Possible Love

From one of Korea’s true master directors comes this precisely observed tale of privilege, the most lauded film at this year’s Venice Film Festival. First we meet Mi-ok and Ho-seok, at a nadir in their marriage and careers. A chance meeting at a funeral puts them in the orbit of happily married wealthy couple Sang-woo and Ye-ji. The latter feels that the couple’s misery would make a good documentary, but is it genuine empathy or poverty tourism?

In the eight years since his last masterpiece Burning, Lee Chang-dong has assembled a brilliantly well observed drama. While the class scenario recalls his countrymen’s Decision to Leave and Parasite, this is far more restrained and closely considered, full of moments that will be familiar in our increasingly divided world.