#TIFF26: “HOPE”

Hope

By: Nicholas Porteous

EMBARGO: None, but “hold til Sept 9”

In Na Hong-jin’s Hope, something monstrous has laid waste to a South Korean village, and various groups of police and concerned citizens descend on the aftermath to find the source of the rampant destruction. Before long, they’re confronted by a creature that throws cars like pebbles, running through houses that might as well be air. I won’t say too much more about the creature because Hope’s first (and best) hour is built around maintaining some of that specific mystery–but it’s big and bad!

Hope’s camerawork has relentless sweep, infusing every action sequence with a phenomenal, dangerous urgency. It’s glorious to behold–until you see the cgi. For a movie with such sharp real-world visuals and production design, it’s so unfortunate that the post-effects must be actively forgiven to engage with what’s happening. They feel more like pre-visualizations than final renders–an early PS4 game shoved into the middle of a top-notch fantasy movie world. And the physical versions of these otherworldly entities easily outclass their digital counterparts.

Graphics aside, Hope is full of memorable setpieces and characters. It’s so refreshing to see a movie like this allow its leads to be cowardly and disorganized. No one would be cool in this situation! As the movie carries on, Hope falls into some tropey traps. Fatal-seeming injuries are consistently shrugged off, and despite its undeniable bloat at just over 2.5 hours, the movie is resolute about not being a standalone experience with a satisfying conclusion. Nevertheless, it’s a flawed ride worth taking. Catch the special TIFF-eve screening if you can, but note that it’ll be in theatres on the same day.

Hope screens at TIFF ’26:

Wed. Sept 9 at 6:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox