Hope

At 160 minutes, this film is double the length it should have been. Writer-director Na Hong-jin overplays his hand here, so much so that even charismatic actor couple Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander have to make do with crumbs. After a point, the jokes are laboured and cruel, the characters too chatty, the killing too flippant, the chase too gratuitous.

'Hope' is a wildly inventive film, but its overlong second half gets in the way of the fun. The film loses some of its sheen when the story expands into an elaborate alien conflict, with the extraterrestrial mythology introducing questions without giving them enough room to develop.

My Melbourne's four segments — Nandini, Jules, Emma and Setara — are moving explorations of the characters' sense of self and identity. What stays with the viewer after watching My Melbourne, an anthology comprising four short films, is the journeys of people who made the Australian coastal town their home and their resilience as they rebuild a life there.

'Hope' is a bonkers, brilliantly entertaining mess that I would happily watch again. It is proof that a film doesn't necessarily need an intelligent screenplay to deliver an unforgettable theatrical experience. Would I call it a wonderfully unhinged action comedy disguised as a monster movie? Without hesitation because it's chaotic, ridiculous, excessive and frequently nonsensical, and I loved the experience.

While his latest Cannes-premiering Hope hasn't displaced its predecessor in my affections, it makes for a fascinating departure from the kind of exhilauration that first made me a fan of his work. When it gets going, there's a real thrill in watching it commit so completely to the bit, and it's what makes Hope such a singular cinematic experience.