Lee Chang Dong’s Possible Love made a strong first impression at the Venice International Film Festival, earning a six-minute standing ovation following its world premiere on September 6th.
The film premiered at the Sala Grande on Venice’s Lido, where stars Jeon Do Yeon, Sul Kyung Gu, Zo In Sung and Cho Yeo Jeong were seen wiping away tears and embracing as the audience applauded after the end credits, according to Variety.
The cast later smiled and applauded along with the crowd as the ovation continued. Variety reported that the applause and cheers might have gone on even longer, but the director and cast were ushered out of the theater after six minutes.
Possible Love marks Lee’s first feature film since 2018’s Burning. The story follows Ho Seok (Sul Kyung Gu), a factory worker who loses his job in a mass layoff, and his wife Mi Ok (Jeon Do Yeon), whose lives intersect with documentary filmmaker Ye Ji (Cho Yeo Jeong) and her wealthy husband Sang Woo (Zo In Sung). Ye Ji sets out to document the realities faced by displaced factory workers, bringing the two couples from very different social backgrounds into one another’s lives.
The film quickly emerged as one of the festival’s most talked-about titles, with Vulture critic Bilge Ebiri asking, “Could This Be the Best Film at Venice This Year?”
Ebiri called the film “a huge, novelistic work” and wrote that Lee may have made “the most powerful, political, hypnotic film of his career”
IndieWire chief film critic David Ehrlich gave the film an A, praising Lee’s layered exploration of jealousy, desire, resentment and class.
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw awarded the film four out of five stars, describing it as “a finely judged, beautifully acted and rather novelistic work.” He added that it is “rich in intelligence while paying its audience the compliment of treating them as intelligent also.”
TIME film critic Stephanie Zacharek described Possible Love as a “delicate yet sturdy drama” and praised its “gentle, generous spirit.” She wrote that the film depicts a world where people struggle to connect across differences in class and temperament, while “tenderness ultimately has more power than arrogance.”
The performances have also drawn praise. Deadline critic Pete Hammond highlighted the strength of the ensemble, noting that all four lead actors are given substantial material through which to bring Lee’s vision to the screen.
Possible Love is one of 21 films competing for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The winners will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony on September 12th.
>> ‘Possible Love’ Eyes Oscars as South Korea’s Academy Awards Submission
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