--- title: "Possible Love: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/possible-love/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/possible-love" critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Possible Love (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 84 from 14 reviews: 14 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. Every one of the fourteen reviews is positive, and most of them say roughly the same thing: Lee Chang-dong’s first film in eight years is a patient, closely observed drama about two married couples, one wealthy and one not, whose lives cross during the making of a documentary. The praise clusters on Lee’s handling of class and desire, which the reviews find both specific to South Korea and widely applicable, and on the ensemble cast. Variety picks out Jeon Do-yeon’s central performance in particular. The reservations are small and mostly about length. Deadline and The Wrap both find the near three-hour runtime a test of patience, though neither thinks the film fails it. Sight and Sound feels the later acts lose some subtlety, and The Guardian calls the plotting somewhat contrived. The spread is narrow: the coolest notices are still warm, and nobody dissents. ## Radio Times Rating 5/5. 6 September 2026. Lee Chang-dong’s rich and utterly absorbing drama explores human nature and desire through two couples whose lives intersect during a documentary. Strong performances and a vast spectrum of emotions make the long runtime rewarding. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/possible-love-review-netflix/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Ebiri calls the film Lee Chang-dong’s most powerful and political work, and among the year’s best. He singles out its patient, engrossing character-building and subtle exploration of class and privilege. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-best-film-at-venice-film-fest-2026-is-possible-love.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 91/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Lee Chang-dong's latest is another stunner from one of the greats of contemporary world cinema, a transfixing meditation on economic and emotional unease. The critic singles out the director’s humanistic observational skills and the superlative ensemble cast for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/possible-love-review-lee-chang-dong-netflix-1236691731/) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Lee Chang-dong delivers another masterpiece in this sprawling Netflix drama. The critic highlights how class conflict achieves vivid new dimension through the relationship between a rich documentary filmmaker and her blue-collar subjects. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/possible-love-movie-review-1235215136/) ## Variety — Jessica Kiang Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. The critic calls it a wonderfully rich and deep new movie that delivers wit, soul, social insight and a scintillating central performance from Jeon Do-yeon. Lee seamlessly integrates themes of class, desire and relationships with elegant, unshowy filmmaking and a generous if rueful conclusion. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/possible-love-review-1236846877/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 4 September 2026. Two couples of wildly contrasting means connect awkwardly in Lee Chang-dong’s perceptive and empathetic new drama about the ruin wreaked by late capitalism. It blossoms over its long runtime into an absorbing parable and gesture of defiance. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/possible-love-review-2026) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Fi1m's normalised score 79/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Two couples from contrasting social classes connect during the making of a documentary about laid-off workers. Lee explores economic stress on marriage, the ethics of filmmaking and quiet desires with precise, lived-in observation. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/venice-film-festival/possible-love-first-look-review) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Lee Chang-dong follows up Burning with a disquieting study of class and desire centred on two married couples divided by wealth. The film accrues power from exploring tensions between a documentarian and her impoverished subjects. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/possible-love-review-lee-chang-dong-explores-class-desire-and-exploitation-in-powerful-venice-competition-return/5219812.article) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. The critic praises Lee Chang-dong's return as a finely judged, beautifully acted novelistic study of two couples whose lives intersect through a documentary project. The film is noted for its intelligence, fluency and subtle exploration of exploitation, friendship and conditional love, though it is seen as somewhat contrived. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/06/possible-love-review-a-tale-of-two-couples-is-finely-judged-study-of-exploitation-and-friendship) ## Slant Magazine — Marshall Shaffer Rating 3/4. 8 September 2026. Festival review. Shaffer finds the film’s slow-building relationship drama rewarding and its conclusion masterful. He especially praises the final stretch, where small details accumulate into unsettling revelations. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/possible-love-review-lee-chang-dong/) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 73/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2026. Festival review. Lee Chang-dong examines the social and psychological effects of labour exploitation through two married couples whose paths cross during a documentary project. The film offers gradual revelations about trauma, envy and class divides but occasionally lacks subtlety in its later acts. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/possible-love-lee-chang-dongs-sober-exploration-economic-disparity-filled-with-quiet-revelations) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating A/A-. 15 September 2026. Ellwood calls the film a poignant, urgent portrait of inequality and an eulogy for the working class. He particularly praises its prescience and Lee’s layered storytelling, while highlighting its humane glimmer of hope. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/possible-love-review-lee-chang-dong-review-20260915/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Lee Chang-dong’s first film in eight years is a powerful story of class and desire that draws parallels to global divides. The nearly three-hour runtime feels overly long at times, but the top South Korean cast delivers a haunting and pertinent work. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2026/09/possible-love-review-lee-chang-dongs-south-korean-oscar-pick-1237063045/) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2026. Festival review. Lee Chang-dong’s slow-burn return after eight years explores trauma, loss and class conflict through two couples whose lives intersect. The measured, patient pacing accumulates power over nearly three hours despite requiring audience patience. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/possible-love-review-lee-chang-dong/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/possible-love.md