Lee Chang-dong Returns With 'Possible Love,' First Film Since 'Burning'

"The value of labor, which people have treated as important since the modern era, is changing fast," director Lee Chang-dong said. "As AI develops, this is only going to get deeper."

This concern sits at the center of "Possible Love" (Ganeunghan Sarang), his first new film in eight years since "Burning." The movie looks at how labor and class shape people's lives. It is also a Netflix film, the director admited that it is hard to make movies without big money behind them. What matters, he said, is keeping his own voice inside that system.

The story follows Ho-seok (played by Sol Kyung-gu), a laid-off worker, and his wife Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon). They meet documentary director Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) and her husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung). The two couples come together to make a documentary. Along the way, each of them runs into desires they had kept hidden.

The film has picked up major awards at home and abroad. It won the Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and the Ebert Director Award at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). On Nov. 4, it took two prizes at the 46th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, Best Film and Best Actress for Jeon Do-yeon.

Much of the film is driven by Ye-ji, who wants to tell the story of laid-off workers.

"The film's first goal is to get across the lives of laid-off workers, along with their pain and their feelings," Lee Chang-dong said.

The movie goes way beyond that point. It also shows a society where the meaning of work is shifting. The director worries that this change could affect how people see themselves.

He said he shares something with Ye-ji. As she records the lives of laid-off workers, she also wants to be recognized for it.

"Ye-ji isn't free from that desire," he said. "Just like I'm not."

He was just as direct when talking about money. Making a film means working with capital, whether he likes it or not that is unavoidable.

"You can't do anything without borrowing the power of capital," he said. "Inside that, I try to use my own voice as much as I can."

The director has long struggled with his own strict standards on set.

"I make films the hard way," he said. "When I watch the acting on set, sometimes I don't see a real person. I only see someone who is good at acting."

"Those things keep me worrying on set, and they torment me," he added. "It's harder because it's a standard I set for myself."

This time was easier, he said. "I let go of my standard," he explained. "With all four actors, it didn't feel like they were acting well. It felt like they were living as those characters."

The film also brings him back together with two longtime collaborators. He worked with Sol Kyung-gu on "Peppermint Candy" and "Oasis," and with Jeon Do-yeon on "Secret Sunshine." This is their first project together in about 20 years.

"Back then, they were young too," he said. "They thought they had to prove something, so they fought hard with themselves."

"Both of them have become close to me, like friends," he went on. "It didn't feel like an actor and a director meeting again. It felt like people who understand each other well, just working together."

He also praised the other two leads. "Cho Yeo-jeong is a hardworking, smart actor," he said. "She kept the balance in the relationships between the four characters."

Zo In-sung, he said, turned out to be a surprisingly funny person. His character, Sang-woo, stands for the power of capital in the film. "The actor's real personality blended naturally into the character," the director said, clearly pleased.

Lee Chang-dong is known for never calling out "OK" on set. He said it comes from how he thinks about acting.

"I didn't think it was right to have a model answer and say OK when someone hits it," he said. "Acting isn't about showing a set answer. It's about living as that character. I don't think it's my place to demand a certain expression."

"Possible Love" opened in theaters in late September this year. It is available on Netflix from Nov. 6. The director said he is curious how viewers used to quick, fast-moving stories will take to his film.

"Putting out a slow-paced film like 'Possible Love' on Netflix is a meaningful challenge in itself," he said.