'Hope' Rated 15 and Up…"Violence and Bloodshed, Non-Specific"

[Dispatch=Myeong-Ju Lee, Reporter] Director Na Hong-Jin's new film 'Hope' is showing signs of commercial success.

The Korea Media Rating and Administration Committee announced on the 1st the viewing rating decision for 'Hope'. The film was classified as 15 years and over.

'Hope' underwent screening in a total of 7 categories. It received a 15 years and over rating in the subjects of theme and violence, dialogue, and horror, while receiving an all-ages rating in areas such as sexual content.

The ratings committee explained, "There are damaged animal corpses, casualties and bloodshed from attacks by bizarre creatures, and physical damage, but these are not specific."

It added, "There are horror-inducing elements such as scenes of removing organs from bizarre creatures and scenes of grotesque monsters chasing, but these are not sustained."

Regarding some crude profanities in the dialogue, it stated, "There are multiple instances (of derogatory language use), but they are at an acceptable level in terms of narrative development."

'Hope' has a runtime of 160 minutes. It is the same as the version submitted to the 79th Cannes Film Festival that was selected for the competition section. It appears efforts were focused on CG enhancement only.

'Hope' is set in Hopogang in the demilitarized zone. It begins with news that a tiger has appeared in an entire village, causing an emergency.

Before its release, it achieved record pre-sales for a Korean film. Distribution in approximately 200 countries worldwide was confirmed, allowing early recovery of half the production budget.

Meanwhile, 'Hope' will open domestically this summer. A September release in North America has been confirmed.