Culture minister praises film 'Hope,' urges audiences to judge ending for themselves

Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young watched the film "Hope" and posted a glowing review online.

Choi shared his thoughts on SNS on Saturday, writing that he had just seen "Hope," which he called "an overwhelmingly large-scale Korean sci-fi blockbuster of historic proportions." He said he was "very satisfied" simply by spending 156 minutes on the edge of his seat and forgetting the summer heat entirely.

Addressing the divided reactions the film has drawn, Choi wrote that the movie "begins with an air of something suspicious, then steadily ratchets up the tension, gripping your heart — until suddenly —" and added, "As for the ending that has split audiences, I'll leave that for you to see and judge for yourselves."

He described the film as racing forward "speed upon speed, veering left and right, charging wildly toward somewhere," with spectacle, action, thrills, horror, suspense, monsters, adventure, sci-fi and even the absurdity of black humor shifting faces "like a quick-change artist." "It didn't allow a moment's distraction," he wrote, "and then, at some point, the film was over and the end credits were rolling."

Choi noted that "Hope" is the first new work in 10 years from director Na Hong-jin, known for "The Wailing," "The Yellow Sea" and "The Chaser," and that it had drawn strong anticipation before its release as the most expensive Korean film ever made. He congratulated the production on surpassing 3 million admissions just 11 days after opening, calling it worthy of "great applause and cheers."

He closed by thanking director Na and the cast — including actors Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Lee Sang-hee, Eum Moon-suk, Im Hyun-sik and Hwang Seok-jeong — as well as the entire crew, for delivering "a very entertaining and wonderful film."