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A Drama of Labor, Class and Ambition
South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s new movie, “Possible Love,” began streaming worldwide on Netflix on the 6th, bringing the acclaimed drama to a broader international audience after a limited theatrical run.
The film received the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 13 before playing in South Korean theaters for two weeks. It follows two couples whose sharply different economic circumstances and life experiences collide.
Sol Kyung-gu plays Ho-seok, a laid-off worker, while Jeon Do-yeon portrays his wife, Mi-ok. Cho Yeo-jeong plays Ye-ji, a documentary filmmaker who wants to record the couple’s lives, and Zo In-sung portrays Sang-woo, Ye-ji’s wealthy husband. According to reporting by the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper, the story was inspired by the mass layoffs at South Korea’s SsangYong Motor in 2009.
As Ye-ji films Ho-seok and Mi-ok, she tries to love and understand them while also hoping the documentary will advance her own career. That tension places questions about class, empathy and artistic ambition at the center of the story.
Creative Independence Inside a Global Platform
Lee said the character’s doubts about turning another person’s suffering into art reflect his own position as a filmmaker. He noted that artists often need financial backing to make their work but must still struggle to preserve an independent voice.
Lee said that dynamic also applies to his partnership with Netflix: He is relying on the resources of a major corporation while trying to retain his creative independence. Although the film had theatrical releases in South Korea and overseas, Lee said those screenings were limited and likely reached mostly dedicated filmgoers. Its Netflix debut, he said, effectively marks the first time the movie is being introduced to a general audience.
The director previously developed another project about laid-off workers more than a decade ago but abandoned it after questioning whether it was ethical or cinematically meaningful to dramatize their pain. He said he wondered whether he had the right to tell the story, whose side he should take and how closely he could stand with the workers — concerns now reflected in Ye-ji.
Work in the Age of AI
“Possible Love” also examines how artificial intelligence may change the value and meaning of work. Lee said society increasingly places profitability ahead of workers’ rights and expressed concern that AI could accelerate that trend.
Lee said he was relieved to hear that laid-off workers he came to know through years of reporting felt a sense of healing after watching the film. He also praised the four lead actors, saying they did not merely appear to perform well but seemed to live fully as their characters.
The movie reunites Lee with longtime collaborators Sol and Jeon. Sol starred in Lee’s “Peppermint Candy” and “Oasis,” while Jeon led “Secret Sunshine.” “Possible Love” marks Lee’s first time working with Cho and Zo.
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