Review: Possible Love

Image courtesy of Netflix.

It's been eight years since his mesmerizing slow-burn masterpiece "Burning," but Lee Chang-dong's newest film - which takes some inspiration from Krzysztof Kieslowski's epic "Decalogue" - is another film that takes its time getting to where it's going but pays off for those with patience.

If "Burning" was somewhat of a mystery, then his latest involves the mysteries of the human heart and soul, while telling a story of the haves and have nots that feels remarkably of this moment. The film opens with the words "Thou shall not covet," and by the picture's end each of the film's four main characters have found something to about which to be envious.

The four characters comprise two couples - lower middle class Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) and Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) and upper class Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) and Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) - who meet at a funeral. The deceased is a man who worked with Ho-seok, a former factory worker who has become bitter and withdrawn after being laid off from his job and then violently beaten by police while striking.

Mi-ok is embarrassed by her husband's behavior in public. He often drinks and become angry easily. She loses her ring and Sang-woo, who is sitting in his car outside the funeral, helps her to find it. Ye-ji is a documentary filmmaker who is interested in making a movie about the strike and convinces Mi-ok to get involved in it. Ho-seok grudgingly agrees to take part in it, but nailing him down for a time proves to be a challenge.

The first part of the picture involves the burgeoning relationship between these couples - somewhat strained between Ho-seok and everyone else, but lively and friendly between the two women - and there are some flashbacks that are interspersed. One of them involves a young Ho-seok, a soldier at the time, and Mi-ok sitting underneath the moonlight, where he comments that no matter how rich or poor, the moon shines down on everyone the same.

This scene will play a pivotal role in the film's somewhat mysterious finale, but it also foreshadows what is to come when Ye-ji figures that the best way to get Ho-seok in front of a camera is by leaving him with nowhere to run. Therefore, she and Sang-woo - who is distracted by a business deal that he is waiting to come to fruition - invite the couple to their luxurious house in the countryside, where the second half of the film takes place. Here, Ye-ji plans to get Ho-seok to sit down for an interview.

It is at this countryside home that we realize how each character covets another in various ways - Ho-seok and Mi-ok yearn for the type of life that their wealthier counterparts have, while I can't comment on Sang-woo's jealousy without giving something away. Ye-ji's covetousness is, perhaps, the most interesting thematically - she wants the stories of those whom she interviews for her films, convincing her subjects to become emotional on camera, but also not seeing them as anything other than good material for her film.

From the flippant way that Sang-woo describes his fancy house and job to the way that Ye-ji harangues Ho-seok and Mi-ok about appearing in her movie - which are interspersed with the horrific treatment of the workers at Ho-seok's place of work - "Possible Love" is also a compelling examination of economic inequality.

The film takes a tense turn in its final scenes, which shouldn't come as a surprise for those who saw "Burning," which had a shocking finale. Then, it ends on a mysterious note involving the moon and a text that is seemingly never sent. 

As I have mentioned, the film is a slow burn that requires patience and doesn't spell anything out or give easy answers. Chang-dong makes films that are rich like great literature, thematically compelling, and powerful. This is a film that takes a little work from its audience. Those willing to put in the effort, however, will be rewarded.