Netflix has its best competitor in foreign film Potential love. The title has multiple meanings in the new film by director Lee Changdong, a skilled and patient playwright. The director is constantly peeling back the layers of his complex characters in every scene.
The 164-minute epic story revolves around Mi Ok (Jeun Do-yeon) and her husband Choi Ho-seok (Sol Kyung-gu), who become the subject of Ye Ji’s (Cho Yeo-jeong) documentary. Ho-seok was a victim of police brutality during a factory strike, which left him jobless, blacklisted, and psychologically traumatized. With Ye-ji’s documentary, it’s an opportunity to tell their story, and show how damaging mass layoffs have been.
The story behind the scenes gets complicated. Mi-ok and Ho-seok are sometimes treated as props through the lens of distinguished director Ye-ji, whose husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) is a successful businessman. Even when couples are on the same page, as during a great dinner with a great Steve Jobs joke, there is constant tension between the lines. The wealth gap is always there, even when the characters are friendly or intimate.
Potential Love (from left to right) Sol Kyung Goo as Ho Seok, Jeon Do Yeon as Mi Ok in Potential Love Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
Sick, visual masterpiece
The complex drama requires a running time of approximately three hours. Li Changdong has a lot to say here, most of it in silence. With cinematographer Kim Ji-young, the director creates images that open a window to souls. Even the shot that literally shows Ye-ji and her family staring out the window at a vacation home is beautiful yet tragic: beautiful characters trapped in a house where its owners go in search of freedom.
Zhang Dong approaches all of these characters, never judging. The direction is committed but very expressive. There are contradictions in the craft, and not just the couples. Neither the struggling nor the rich are painted with simple brushes. Mi Ok and Ho Seok are very far from each other but still in love. Mi Ok appreciates her friend Ye Ji, but ultimately resents filmmaking. Mi Ok is attracted to her friend’s husband, but feels cold to his privilege.
A feast of intricate displays
It’s a feast for Jeon Do-yeon’s lead role. The well is deepening with its performance. She creates a complex character who is written so precisely but feels so natural and spontaneous. As for Sol Kyung-gu, he is eerily still but weak. Cho Yeo-jeong is a talented but amoral documentary director – as well as a kind but self-serving friend.
The ensemble, as well as Zhang Dong and his crew, present multiple truths with grace and restraint. Potential love It is a powerful portrait of four quietly hypnotic individuals – a group whose every nuance and flaw is another reason to invest in them. It is a very satisfying experience.
Potential Love (from left to right) Sol Kyung Goo as Ho Seok, Jeon Do Yeon as Mi Ok in Potential Love Cr. Jo Jae Beom/Netflix © 2026
Judgment
A masterful, nearly three-hour epic that tackles class divisions and trauma with tremendous grace and quiet tension. The film is anchored by strong performances from Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Chang-dong. Potential love It is an overwhelming and beautiful victory. Netflix has a very serious contender for best international feature.
He watches Potential love If you want…
- burn (Lee Chang-dong’s previous slow-motion thriller)
- parasite (For her nuanced exploration of the wealth gap)
- Rome
- Driving my car
- Secret sunlight