‘Possible Love’ Director Lee Chang-dong: “I Thought This Combination of ‘Possible’ and ‘Love’ Would Become a Question”

Director Lee Chang-dong discussed the story behind the title of 〈Possible Love〉.

The film 〈Possible Love〉 held an interview with director Lee Chang-dong at a café in Seoul’s Jongno District on November 6. Lee said he chose the title “Possible Love” because he thought the combination would strike audiences as a question.

“(‘Possible’ and ‘love’) are words we use a lot. The combination feels both unfamiliar and new. I thought it would come across as a question in itself,” Lee began. “I thought putting the modifier ‘possible’ before ‘love’ would prompt people to ask, ‘What kind of love is possible?’ and reflect on the nature of that kind of love.”

He added, “In fact, every love story has the words ‘impossible to achieve’ in parentheses in front of it. I thought adding the word ‘possible’ would give people a chance to think a little more about love.”

The film 〈Possible Love〉 tells the story of a worker laid off in a mass firing and his wife, as well as a documentary filmmaker and her husband, who are assigned to cover the couple. After opening in theaters on September 23, it completed a two-week theatrical run and was released exclusively on Netflix on November 6.