Monkey with a Pen

The Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong talks about his work in terms of exigencies: “Is this really necessary? Does this really need to be a film?” He’s referring not to the time, money, and labor necessary to sustain a feature-length film but to the social necessity of a particular story. “I like to think, both for me and the audience, What is an important issue that we’re struggling with right now?” he tells E.Tammy Kim. Lee’s most recent film, and his first feature in eight years, “Possible Love,” tells the story of a group of laborers who have recently been laid off from their factory jobs, and of the woman who is attempting to direct a documentary about their story. It is both a reflection on a real confrontation, from 2009, when a Korean car company fired a third of its workforce, and a tale of a violent betrayal which probes at the value of filmmaking itself. At the link in our bio, Kim spends time with Lee, and talks to him about his relationship to filmmaking. newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…