Lee Chang-dong returns after eight years as 'Possible Love' enters the Oscar race

Celebrated South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong has returned with a new film after a break of eight long years. His film 'Possible Love' was shown in cinemas last October and was released on the OTT platform Netflix on 6 November.

The film has been winning praise from audiences and critics since its release. In that run of acclaim, 'Possible Love' has been chosen as South Korea's official submission for the International Feature Film category at the 2027 Academy Awards, the Oscars.

'Possible Love' is a complex psychological story of class inequality. It revolves around two couples from two different social classes: a wealthy filmmaker couple sets out to make a documentary, choosing as its subject the daily struggle of an unemployed worker couple from a closed-down factory.

As the documentary work proceeds, a strange, complicated psychological relationship slowly forms among the four people. Because of this portrayal of class inequality, many are comparing the film with 'Parasite', the South Korean film that won the Oscar in 2019.

Critics have also embraced the film widely. On the review site Rotten Tomatoes it has earned a 98 percent 'fresh' rating.

Rolling Stone magazine has called it 'a tragedy, a time bomb and the best film of 2026'. The Daily Beast critic Nick Schager has named it the best film of the year, the Observer's Wendy Ide has praised its intellectual depth and acting, and critic Peter Travers has recognised it as one of the year's best films.

Earlier, after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September, the film won the prestigious Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize.

The film's biggest draw is considered to be the performance of its lead actress, Jeon Do-yeon. According to predictions by the Hollywood Reporter and Vogue magazine, she could receive an Oscar nomination for best actress for this film; if so, she would be the first South Korean actress nominated in that category.

In an interview with Vogue, Jeon Do-yeon said she was delighted that the film is in the Oscar race and that people are discussing it positively. She has watched the film again herself after its Netflix release. In her view, 'Possible Love' is a film that leaves a different impression on each viewer, and she said she is deeply proud of the discussion and praise it has received.