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“My Love: Six Stories of True Love,” a six-part documentary series about couples from six nations who have each been together for at least 40 years sharing their stories and secrets of their long-lasting love, premieres today on Netflix.
Each episode is directed by a native of the nation the subjects are from.
The U.S. episode is about the former proprietors of a Vermont farm that has been in the family since 1871 and is now operated by their eldest son. The episode deals with their budgeting for future care, finalizing their wills and spending quality time with their children and grandchildren as their 60th wedding anniversary approaches.
The Spanish episode is about a couple who lives in the close-knit mountain village Marchenica where they grow almonds and olives, bake bread and guard against wild boars with their neighbors.
The Japanese episode is about a man forcibly hospitalized for leprosy as a preteen and the hospital staffer who inspired him to leave so he could marry her. The couple has been married for 49 years and spends their time gardening and advocating for victims of Japan’s discriminatory leprosy policy.
The South Korean episode is about abalone farmers on the island of Bogildo with the wife dealing with death of her eldest son more than a decade earlier.
The Brazilian episode is about two women who met as teenagers in Rio de Janeiro and have been together for 43 years and are both mothers and grandmothers.
The Indian episodes are about farmers who didn’t meet before their wedding 42 years ago and now care for their cotton farm, their grandchildren, their own aging parents and each other while their sons are away working in a sugarcane factory.
The executive producer is Jin Moyoung, who directed the 2013 documentary, “My Love, Don’t Cross That River,” about a Korean couple married for 76 years. It became South Korea’s top grossing documentary or independent film and won the best documentary award at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival.
“While producing `My Love: Six Stories of True Love,’ the common thing we discovered amongst the six couples who have loved each other for a long time was their sense of humor and compassion towards each other,” said Jin, who directed the South Korean episode of “My Love: Six Stories of True Love.”
“Humor was an important bridge that opened the door for them to communicate truthfully. And understanding each other with a warm heart seemed like the key to their life-long journey towards happiness. By being able to communicate with each other authentically, these couples have been able to lead a peaceful life.”
