Tangled gazes: Lee Chang-dong explores desire and class in 'Possible Love'
Summary
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love explores class divide, hidden desire and emotional distance as it returns him to the international spotlight after Burning. The film won the Auteur Award at the 49th Mill Valley Film Festival, making Lee the first Korean filmmaker to receive the honor. It also received his Tribute Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and has been invited to Venice, New York, San Sebastian, Zurich and Vancouver. The film opens in Korea on Sept. 23 and premieres worldwide on Netflix on Nov. 6.
Key Facts
- Possible Love is distributed globally by Netflix and centers on two couples brought together through an artistic pursuit.
- Ho-seok is a laid-off factory worker, while Mi-ok is his wife and Ye-ji is a wealthy documentary director.
- The teaser poster shows the four lead characters on the same shoreline, yet each remains isolated in their own way.
- The film will hit theaters in Korea on Sept. 23 before premiering worldwide on Netflix on Nov. 6.
A scene from the movie "Possible Love" / Courtesy of Netflix.
Eight years after the poetic devastation of "Burning," director Lee Chang-dong is stepping back into the international cinematic spotlight, bringing with him a hypnotic modern melodrama about class divide, hidden desire and emotional distance.
His latest project, "Possible Love," distributed globally by Netflix, has secured the prestigious Auteur Award at the 49th Mill Valley Film Festival — making Lee the first Korean filmmaker to receive the honor. The recognition comes alongside his Tribute Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, cementing a triumphant festival circuit run that includes invitations to Venice, New York, San Sebastian, Zurich and Vancouver.
The film revolves around two couples brought together under the guise of an artistic pursuit: Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu), who plays a laid-off factory worker, and Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon), who plays his wife, both harboring deep economic and emotional wounds, along with Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), a wealthy documentary director, and her husband, Sang-woo (Zo In-sung). When Ye-ji picks up her lens to capture the working-class couple's plight, the camera acts as both a bridge and a wedge, exposing hidden desires and subtle power dynamics that cross class lines.
A teaser poster released this week encapsulates this quiet, simmering tension. Set against a twilight shoreline where a fading moon hangs overhead, the four lead characters occupy the same stretch of sand, yet remain deeply isolated in their own minds. Mi-ok sits quietly staring into the distance, bearing the exhaustion of prolonged hardship, while her husband Ho-seok stands at a subtle distance, gazing in the same direction. Meanwhile, the filmmaker Ye-ji observes them through her viewfinder, while her charismatic husband Sang-woo looks away with an enigmatic, detached smile.
Lee’s narrative strength has always lain in his ability to dissect human frailty against the backdrop of contemporary Korean society. By pairing titan performers Jeon and Sul — frequent collaborators with a deep, gravitas-filled chemistry — with the polished brilliance of Zo and Cho, "Possible Love" promises a complex study of human connection.
As streaming platforms increasingly venture into high-art auteur cinema, Lee’s long-awaited return represents a crucial moment for global film culture. "Possible Love" will hit theaters in Korea on Sept. 23 before premiering worldwide on Netflix on Nov. 6.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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