November 6, 2026
FILM: POSSIBLE LOVE
DIRECTED BY: LEE CHANG-DONG
WRITTEN BY: LEE CHANG-DONG, JUNGMI OH
STARRING: JEON DO-YEON, SUL KYUNG-GU, HO YEO-JEONG
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
What often stands out about South Korean culture, in terms of its depiction on film, is how brutally honest and observant it is. The most successful version of this was the Oscar-winning Best Picture Parasite, which provided an insightful look at class differences. While that film took some brutal turns, Possible Love is a quieter film but perhaps even more emotionally affecting.
Directed by Lee Chang-dong (Burning), the story centers on two couples whose lives couldn’t be more different at this point in time. Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) and Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) are struggling as the latter has recently been laid off from his factory job. During a funeral, they meet Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) who is making a documentary about laid off workers and their families. She begins filming Mi-ok and Ho-seok and their young son Cheol (Jung Seol.) Mi-ok is game for the experience as she enjoys sharing the various details of her family’s life. Ho-seok is much more guarded. For a good portion of the film, it is clear that he is dealing with internal issues. Drinking has been a problem and he appears to have PTSD from a workers’ strike. He seems ready to explode at any minute. Will therapy help? How about a vacation with the filmmaker and her rich husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) at their lavish ocean side second home?
The first half of the 2 hour and 44-minute film is slowly paced as it attempts to establish who these characters are. I think some of it could have been edited down. It isn’t until the vacation when the story fully comes to life in somewhat predictable ways. One standout scene though is when some of the other laid off workers are in a therapy session and they tell their very emotional stories about what happened to them after being let go. Feelings of embarrassment and a loss of any sense of happiness are on full display. Money issues abound. So, when Mi-ok and Ho-seok take up the opportunity to vacation with the other couple it presents an interesting dichotomy for them.
Mi-ok feels a sense of freedom and escape from her dreary world at home. She’s completely taken with the property where they are staying and has her eye on attractive Sang-woo, who is in the middle of trying make another successful business deal. Clearly, Mi-ok is experiencing a world that she can only dream of but in the moment, she embraces it. Ho-seok is still deeply wounded inside. Thanks (or not) to filmmaker Ye-ji he is given a chance to tell his story on camera.
What makes Possible Love interesting is considering what both couples are after. While Ho-seok and Mi-ok are given a chance to release and maybe even relax, Ye-ji and her husband are constantly at work. Ye-ji jumps on her camera whenever her guests begin telling personal stories. Are the guests friends or subjects though which will bring Ye-ji and Sang-woo more wealth and fame? They can never truly be equals.
Meanwhile, young Cheol has to find things to do on the property. There’s a rarely used beach but Cheol has never been near such water before. He becomes intrigued by the caretaker who was once on the same level as Sang-woo but now must monitor the home’s security system and upkeep the grounds. When Mi-ok notices her son happily watering plants with the man, she doesn’t have to say anything to express what she is feeling inside: they’ll never be in the upper crust of society but relegated to the working class.
The film features a few flashbacks which provide a bit of light as to Mi-ok and Ho-seok’s background. The most interesting of such scenes feature Ho-seok battling outside law enforcement as he and his fellow workers are staging the aforementioned strike. The effects of this offer great insights into what he has been struggling with internally. Sul Kyung-gu as Ho-seok gives a masterful performance as he recounts some of those details. His emotional outbursts are powerful and will no doubt leave some audience members with tears in their eyes.
Ultimately this is a film about loss and people taking from those less fortunate. The cycle will continue as is hinted at when young Cheol gets upset when the grown-ups take his bag of chips. All of the characters struggle in some way, whether it be with money, happiness, sexual dysfunctions, or hard to reach desires. Yet, as the film underlines, they all exist under the same moon. Sadly, even this observation doesn’t allow for equality on our planet.
Possible Love is South Korea’s submission for this year’s Best International Film Oscar. After a very successful festival run, it begins streaming on Netflix today.
FILM: POSSIBLE LOVE
DIRECTED BY: LEE CHANG-DONG
WRITTEN BY: LEE CHANG-DONG, JUNGMI OH
STARRING: JEON DO-YEON, SUL KYUNG-GU, HO YEO-JEONG
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
What often stands out about South Korean culture, in terms of its depiction on film, is how brutally honest and observant it is. The most successful version of this was the Oscar-winning Best Picture Parasite, which provided an insightful look at class differences. While that film took some brutal turns, Possible Love is a quieter film but perhaps even more emotionally affecting.
Directed by Lee Chang-dong (Burning), the story centers on two couples whose lives couldn’t be more different at this point in time. Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) and Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) are struggling as the latter has recently been laid off from his factory job. During a funeral, they meet Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) who is making a documentary about laid off workers and their families. She begins filming Mi-ok and Ho-seok and their young son Cheol (Jung Seol.) Mi-ok is game for the experience as she enjoys sharing the various details of her family’s life. Ho-seok is much more guarded. For a good portion of the film, it is clear that he is dealing with internal issues. Drinking has been a problem and he appears to have PTSD from a workers’ strike. He seems ready to explode at any minute. Will therapy help? How about a vacation with the filmmaker and her rich husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) at their lavish ocean side second home?
The first half of the 2 hour and 44-minute film is slowly paced as it attempts to establish who these characters are. I think some of it could have been edited down. It isn’t until the vacation when the story fully comes to life in somewhat predictable ways. One standout scene though is when some of the other laid off workers are in a therapy session and they tell their very emotional stories about what happened to them after being let go. Feelings of embarrassment and a loss of any sense of happiness are on full display. Money issues abound. So, when Mi-ok and Ho-seok take up the opportunity to vacation with the other couple it presents an interesting dichotomy for them.
Mi-ok feels a sense of freedom and escape from her dreary world at home. She’s completely taken with the property where they are staying and has her eye on attractive Sang-woo, who is in the middle of trying make another successful business deal. Clearly, Mi-ok is experiencing a world that she can only dream of but in the moment, she embraces it. Ho-seok is still deeply wounded inside. Thanks (or not) to filmmaker Ye-ji he is given a chance to tell his story on camera.
What makes Possible Love interesting is considering what both couples are after. While Ho-seok and Mi-ok are given a chance to release and maybe even relax, Ye-ji and her husband are constantly at work. Ye-ji jumps on her camera whenever her guests begin telling personal stories. Are the guests friends or subjects though which will bring Ye-ji and Sang-woo more wealth and fame? They can never truly be equals.
Meanwhile, young Cheol has to find things to do on the property. There’s a rarely used beach but Cheol has never been near such water before. He becomes intrigued by the caretaker who was once on the same level as Sang-woo but now must monitor the home’s security system and upkeep the grounds. When Mi-ok notices her son happily watering plants with the man, she doesn’t have to say anything to express what she is feeling inside: they’ll never be in the upper crust of society but relegated to the working class.
The film features a few flashbacks which provide a bit of light as to Mi-ok and Ho-seok’s background. The most interesting of such scenes feature Ho-seok battling outside law enforcement as he and his fellow workers are staging the aforementioned strike. The effects of this offer great insights into what he has been struggling with internally. Sul Kyung-gu as Ho-seok gives a masterful performance as he recounts some of those details. His emotional outbursts are powerful and will no doubt leave some audience members with tears in their eyes.
Ultimately this is a film about loss and people taking from those less fortunate. The cycle will continue as is hinted at when young Cheol gets upset when the grown-ups take his bag of chips. All of the characters struggle in some way, whether it be with money, happiness, sexual dysfunctions, or hard to reach desires. Yet, as the film underlines, they all exist under the same moon. Sadly, even this observation doesn’t allow for equality on our planet.
Possible Love is South Korea’s submission for this year’s Best International Film Oscar. After a very successful festival run, it begins streaming on Netflix today.