‘Hope’ REVIEW: A touching journey towards healing
‘Hope’ REVIEW: A touching journey towards healing
The young Lee Re as So-won in Hope (2013).
This review contains spoilers for Hope (2013). Content warning for the article and the film as both deals with themes of sexual assault and violence.
The 2013 drama Hope sheds light on the real-life story of Na-young, whose case shook the nation back in 2008 when the eight-year-old was kidnapped, brutally beaten and raped in a church’s public bathroom by Cho Doo-soon, who was 56 at that time. Directed by Lee Joon-ik, this moving tale of grief and healing will surely upset and warm your heart at the same time.
‘Na-young’ is played by Lee Re as So-won, a name which literally translates to ‘Hope’. Her father, Dong-hoon (Sol Kyung-gu) acts detached, so Mi-hee (Uhm Ji-won) single handedly raises her while running their family store and secretly being months pregnant. The first few scenes show how both of the parents have to work twice as hard in order to catch up with their expenses, leaving So-won to tend for herself.
One rainy day during her walk to school, So-won meets a drunk, unnamed construction worker who asks if she could share her umbrella, leading to the tragic incident. None of the violent scenes are shown for shock value, but the aftermath is just as destructive. After calling the emergency hotline on herself, her first reaction upon seeing her parents in the hospital is surprise; worrying that they’re off working, and her emergency might be a bother to them. Her scars aren’t only physical—they’re psychological and emotional too, and the event invoked trauma on her family as well. The audiences owe it to Sol Kyung-gu and Uhm Ji-won's performance, which made it easier to feel empathy for the pain a parent can go through if their child went through the same trauma. Lee Re's acting was also unbelievable, especially considering the fact that she was only seven during production.
Dong-hoon, desperate to reconnect with his daughter, wears a Cocomong costume in order to see her. In this form only as the cartoon sausage is where So-won trusts her father. The whole community gathers together to hold fundraisers for her recovery, showing that, with the help of supportive people, healing can come a little easier. In months time, So-won and the family are able to come home. Problems arise at court where the culprit’s sentence will be diminished to twelve years if proven that he was under the influence when the crime was committed, sparking rage in the survivor’s family and even the whole country. It’s a reflection of how screwed up the justice system can be by letting a child molester proceed with a lighter sentence only because he was drunk.
So-won confronts the mysterious Cocomong mascot.
While Hope is a certified tear-jerker, it can sometimes be emotionally manipulative. This is evident in most Korean dramas, one of them being the infamous Miracle in Cell Number 7 (2013). There is something so painful about a story that is real, written on a melodramatic level to evoke intense emotions from its viewers. It is not even the violence or the gruesome fate So-won suffers that makes the audience cry, it’s the scenes where people get together to try and make her feel better that triggers their tears.
The scenes are bright, colorful, and screaming of optimism. Although it is inarguably beautiful all throughout, it adapts the same coloring most lighthearted Korean dramas have today with its pastel tones reminiscent of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon (2017). It completely contrasts the atmosphere of the earlier Korean film Silenced (2011), which also deals with similar themes of rape and abuse. Making a film based on real-life events can be difficult to leave air for mystery, but despite its predictable sound cues and its desperation for a happy ending, the story overall is still compelling and is sure to bring up a lot of feelings. It is a film so heavy it can only be seen once. Even talking about it feels heartbreaking.
The industry is littered with movies in the rape-revenge genre, which isn’t to say, a horrible trope, yet it obviously remains a fictional fantasy for survivors. Movies like Promising Young Woman (2020) and Revenge (2017) all focus on its female protagonists achieving catharsis by inflicting violence on their abusers, but it is rare that these films would show what it really takes for a survivor to put their life back together. Films like this might even feel empowering for a while, yet only leave survivors stuck wishing for the impossible to happen. Rape becomes nothing more than a plot point which turns its victims into fierce individuals hungry for retribution, left with no room to grow. Even the 2017 film M.F.A. shows a shattering realization that revenge isn’t the key to healing. Just like most people say, “Happiness is the best revenge.”
In the film, the family willingly gets psychological help and does their best to cope. So-won returns to school, all while wearing a colostomy bag. Her parents take extra precautions to assure that their daughter is comfortable by advising the faculty to lessen her contact with male teachers. Her friends make sure that she never walks home alone. So-won’s independence and determination, even at such a young age, is a perfect inspiration for survivors to take action and reclaim their peace after a life-threatening incident. Hope shows the panic attacks, the setbacks and still manages to look at the bright side of things, that everything is going to be okay. It is a heartwarming display of empathy and how much it can help someone who's in the process of rehabilitation.
Not all survivors go through the same route. Some won't even be given the chance to recover. Some are still silenced by their abuser. But in a wide selection of films that talk about life after sexual assault, Hope is a glimmer of, well, hope. It is exactly what they need to see: a realistic motivation showing that things can get better. A reminder that life doesn't have to end after trauma. A reminder that they don't have to go through it alone.
