'Hope's Most Important Scene Is A Monster Crying In The Middle Of A Car Chase

Hope (2026) is a bombastic action/sci-fi film with plenty of horror touches and bleak comedy, but its most important moment comes with the reveal that an alien can cry. Na Hong-jin's new film is a far cry from the crime thrillers that he cut his teeth on. Hope focuses on the inhabitants of the small town of Hope Harbor, who find themselves contending with a massive and monstrous entity racing through their streets. 

The first half of the film is a classic monster movie, with little personality afforded to the creature. However, a small moment of empathy between the monster and the lead hero teases the full circumstances of the creature. It even reshapes the entire thematic throughline of the Hope and sets the stage for the biggest twists of the narrative.

'Hope's Monster Crying Scene, Explained 

Hope’s most important moment comes amid the thrilling climax of the first true alien encounter, which sets the stage for the second half of the film. The first half of Hope focuses on Ko Bum-seok, the police chief of Hope Harbor, as he explores the village and tries to track down the mysterious creature rampaging through the streets. These sections of the movie play out like a fusion of Godzilla (2014) and Jaws (1975), with Bum-seok eventually forced to flee the hulking creature when he catches its attention and gives chase.

However, with the help of police rookie Im Sung-ae, Bum-seok is able to escape in her car and eventually wound the creature. During the chase, though, Bum-seok hesitates to fire when he notices the humanoid alien is crying and looks to be in grief. He only fires when the creature attacks again, with the monster running out into the road and getting killed by a passing truck not long after. 

Is 'Hope's Monster Attacking or Running Away? 

Hope’s first monster is a surprisingly confounding entity that only becomes more complex when the nature of the creature and its motivations are teased out. The creature’s slaughter across Hope Harbor is a brutal one, but it’s unclear at first if it’s acting in self-defense or if it’s deliberately moving through the town. The monster initially chases after people who attack it, carrying a subtle implication, like the other creatures, that those who don’t mean violence to the aliens are spared their wrath.

This includes Bum-seok, at least until it loses a leg to Sung-ae. Then, it starts trying to flee, making it clear that the creature has some form of self-preservation or intelligence. It turns out that the monster is actually looking for something, although it’s unclear if the creature lashed out at humanity first or if scared people attacked it. 

Why Is Va'migere Crying? 

The monster, which tie-in material reported by Daum confirmed, is actually an alien named Va’migere. The entity is one of the servants of a royal intergalactic empire, which is only gradually revealed to the audience (and not the characters) in the latter moments of Hope. Va’migere is the royal court’s kitchen assistant and serves under the Empress J’aur.

It seems that Va’migere was looking for the prince and ended up exposed to the locals, leading to the ensuing slaughter. Bum-seok initially interprets the tears Va’migere sheds as those of a grieving parent, but the revelations about J’aur suggest it was less paternal pain and more fear and pain. It was crying as it fled, with the explanation of the court highlighting how Va’migere isn’t a warrior but an overwhelmed cook. It gives the alien a very human core that makes for a compelling twist.

Who Is Kh'arli, the Alien Child? 

Kh’arli is one of the more tragic reveals of Hope, and the second confirmed monster in the film. Clearly a child of the alien race based on its size and lack of defensive capabilities, Bum-seok is left furious when he discovers that Yang-bae killed the creature. Believing it to be a monster after finding it wandering the woods, the local hunter shot it from afar and seemingly killed it with a single shot to the head. 

Even if Bum-seok isn’t correct in its parentage, he initially assumes it is the child of Va’migerere and that it was looking for its child when it started slaughtering the locals. This death, a simple act of short-sighted cruelty, leads directly to the deaths of dozens and the destruction of the town. However, Hope’s ending suggests that there might be a way to restore the prince to life if the aliens can locate him.

What the Monster Crying Tells Us About 'Hope's Ending 

The ending of Hope finally begins to translate what the aliens are saying, revealing their motivations as they watch their Emperor’s ship crash into the Earth from space. The clearly elaborate lore behind the aliens also reveals their very human motivations. J’aur is the desperate mother, Ai’Dovor her son’s heartbroken guardian, and Ma’Veyyo their brutal and loyal bodyguard. It makes the aliens that the film’s human characters have seen as unstoppable monsters feel like people. 

It puts more of the bloodshed on the fault of the humans, underscoring the subtle detail that the aliens don’t seem to attack someone until they are attacked. It transforms the aliens from mindless monsters into actual characters, whose motivations and reactions are understandable. It reshapes the themes of Hope and makes human resilience and resistance impressive but dangerous. It underscores the reality that both sides have escalated their conflict and brought bloodshed upon their own people.

Where to Watch 'Hope'

Hope isn’t on streaming yet, at least in North America. The film was released in select theaters on Sept. 9, playing in both standard definition and IMAX Enhanced quality. It’s definitely worth checking out in the former, with the expansive visuals and intense action translating well to the biggest screens.