Hopeless

A young man struggles to break free from his wretched life in Kim Chang-hoon’s directorial debut.

“This is a hopeless neighbourhood.”

Yeon-gyu (Hong Xa-bin) is a high school student whose life seems to be in an inescapable rut. He owes money to some local thugs, his stepfather gets drunk every night and beats him, and he’s typically looked down on by everyone in his town.  After being bailed out by the local loan sharks – itself a part of the larger regional mafia – he decides to go work for them, and very quickly gains the favour of his boss Chi-geon (Song Joon-ki). Things seem pretty good at first, with Yeon-gyu learning the ropes of handing out loans and stealing motorcycles, even getting his own back on the restaurant boss who fired him (Jung Man-sik). But things quickly escalate when he discovers just how dark the world of organised crime can really get.

Hopeless is not by any stretch of the imagination a cheerful movie, and it pretty much never even once tries to be. Yeon-gyu’s life starts out pretty bad, and really only gets worse as he is forced deeper and deeper into this criminal world of which he has little understanding. He is still traumatised by the savage beatings his stepfather continues to dole out, and finds solace in Chi-geon, who is also physically and emotionally scarred, and the two empathise with each other.

That relationship is the defining point of the film. The more Yeong-gyu feels at home with these gangsters, the easier he finds it to rough people up, force people to take terrible loans, and steal motorcycles. This dichotomy – between him finding people who actually treat him well, and what he has to do to achieve it – is the crux of the drama, and it’s told really well. What Yeon-gyu fails to see most of the time is that he already has someone like that: the film’s most hopeful character Hayan (Bibi). Yeon-gyu’s stepsister is a presence that always brings the calm to scenes that have already boiled over into extreme territory.

And on that note, Hopeless is a pretty extreme film. It’s not an easy watch, and if you’re familiar with other hyper-violent Korean crime films, you’ll know what to expect here. Every beating feels extra brutal, and the sound design does a lot here, emphasising each crunch for maximum pain. First-time director Kim Chang-hoon does an incredible job of making much of the film’s bleak palette and grimy interiors look appealing. All too often, miserable movies have miserable art direction and it becomes a slog to watch, but director Kim and his cinematographer work together to make the scenes … if not entirely enticing, then at least not unpleasant to sit through. Lighting is something I almost never bring up, but it’s worth a mention here too, balancing the grey bleakness with stark greys, whites and blues.

It’s a testament that a film with as dreary an outlook as Hopeless is as incredibly watchable as it is. The drama is enthralling, the performances powerful and always has something to say. It’s a dark film, but it’s not edgy. Ultimately it’s a film you have to be in the mood for, but one that’s worth the trip.

Verdict: Filled with engaging acting turns, brutal violence and heart-wrenching scenes, Hopeless is a great time – but it’s not a fun one.

Overall entertainment: 8/10
Violence: 8/10
Sex: 0/10
Hand violence:  10/10
Smiles: 1
Hope: Maybe

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Hopeless (2023)
Also known as: 화란, Hwaran
Korean

Director: Kim Chang-hoon
Writer: Kim Chang-hoon

CAST

Hong Xa-bin – Yeon-gyu
Song Joong-ki – Chi-geon
Bibi – Hayan
Jung Jae-kwang – Seung-mu
Jung Man-sik – Restaurant owner
Park Bo-kyung – Mo-kyung
Kim Jong-soo – Joong-beom