A 'Possible Love' Born from Mass Layoffs at a Conglomerate... Director Lee Chang-dong Says, "In the End, It Is a Film About Love" [Director's Note]

[Financial News] Through Netflix's film "Possible Love," director Lee Chang-dong explores how changes in labor affect the lives of ordinary people and what love means as the force that sustains life.
At the briefing held on the 25th at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo District, Seoul, Lee said, "I thought the mass layoffs at a conglomerate were an event that could change not only the economy but the lives of ordinary people themselves."
Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong, "Possible Love" tells the story of two couples who have lived very different lives: a laid-off worker and his wife, and a documentary filmmaker and her husband. They meet through the making of a documentary and confront the desires hidden within themselves. It is Lee's first new film in eight years, following "Green Fish," "Peppermint Candy," "Oasis," "Miryang," "Poetry," and "Burning."

When asked whether the story of the laid-off worker in the film evokes the mass layoff crises at SsangYong Motor Company or Daewoo Motor, Lee asked that it not be seen as a work about events at a specific company.
He recalled, "The mass layoffs at a conglomerate left deep aftereffects on individual lives and had a major social impact." He added, "At the time, I thought this event would change not only our economy but the lives of ordinary people themselves."
He went on to explain, "We are all workers, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid workers becoming targets of restructuring. Since a person's identity changes depending on the work they do, I concluded that changes in labor could even alter human identity."
As time passed, the need to address this issue in a film only grew stronger. Robots are now threatening human jobs as well.
Lee said, "We have now entered an era in which labor itself could disappear." He added that the necessity of telling this story has become even stronger than when he first conceived the film.

"Possible Love" took more than a decade to reach the screen.
Lee said, "Before starting a film, I constantly ask myself whether I really need to make it and what meaning it holds for me, for the audience, and for the film itself." He added, "I have a kind of quirk in that if I am not convinced, I cannot push it through to the end."
The project was originally planned around the life of a worker who had been laid off in a large-scale restructuring. At the time, Jeon Do-yeon, who had worked with Lee on "Miryang," and Sul Kyung-gu, from "Oasis," were chosen for the lead roles.
But Lee eventually halted production because he was not sure whether there was any reason to turn it into a feature film when a documentary that honestly captured the life of a laid-off worker already existed. He recalled, "I felt sorry to the two actors as well, because I had to put the project aside at the very last moment."
He later tried several times to adapt it into a different form, but each attempt fell through. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he tried to wrap up the story as the short film "Heartbeat" (2022). Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu also appeared in that work.
Then, early last year, the project was revived through a suggestion from writer Oh Jung Mi, who co-wrote the screenplay.
Lee explained, "Writer Oh suggested layering another couple's story over the story of the laid-off worker and his wife." He said, "I thought that if the two stories came together, the laid-off worker's story would gain a new texture and the film could become much richer." Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong then joined the cast.





The casting of Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu was a natural choice, as the film's development process shows. Sul had difficulty making time because his schedule overlapped with filming Netflix's series "Mousetrap," but he decided to appear because he did not want to miss the chance to work with Lee again.
Zo In-sung was also physically and mentally exhausted after filming the movies "Humint" and "Hope" back to back, but he gathered his strength again so he would not miss the opportunity to work with the master director.
Lee said of Zo's casting that he was "a character who stands in a position that controls the invisible structure within the film." He added, "I could think of no one but Zo In-sung as an actor who is powerful, handsome, charming, and capable of everything, yet has an image of not revealing himself easily." He continued, "I was worried he might refuse, but director Ryoo Seung-wan helped bridge the gap."
The documentary director played by Cho Yeo-jeong largely represents Lee's own perspective and position. He said, "I had never worked with Cho Yeo-jeong before, but I thought she was an actor with delicate sensitivity and empathy." He added, "I felt she was close to the inner world of a documentary director's character." He also praised her for "trying constantly to remain that character on set."

When asked what kind of film "Possible Love" is, Lee answered, "As the title suggests, it is a film about love."
He explained, "Love comes in many forms, not just between men and women. This is a film that asks what kinds of love are possible in our lives, and how we can protect that love, from the love that goes into making a film to the love we feel for other people."
He added, "Love that is easily achieved does not become a film. The title also contains the meaning of impossible love, or love that cannot be realized." He continued, "Through the film, I ask what kind of love is possible and what must be done to make love possible."
He also said, "Not only in love between men and women, but at the core of every relationship between people, there is love." He added, "I believe the force that keeps our lives going unchanged is the relationship of love."

Before starting a film, I constantly ask myself what meaning this film holds for me, for the audience, and for the film itself. It usually takes me a long time to reach that conviction. That is why it took so long to bring to the world.

More than 10 years ago, a mass layoff at one of Korea's major conglomerates, along with the violent suppression of workers' strikes against it, shook Korean society. I decided that I had to make a film about it, and for a while I prepared that film. But in the end, I had to stop. I felt that I was not yet ready to turn it into a feature film. I promised myself that I would return to the story someday, but even I could not easily believe that I would truly keep that promise.

Over the years that followed, the meaning and form of labor changed astonishingly in our lives. Labor was no longer just an issue confined to a particular workplace; it became a reality that runs through our entire daily lives. And when that change met the story of a filmmaker, finally took the shape it has now.

Even if labor, capital, or any other immense force tries to define our lives, I believe human beings never lose the desire to move toward freedom. I wanted to make a film about that desire, a desire that may be another name for love. More than that, I wanted to make a film about the love we encounter in life, and ultimately the love we must extend to someone else.

Director Lee Chang-dong

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