Overview
- The film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, marking Lee’s first feature since Burning in 2018 and signalling a high‑profile auteur comeback.
- Possible Love dramatizes the fallout of a real 2009 mass layoff and strike, focusing on two couples whose encounters expose class gaps, long‑term trauma and questions about dignity at work.
- Lee and co‑writer Oh Jung‑mi framed the story around a documentary filmmaker after shelving an earlier straight dramatization, a choice that lets the film examine whether telling others’ pain can become exploitation.
- Critics at Venice called the film a slow‑burn nearly three hours in length and praised performances from Jeon Do‑yeon, Sul Kyung‑gu, Cho Yeo‑jeong and Zo In‑sung while noting its awards potential.
- Netflix financed and finished the project, which South Korea has selected as its official Oscar entry, and will release it in theaters Oct. 23 with global streaming to follow on Nov. 6.