Dramas to Watch

6. Hope (2013)

Hope

Country: South Korea

Type: Movie

Genre: Drama, Family

Release Date: Oct 2, 2013

Duration: 2 hr. 2 min.

Plot:

          On her way to school, a young girl named So Won (which literally means "wish" or "hope" in Korean) gets sexually assaulted by a drunk older male stranger. As a result, she suffers multiple internal injuries and has to undergo a major surgery, but her emotional wounds are equally difficult to heal. Their happy family shattered, her parents Dong Hoon (Sol Kyung Gu) and Mi Hee (Uhm Ji Won)  go through feelings of pain and rage. From the trauma of that day, So Won (Lee Re) refuses to see or talk to her father, so Dong Hoon hides beneath the costume of his daughter's favorite cartoon character and becomes a "guardian angel" at her side.
          Based on a true story, the infamous Nayoung Case in 2008.  

Cast:

Lee Re

So Won

Sol Kyung Gu

Dong Hoon

Uhm Ji Won

Mi Hee

Review:

by addicted2dramas of mydramalist

"Definitely not a movie for the casual viewer. This has to be one of the most heart-wrenching movies I have ever seen. It was horrifying and saddening to know that this took place in reality. It tells the story of the infamous Nayoung case of South Korea and captured the pain as much as possible. Every bone and fiber in my body felt the little girl's pain. I cried when she cried and laughed when she laughed.

This movie is a true masterpiece by all aspects. It was so warming and I felt like it hit me in all the right places. Nothing felt overdone or underdone and the cast did a wonderful job of portraying people suffering from grief and tragedy. Although the movie is sad, it also has immense hope in it, much like its namesake. It is all about picking yourself up from the downsides of life and moving on with a smile. It forces you to think about all the harsh realities of the world and question the thin line between justice and fairness.

I have to really, really commend the stellar performances but on by the little girl and the actors who played her parents. It was too good to be true and felt too real. For a while, I lost myself in the movie and forgot that what I was seeing on my screen was not real. The irony is that it is real and at the same time not real. My heart goes out to the family of Nayoung and hope she is doing well in real life.

However, the reason to watch this movie is mostly to take a cue from it and smile in your life. This movie is indeed very inspirational and the direction is flawless. There are no bits of it I would want to change. Everything from the casting to the script were smooth and neat. A thorough masterpiece of a film that manages to capture a lot of reality and present it to you without any sugarcoat. It tells you how if you end up with a bitter candy, swallowing it won't make the bitterness go away. You rather have to live with chewing the candy and ingest the bitterness that comes along with it.

Do watch this movie if you are looking for something different. But be warned and prepare yourself with a box of tissues."

My Note: This is a good watch especially if you liked Miracle in Cell No. 7.

Reviewer's Rating: 10.0

My Rating: 10.0

Mydramalist Rating: 9.1

Asianwiki Rating: 9.3

You can comment your own rating and justify why you gave that rating if you want :)

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