Filmmaker explores enduring love stories of lifelong couples around the world

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Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jin Mo-young said he happily accepted Netflix's offer in 2017 to expand the concept of his 2014 hit documentary film, "My Love, Don't Cross That River," into a docuseries featuring six international love stories.

The heartfelt tear-jerker film, which chronicles an elderly Korean couple whose marriage lasted for 76 years, attracted more than 4.8 million moviegoers in 2014.

Taking part as the executive producer of "My Love: Six Stories of True Love," as well as directing the Korean episode, he oversaw the production with showrunner Xan Aranda ― from deciding on the overall theme of the series to recruiting documentary directors from each country.

"When I received the proposal from Netflix, I happily accepted it because it sounded like a great opportunity to recreate and deliver the concept through a more powerful medium. The reason I made 'My Love, Don't Cross That River' into a film was the desire to show it to audiences around the globe," Jin said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

"My Love" is a six-part docuseries that features six different couples from countries around the world: the United States, Spain, Japan, Korea, Brazil and India. Each episode focuses on a different partnership, region and culture. However, they share one similarity ― all the couples featured in the series have been together for over 40 years.

Over the course of a year, the directors from each country document the couples' lives and relationships as well as their deteriorating health and plights. The U.S. episode is about former owners of a Vermont farm, who pass it to their eldest son to spend more quality time as a family as their 60th wedding anniversary approaches.

The Spanish episode is about a couple living in a mountain village where they grow almonds and olives, while the husband deals with his dwindling eyesight. The Japanese episode is about a couple who advocate for victims of Japan's discriminatory leprosy policy, as the two met as a leprosy patient and hospital nurse.

The Korean episode is about abalone farmers on Bogil Island, where the wife is still trying to deal with the abrupt death of her eldest son more than a decade earlier. The Brazilian episode is about a Black lesbian couple that has been together for 43 years. The Indian episode is about a couple who met through an arranged marriage and have been married for 42 years, running a cotton farm.

While searching for directors, Jin realized that married couples' love stories aren't much dealt with in documentaries.

"People may assume that documentaries like 'My Love' can be commonly seen in many countries, but I learned that it's quite an unusual subject. When we explained our concept to directors, they found it interesting because we, as documentary filmmakers, all have a desire to observe our subjects' real lives earnestly for a certain period of time," he said.

Once the directors were decided, local production teams did a vast amount of research and reached out to cast subjects whom audiences could empathize with. The directors' preferences were the most important criteria in choosing the couples, according to Jin.

"The team intentionally searched for matches that are typically marginalized. If you look into it, not one couple in the series holds a high status in their respective society. They all come from humble backgrounds and are trying to live life to the fullest. We thought the audiences would see the universality in it," Jin explained.

After selecting the couples, they did test filming for a day or two and scouted filming locations. Jin explained that their team featured cultural aspects and the political situations in the chosen countries in order to enrich the series' episodes.

"The series is about the power of love, but that alone can be monotonous. So we took an approach that includes a bit of social commentary," he said.

For instance, the Brazilian episode centers on the Black lesbian couple of Nicinha and Jurema, who are practitioners of the persecuted Afro-Brazilian Umbanda religion. The Japanese episode revolves around leprosy sufferer Haruhei and his wife Kinuko, who try to overcome the social stigma that left enduring scars on their family. But in the end, each episode eventually comes back to the love story.

In the docuseries, health problems associated with aging arise often, such as in the case of the Korean couple who have been living together for 47 years. Cho Yeong-sam gives his wife, Jeong Saeng-ja, massages, but often admits guilt for having worked her so hard. Jeong also reveals that she has severe back pain and hearing loss.

The couples discuss their past, but the docuseries concentrates on the major events in their lives and how they cope with the ups and downs of that particular year, 2019.

"I would like the series to just remind people to enjoy the small moments, because that's what life is made of," he said.

"I personally recommend viewers to watch our show in a comfortable environment, either alone or with others, and to think about what we can learn from the couples' decades-long love. I hope it's interesting and inspiring, but it doesn't necessarily need to be instructive."

Jin said he learned that the key to long-lasting love is universal. "What I observed is that there has to be a conscious effort to bring happiness to one's partner and to keep contemplating whether I am ready to give and accept that love," he said.

The acclaimed filmmaker also shared his wish to document more couples in the future, although season 2 is undecided. "I would like to meet couples who are living in the coldest place in the world like the Arctic, or the South Pacific," he said.

"My Love: Six Stories of True Love" is available on Netflix.






source: Netflix & The Korea Times

Comments

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

I watched this, I cried a bit on how adorable these couples are and how they love each other and I hope I find a husband with I can share my life like this.
I'm too emotional today