So-won

Hope is a heavy film. I felt this giant weight come over me as soon as the film ended. It endures through so much pain and its road towards joy is thick. Joon-ik Lee has created something beautiful and honest, it explores shadings of trauma that is morally ambiguous and it is filled to the brim with tear-jerking moments that it leaves you so heart-broken that I am still trying to restore the broken pieces. Sure, Hope can be labelled as a sentimental film, but it is melodrama that is done efficiently, filled with emotional intelligence and empathetic characters.

First of all, KUDOS to the director for keeping it gore-free. And thanks to him for such a DECENT, SENSITIVE and yet POWERFUL portrayal of a real-life incident without all the unnecessary elements. OMG! the way he handled a delicate topic very effectively and efficiently!! Any other (insensitive) director would have butchered the script and screenplay. WOW! Take a (lots of) bow, the ENTIRE CREW. EXTREMELY emotional. NEVER once did the director steer away from the subject. This EASILY TOPS as the BEST movie to WATCH in the history of world cinema. I'm already using this movie as benchmark and bashing other movies that they are not up to this movie's mark! Such is the impact of this movie on me.

There is no 100/10 on IMDb. Otherwise, my rating for this movie is exactly that and may be even more because 10/10 seems to be blase after watching this movie.

Even the little boy who cries towards the end for not accompanying the girl on that day, was so powerful histrionics-wise, that I'm BOWLED over by all the performances!! SPELL-BOUND! All the 3 lead actors DESERVED an Oscar each. I will give away one to each of them, really. The music was sensitive and seamless too, without jarring your ears. And coming back to the story, I cannot believe this was an actual incident that happened.

The scene between the father and the daughter at the hospital when he tries to shift her to another room is very touching! The emotions choke you because truth is always bitter. How the community chips in to help in every which way they could, is a revelation!

And WHAT the heck do you say about the JUDGE for going "easy" on the pervert bastard?! HE should have been the first one to be beaten to death. Does not he even have the basic IQ to analyze that the pervert criminal had all the time and "sanity" of the brain to plan this and leave her to death? No matter where you are, women and children have to be careful, they cannot rest on the immoral judges or ridiculous judiciary system or the spineless police force. I could not digest the sentence or the judge's words. And what a BRAVE girl is she! HOPE she is safe, sound and happy, even after the pervert is released.

Don't Expect the movie to be a great entertainer or charming as it depicts the most shameful and lowly act of humans and the loopholes of the laws of our nations.

The entire movie is made so serene and beautiful that you would find it hard to say anything. The scenes and emotions would neither make you cry nor angry but just rip out your emotions and feelings which would be like the relationships and emotions where words aren't even necessary.

If you are a fan of science fiction or action movies don't watch it as you'd be disappointed but if you are someone who cares about the society or just want to watch a movie to get to know what true emotions and feelings are, give it a try. The movie will definitely touch your innermost feelings and instigate you to think what life really is.

The only thing that I want to say is that you should watch this movie. And if you don't watch it, be regret :( I cried a lot, the acting was incredible, totally love the girl. In my thoughts, this may be a movie about father and daughter and I was completely fallen for it! How poor the little girl was, I can't imagine what she had been through! Her acting was very good, I even thought she had really been through that tragedy :'( And her Father was really really a emotional man, not like what I thought he would be at the beginning! He made me think of my Father and I just cried a lot! He won the Blue Dragon Award for The Best Actor! I think he totally deserved it! Btw, the movie got the Award too! SHOULD WATCH!

So Won (aka Hope also aka Wish) is a movie about a terrible event (the rape by a drunkard of a 9 yo girl) that shatters a family. It unravels slowly showing at first the parents (the father in particular case) who seem somehow too busy to take care of their daughter, then the tragedy happens, this part is not too graphic (thank God) but we are made aware that the poor girl will bear physical consequences for the rest of her life. Then there's the trial, and the need of money, and the shame for being at the center of attention. I was afraid this movie was going to be somehow a classic tearjerker describing the struggle of the family with money, work, slow/inefficient justice and so on. But the second half of the movie was about the father trying to get close to his daughter. And I think it was moving, and delicate at the same time.

The acting is very good. The food mascots costumes cuteness level was really over the top. Overall (as the rating suggests) I liked this movie, it was touching.