the outlet pointed out that Hope is not an ordinary sci-fi film.
The film also performed solidly in Screen Daily’s critics’ score chart. Hope received 2.8 points, tying for fourth place with James Gray’s Paper Tiger and Emmanuel Marre’s A Man of His Time.
The current Palme d’Or frontrunners include Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden, James Gray’s Paper Tiger, and Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland.
Still, Hope is not out of the conversation. U.S. film outlet Awards Radar listed Na Hong-jin as a possible Best Director contender in its Cannes award predictions on May 21. The outlet noted that while Hope is not a typical Cannes competition title, its ambition and bold action scenes as an alien invasion or monster thriller make it stand out.
The film’s cast also drew attention at Cannes. Hwang Jung-min, Jung Ho-yeon, Jo In-sung, and director Na Hong-jin attended the photo call for Hope at the Palais des Festivals on May 18. With the closing ceremony approaching, attention is now focused on whether Hope can turn its unusual Cannes presence into a major award. Even if the Palme d’Or is unlikely, Na Hong-jin could still end the festival with one of the night’s biggest surprises.
Sources: Daum | 뉴스1
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