The story starts with an average family residing in a small town that owns a grocery shop named after their daughter So-won (Lee Re) whose name means ‘Hope.’ The dad (Sol Kyung-gu) and the mom (Uhm Ji-won) are very much overworked and so, their playful cheerful child often spends days alone playing around or watching television. Suddenly her usual happy life changes due to one act of cruelty. On one occasion while going to school So-won is noticed following drunk old man (Gang Seong-hae). This leads her, as she meets him while at construction site for little girls where latter ending up being brutally assaulted and raped. She gets rushed into the hospital leaving her parents with not just physical pain but also counseling on legal process of how justice should be served.
This means that Hope, due to its harshness especially when the rape scene is depicted, is not everyone’s cup of tea. Nevertheless, Lee Joon-ik handles the sensitive topic with kid gloves and avoids anything too explicit while still showing that So-won was at her most defenseless. The emotions coming out after such an incidence are hard to handle. For instance, how can you help a scar like So-won’s? This film is very sad; nonetheless, there are also some happy scenes which will make it easier for the viewer to deal with a bad situation in a family. On top of that, it moves away from this typical mother-daughter relationship which is somehow absent because she isolates herself for healing as she contains pregnancy woes that don’t seem to have an end date for her.
Moreover, it is filled with great performances that make for an emotional roller-coaster ride over the next 120 minutes. Taking matters into her own hands, at seven years old Lee Re, gives a performance worth remembering which has both elements of comedy and drama in especially the challenging hospital scene. Also, Sol Kyung-gu had one of his best career moments which earned him Bae sang Art awards Best Actor award in 2014 because of his acting skills that won over the audience. Here comes a very strong scene when a father who wants to change the clothes of his disfigured daughter tries to undress her while she is being affected negatively by men.
The well written script is one of the best traits as the story unfolds. Kim Ji-hye and Jo Joong-hoon, screenwriters, combine the agony and joy of human suffering in a movie about mental recovery and family ties. Additionally, Lee’s gentle pacing barely builds up but serves to deliver tension as intended. The whole title is characterized by the complexity inherent in its subject matter and simplicity of direction accompanied by necessary dramatic emotional close-ups.
“Hope” is definitely a heart-wrecking film considering that it is based on an actually story which makes its impact even more intense. Nonetheless, Lee Joon-ik does a good job balancing between understanding what So-won went through both physically and mentally as well as recognizing the particular hardships faced by her family.
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