Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Possible Love’ hailed as exquisitely layered study of covetousness

SEOUL: It is through the works of filmmakers like Lee Chang-dong that one begins to better understand the word ‘auteur’ — that rare writerly sensibility so singular that every frame seems to bear the imprint of an unmistakable literary temperament.

The Korean auteur’s second encounter for many after his masterful Burning (2018) is another reminder that few contemporary filmmakers understand the anatomy of modern human misery with quite this much formal intelligence.

Led by one of the year’s most unforgettable ensembles, featuring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong, Possible Love won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, and has been selected as South Korea’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.