In a welcome piece of news for fans of Asian arthouse cinema, Netflix has set Lee Chang-dong‘s much-anticipated drama Possible Love — the revered Korean auteur’s first film since 2018’s Burning — for a limited release in U.S. theaters on Oct. 23 ahead of its worldwide streaming launch on Nov. 6.
Netflix is positioning the film — one of its most highbrow features of the fall — for an awards-season run. Possible Love will make its world premiere in September at the Venice Film Festival, where it will vie for the Golden Lion, followed by a North American debut as a gala selection at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Possible Love reunites Lee with two of his most accomplished earlier collaborators. The film stars Jeon Do-yeon, who won the Cannes best actress prize as the shattered lead of Lee’s Secret Sunshine in 2007, and Sul Kyung-gu, the unforgettable lead of the director’s early masterpieces Peppermint Candy (1999) and Oasis (2002). They are joined by Zo In-sung (Moving, Escape from Mogadishu) and Cho Yeo-jeong (best known globally as the gullible rich wife of Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite).
Netflix also shared a poster and a first-look still from the film on Tuesday along with the release plans. The poster shows the film’s two female leads, Jeon and Cho, standing apart beneath moonlit trees at dawn — the frame’s pervasive stillness carrying an unmistakable charge of unease. Similarly, the still shows the ensemble cast standing by the sea, with their glances carrying a complicated sense of emotional intrigue.
