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

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the 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. In terms of context and c ...

film directed by

Park Chan-wook Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. ...

and starring Kim Min-hee,

Kim Tae-ri Kim Tae-ri (born April 24, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is known for starring in the films '' The Handmaiden'' (2016), ''Little Forest'' (2018), ''Space Sweepers'' (2020) and in the historical drama '' Mr. Sunshine'' (2018). Kim's lea ...

Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 mil ...

and Cho Jin-woong. 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 Sa ...

, with the setting changed from

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule. The film was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in South Korea on 1 June 2016. The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its performances, direction, score, cinematography, visuals, and writing. It grossed over $38 million 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 Telev ...

, 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 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 Film Awards, r ...

Plot

Part 1

Japanese-occupied Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...

, a con man operating under the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

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 in order 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 further accumulate 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 sleep next to her. The two end up making love, under the pretext of preparing Hideko for her married life with the Count. Sook-hee begins expressing reluctance about the plan, but when Hideko herself suggests she loves someone other than the Count, Sook-hee insists on the marriage. Hideko slaps her and violently throws her from the room. When Kouzuki leaves on business for a week, Hideko and Fujiwara elope. After cashing 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 is the "Countess" to have her committed in Hideko's stead.

Part 2

A series of flashbacks show that Hideko's “reading practice” was in fact Kouzuki teaching her to erotically 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 hanged from a tree in the yard, and so Hideko takes over as the reader for the auctions. When Hideko questions the description of a 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 a vial of opium 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 on 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. Hideko doses Fujiwara's wine with drops from the opium vial, causing him to pass out and allowing her 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 own 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 were laced with mercury, and the toxic gas in the smoke kills them both. On a ferry to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China, Sook-hee and Hideko celebrate their newfound freedom by making love 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 books ''

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife , also known as ''Girl Diver and Octopi'', ''Diver and Two Octopi'', etc., is a woodblock-printed design by the Japanese artist Hokusai. It is included in ('Young Pines'), a three-volume book of erotica first published in 1814, and has become ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' were featured in the film.

Locations

The film was shot in both Japan and Korea. Kouzuki's mansion with combined elements of Japanese and British architecture was filmed in Kuwana in Mie prefecture 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 Sorok Island in Jeolla, South Korea.

Release

In February 2016,

CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment (Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early 1 ...

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

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

for the US. The film premiered in competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation, and Ryu Seong-hee won the

Vulcan Award The Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist (french: Prix Vulcain de l’Artiste Technicien) 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 se ...

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 is an American film distributor. It 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 both foreign and independent films. Ma ...

. The film opened in limited release across five cinemas in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and played in 140 additional cinemas in the following weeks. Eventually, the film grossed more than $2 million 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 March 28, 2017. In the United Kingdom, the distribution of the film was handled by Amazon Studios and

Curzon Artificial Eye Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment. History Artificial Eye was founded i ...

. The film grossed more than $1.8 million 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 prerecorded media sold or 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, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

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 that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...

on home video, and the year's third best-selling

Korean film The term "Cinema of Korea" (or "Korean cinema") encompasses the motion picture industries of North and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, ...

(behind ''Operation Chromite'' and ''

Train to Busan ''Train to Busan'' () is a 2016 South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho 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 takes place on a high-speed train ...

'').

Reception

Critical response

''The Handmaiden has'' received widespread critical acclaim. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an

approval rating An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

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 a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

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

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

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

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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'', who described the scenes as "disappointingly boilerplate" and featuring "visual clichés of pornographic lesbianism,

he actresses' He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

bodies offered up for the camera’s delectation." However, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''s Jia Tolentino 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."

Top ten lists

''The Handmaiden'' was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists. * 1st – Danny Bowes, '' RogerEbert.com'' * 2nd – Dan Callahan, ''RogerEbert.com'' * 2nd – Noel Murray & Katie Rife, ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' * 2nd – Rob Hunter, ''

Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006. The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...

'' * 2nd – Sean Mulvihill, ''RogerEbert.com'' * 2nd – Tasha Robinson, ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media ...

'' * 2nd – William Bibbiani, '' CraveOnline'' * 3rd – Amy Nicholson, '' MTV'' * 3rd – Witney Seibold, '' CraveOnline'' * 3rd – Jen Yamato, ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' * 3rd –

James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...

, ''Reelviews'' * 3rd –

Bilge Ebiri Bilge Ebiri (; born 1973) is an English-born American journalist and filmmaker. His first feature film, a comedy thriller entitled ''New Guy'', was released in 2004. Early life and education Ebiri studied film at Yale University where his thesis ...

, ''

L.A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' * 4th – Kimberley Jones, ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' * 4th – Scott Tobias, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' * 5th – Lean Pickett, '' Chicago Reader'' * 5th – Kate Taylor, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' * 5th – Josh Kupecki, ''

'' * 5th – Haleigh Foutch, ''

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particl ...

'' * 5th – Erin Whitney, ''ScreenCrush'' * 5th – Peter Freeman, ''DC Outlook'' * 6th – Sean Axmaker, ''Parallax View'' * 6th – John Powers, ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' * 6th –

Alonso Duralde Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American film critic, author, and podcaster. Personal life Duralde was born in East Point, Georgia, the youngest of seven children born to Spanish immigrants. He attended Vanderbilt University and curre ...

, ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...

'' * 6th – Christy Lemire and Peter Sobczynski, ''RogerEbert.com'' * 6th – Mike D’Angelo & A.A. Dowd, ''

'' * 7th – Bill Goodykoontz, ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' * 7th –

Matt Zoller Seitz Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...

& Brian Tallerico, ''RogerEbert.com'' * 7th – Christopher Orr, ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' * 7th – Steve Davis, ''

'' * 8th – Matt Singer, ''ScreenCrush'' * 8th –

Ty Burr Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who currently writes a film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist" on Substack. Burr previously served as film critic at ''The Boston Globe'' for two ...

, ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' * 8th –

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' * 8th –

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' * 8th –

David Edelstein David Edelstein (born 1959) is a freelance American film critic who has been the principal film critic for ''Slate'' and ''New York'' magazine, among others, and has appeared regularly on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' and ''CBS Sunday Morning'' programs. O ...

, ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' * 9th – ''

'' * 10th – Marc Savlov, ''

'' * 10th – Dennis Dermody, ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

'' * Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Walter Addiego, ''San Francisco Chronicle'' In 2019, ''

'' ranked ''The Handmaiden'' 41st in its 100 best films of the 21st century list. In 2020, ''The Guardian'' also ranked it number 1 among the classics of modern South Korean Cinema.

Accolades

References

External links

Plot

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Cast

Production

Locations

Release

Home media

Reception

Critical response

Top ten lists

Accolades

See also

References

External links