''The Handmaiden'' () is a 2016 South Korean

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film directed, co-written and co-produced by

Park Chan-Wook Park Chan-wook (; born 23 August 1963) is a Koreans, South Korean film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer, and former film critic. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of Cinema of South Korea, South Korean cinema a ...

and starring Kim Min-hee,

Kim Tae-ri Kim Tae-ri (; born April 24, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She gained widespread recognition for her breakout role as Sook-hee in Park Chan-wook's critically acclaimed film ''The Handmaiden'' (2016), which premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film ...

Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (; born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor and filmmaker. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 million tickets. Only 3 other acto ...

and

Cho Jin-woong Cho Jin-woong (; born March 3, 1976), born Jo Won-jun (), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time'' (2012), '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014), ''Assassination'' (2015), ...

. It is inspired by the 2002 novel '' Fingersmith'' by Welsh writer

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sara ...

, with the setting changed from

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Britain to

Korea under Japanese rule From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

, where a Korean girl is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life on a countryside estate. ''The Handmaiden'' was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...

. It was released in South Korea on 1 June 2016 to widespread critical acclaim (with singled out hail towards its directing, writing, twists, cinematography, musical score and cast performances) and grossed over worldwide. At the

71st British Academy Film Awards The 71st British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 18 February 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2017. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Televi ...

, the film won the category of

Best Film Not in the English Language The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy Fi ...

. The movie appeared in many lists of 2016 top ten best movies, and since its release has been regarded as Chan-Wook's best film since ''Oldboy'' (2003).

Plot

Part 1

Japanese-occupied Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

, a con man operating under the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

of "Count

Fujiwara Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

" plans to seduce a Japanese heiress named Lady Hideko, then marry her and commit her to an asylum to steal her inheritance. He hires a pickpocket named Sook-hee to become Hideko's maid and encourage Hideko to marry him. Hideko lives with her Uncle Kouzuki, a Korean man who helped the Japanese take over his country in exchange for a gold mine. Kouzuki then uses this wealth to feed his obsession with rare books, selling forgeries to accumulate further money and books. Sook-hee's main job is to help Hideko prepare to read for Kouzuki's guests. Returning frustrated from a reading, Hideko demands Sook-hee to sleep next to her. The two end up having sex, under the pretext of preparing Hideko for her married life with the Count. Sook-hee begins expressing reluctance about the plan, but when Hideko suggests she loves someone other than the Count, Sook-hee insists on the marriage. Hideko slaps her and violently throws her out of the room. When Kouzuki leaves on business for a week, Hideko and Fujiwara elope, with Sook-hee in tow. After they cash out Hideko's inheritance, it is revealed that Hideko's naïveté was part of the con. She and Fujiwara double-crossed Sook-hee and convinced the asylum that she was the "Countess" to have her committed in Hideko's stead.

Part 2

A series of flashbacks show that Hideko's "reading practice" was Kouzuki teaching her to read sadistic pornography since she was five years old. The flashbacks show a regimen of psychological and physical abuse that gradually degrades the sanity of Hideko's aunt, who is eventually found hanging from a tree in the yard, and so Hideko takes over as the reader for the auctions. When Hideko questions the description of hanging in a book she has to read, Kouzuki tells her that he murdered her aunt using torture devices in the basement after she attempted to run away. In the more recent past, the Count realizes seducing Hideko would be impossible and instead includes her in the plan to elope and then split her inheritance. When Hideko expresses her fear of her uncle, the Count bribes her with a vial of

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

with which to commit suicide so that she can never be taken to the basement alive, calling it a "wedding present". Hideko demands the Count find her a girl to hire as a maid, to commit to an asylum in Hideko's place. While being instructed by the Count, who takes advantage of Sook-hee's illiteracy, Hideko unexpectedly falls in love with her. Hideko tries to confess her love, but when Sook-hee insists the marriage go forward, Hideko throws her out of the bedroom and then tries to hang herself. Sook-hee saves her, and both admit to their plots. Hideko helps Sook-hee write a letter to her family to say she has teamed up with Hideko, asking for their help in carrying out a plot to get Hideko and Sook-hee away from the men who have been manipulating them. Hideko shows Sook-hee the books she was forced to read, and Sook-hee begins destroying the library. Hideko calls Sook-hee "her savior" and joins in destroying her uncle's collection.

Part 3

After leaving Sook-hee at the asylum, Fujiwara and Hideko eat together at a high-class hotel, where he tells her of his past and asks her to marry him again, this time as Sook-hee, as they have switched identities. He also reveals that Sook-hee will be dead within a few days, causing Hideko to question Fujiwara's desires. Sook-hee's friend Bok-soon sets a fire at the asylum and poses as a firefighter to rescue her. In the pretense of re-creating their wedding night Fujiwara attempts to rape Hideko, however he is rendered unconscious after drinking wine that Hideko earlier dosed with drops from the opium vial. This allows Hideko to leave with her money. The women reunite and flee together, disguising Hideko as a man to avoid detection. Kouzuki captures Fujiwara after receiving a letter from Hideko detailing Fujiwara's deception. He tortures Fujiwara in his cellar with his collection of antique bookmaking tools and presses him for sexual details about his niece. Fujiwara makes up a story about making love on their wedding night, while a flashback shows that he watched Hideko masturbate before cutting her hand with a knife to stain her sheets with blood, refusing to consummate the marriage. When Kouzuki presses for more details, Fujiwara convinces him to give him one of his cigarettes, after which he disgustedly refuses to give further details. Kouzuki notices the cigarettes are producing blue smoke, and Fujiwara reveals that his cigarettes are laced with mercury, and the toxic gas in the smoke kills them both. On a ferry to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Sook-hee and Hideko celebrate their newfound freedom by having sex once again.

Cast

Production

In December 2014, it was reported that Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong signed on for the film. Kim Tae-ri was selected from 1,500 candidates to play the role. Shooting for the film began in June 2015 and concluded in October 2015. The print ''

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' and the book ''

Jin Ping Mei ''Jin Ping Mei'' ()—translated into English as ''The Plum in the Golden Vase'' or ''The Golden Lotus''—is a Chinese novel of manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the latter half of the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty (1368 ...

'' feature in the film.

Locations

The film was shot in both Japan and Korea. Kouzuki's mansion with combined elements of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and British architecture was filmed in

Kuwana is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 141,045 in 60,301 households and a population density of 1000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kuwana is located in northern Mie Pre ...

Mie prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

in Japan, using the exterior of the Moroto Seiroku Mansion and CGI to augment exterior details. Known as Rokkaen (), it was designed by British architect Josiah Conder and built in 1913. The interior of the library and the staircase leading to Hideko's bedroom were built as interior sets. The cherry tree from which Hideko's aunt is found hanged was in the gardens of the hospital on the island

Sorokdo Sorokdo () is an island in Goheung County, South Jeolla in South Korea. The word ''sorok'' means "small deer", which the island's coastline, viewed from above, is supposed to resemble. The island is approximately one kilometer away from the large ...

in Jeolla, South Korea.

Release

In February 2016,

CJ Entertainment CJ ENM Films & Television, formerly CJ Entertainment, () is a South Korean entertainment, film production, and distribution company under CJ ENM Entertainment Division. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, in ...

announced that ''The Handmaiden'' was pre-sold to 116 countries, including to

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

for the US. The film premiered in competition at the

, where it received a standing ovation, and Ryu Seong-hee won the

Vulcan Award The CST Award for Best Artist-Technician () is an independent film award created in 2003. It rewards the work of a technician for his or her collaboration in the creation of a film from the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It is aw ...

of the Technical Artist for her art direction work on the film. The film was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

, where ''

The Playlist ''The Playlist'' is a British children's entertainment and music series presented by guest presenters, produced by Strawberry Blond TV for CBBC and first aired on 22 April 2017 and ended on 12 March 2022. The first series was narrated by Sco ...

'' named it as one of the 15 best films of the festival. In South Korea, the film was released on 1 June 2016 and sold more than 4 million tickets. In the United States, the distribution of the film was handled by Amazon Studios and

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures LLC is an American independent film distributor and production company, and is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in ...

. The film opened in

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

across five cinemas in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and played in 140 additional cinemas in the following weeks. Eventually, the film grossed more than in the United States theatrically; the film outgrossed '' Stoker'' and became the highest-grossing Park Chan-wook-directed film in the United States. It was released on DVD in the US on 24 January 2017 and Blu-ray on 28 March 2017. In the United Kingdom, the distribution of the film was handled by Amazon Studios and Curzon Artificial Eye. The film grossed more than in the United Kingdom theatrically, and became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the UK in 2017. The original theatrical cut of the film runs 144 minutes. An extended cut, running 168 minutes, was later given a limited theatrical release in the UK and has also been released on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

in some international markets.

Home media

In the United Kingdom, it was 2017's fifth best-selling

foreign language film World cinema is a term in film theory in the United States that refers to films made outside of the Cinema of the United States, American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial Ame ...

on home video, and the year's third best-selling Korean film (behind ''Operation Chromite'' and ''

Train to Busan ''Train to Busan'' () is a 2016 South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho, written by Park Joo-suk, and starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Eui-sung. The film mostly t ...

'').

Reception

Critical response

''The Handmaiden'' received critical acclaim. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an

approval rating An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of que ...

of 96%, based on 225 reviews, and an average score of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Handmaiden'' uses a Victorian crime novel as the loose inspiration for another visually sumptuous and absorbingly idiosyncratic outing from director Park Chan-wook." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film holds a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 85 out of 100, based on 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' described the film as a masterpiece. Benjamin Lee of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' ranked it four out of five stars and described it as "a hugely entertaining thriller". The film's numerous sexually explicit scenes between the two main female characters were criticized by Laura Miller at ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', who described the scenes as "disappointingly boilerplate" and featuring "visual clichés of pornographic lesbianism, he actresses'bodies offered up for the camera's delectation." ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''s

Jia Tolentino Jia Angeli Carla Tolentino (born 1988) is an American writer and editor. A staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' she previously worked as deputy editor of ''Jezebel'' and a contributing editor at '' The Hairpin''. Her writing has also appeared in ...

said that "the women know what they look like, it seems—they are consciously performing for each other—and Park is deft at extracting the particular sense of silly freedom that can be found in enacting a sexual cliché."

Listicles

''The Handmaiden'' was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Handmaiden, The 2016 films 2010s erotic drama films 2010s erotic thriller films 2010s historical thriller films 2016 LGBTQ-related films 2010s psychological drama films 2016 psychological thriller films 2016 romantic drama films 2010s romantic thriller films 2010s Japanese-language films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean erotic drama films South Korean erotic thriller films South Korean erotic romance films South Korean LGBTQ-related films South Korean nonlinear narrative films South Korean psychological thriller films South Korean romantic drama films South Korean romantic thriller films Films about juvenile sexuality Lesbian-related films LGBTQ-related romantic drama films LGBTQ-related thriller films Films about con artists Films based on British novels Films set in the 1930s Films set in Japan Films set in Korea under Japanese rule Films set in South Korea Films directed by Park Chan-wook Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award winners CJ Entertainment films South Korean historical thriller films Adaptations of works by Welsh writers 2010s South Korean films Saturn Award–winning films Films shot in Japan Films shot in South Korea