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Hope
소원
2013 122 min South Korea 12+
★8.1
Drama
Director: Lee Joon-ik
🎭 Based on
«Cho Doo-soon case»
Trailers
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Description
After 8-year-old So-won narrowly survives a brutal sexual assault, her family labors to help her heal while coping with their own rage and grief.
Starring
Lee Re
Actor
Sul Kyung-gu
Actor
Uhm Ji-won
Actor
Awards
9 wins & 14 nominations total
Key opinion
Hope is a deeply harrowing and emotionally taxing drama that chronicles the aftermath of a brutal child assault, focusing on a family's resilience and their struggle with a lenient legal system. While critics acknowledge the film's technical proficiency and strong performances, opinions are divided on whether its narrative approach provides a necessary advocacy for victim support or relies on sentimental manipulation.
| Acting | The lead performances, particularly the work of the child actress and the father figure, provide a powerful emotional anchor for the film. | |
| Culture | The film’s focus on the real-world legal failures regarding the 2008 crime sparked significant public discourse and contributed to legislative changes in South Korea. | |
| Cinematography | The cinematography and music are highly effective in deepening the viewer's empathy and heightening the sense of sorrow. | |
| Emotion | The film is divided between those who find the emotional weight and focus on recovery deeply moving, and those who perceive the storytelling as a manipulative exercise in exploiting the victim's trauma. | |
| Screenplay | Some critics argue the plot is overly simplistic or lacks depth, while others feel the straightforward narrative effectively highlights the severity of the social issues presented. |