‘Possible Love’ movie review: A humanist modern fable of rich poignancy and surprising humour

Lee Chang-dong’s *Possible Love* follows two couples from different social classes whose lives become entangled after a documentary filmmaker approaches a former metalworker and his wife. The film uses their relationships to examine class divisions, grief and the difficult balance between observing people and intruding on their private lives.

Ho-seok, played by Sul Kyung-gu, has withdrawn after a co-worker’s death and a strike linked to mass layoffs; his wife Mi-ok is raising their ten-year-old son while trying to reach him. Wealthy filmmaker Ye-ji, played by Cho Yeo-jeong, wants to document the couple, bringing her husband Sang-woo and their differing ideas about money and intimacy into the story. The review describes the film as an expansive, sometimes exhausting but often funny humanist drama, ending with a moment of emotional candour.