The Handmaiden

Park Chan-Wook explores the power of narrative (the way you tell a story and its ramifications), creating another astounding visual spectacle full of dark humor, sexual desire, betrayal and revenge, with intense performances and a wonderful production design, editing and score.

"The Handmaiden" is a crazily imaginative and beautiful movie by Chan-wook Park, who is at the top of his game in this story of a pickpocket that tries to steal the fortune of a naive, innocent rich woman that has been secluded in a mansion in the middle of nowhere. Of course, things will start to get complicated soon enough.

Chan-wook Park has done a great job in adapting the original novel by Sarah Waters, and mixing it with the history of the Japanese invasion of Korea at the beginning of the twentieth century. The plot is a little bit silly sometimes, but Chan-wook Park makes it all tight and fast-paced, and even the most silly moment becomes a moment of beauty and fun. From the first moment, the viewer will be enthralled by the story of these two women and their relationship, and every plot development will just add fun to the whole.

If the plot and the direction weren't amazing enough, the movie is as beautiful as they come. From the darkest moment, the most violent, to the most intimate, beauty transpires in every frame, and every scene comes to life and threatens to pop and break free from the screen. This is helped by the amazing work of all the cast, who does an incredible job in bringing this tale to life (it could be criticized, though, some of the heavily accented Japanese, for characters that are supposed to be able to pass as them).

All in all, "The Handmaiden" is proof that a movie can have a plot, amazing direction, acting, scenery, craziness and the most beautiful package possible. And even if it is almost two hours and a half long, it feels like a breeze.

You will fall in love with this movie. Just plain great.

The Handmaiden is a film that unfolds with a classic film stylist (in particular I felt like Chanwook Park was in a kind of Brian De Palma mode as far as making an erotic dramatic-thriller with a camera that luxuriates in long shots, elaborate camera movements, and cinematic grammar that emphasizes operatic intentions, though it's maybe not the first time he's done this anyway), and is LOADED with story. What appears to be the story of a handmaiden who is put in as part of a long con by a man who wants to steal this wealthy woman's money is actually a story about storytelling, about weaving a pack of lies and an entire personality and, in reality, how that can start to crack apart when it comes to seeing humanity in another person and their vulnerabilities.

There's a lot going on in this movie, and there is a lot that is... sordid and over the top in its sexuality. That's intentional, I'm sure, and Park never coddles his audience with what he's showing as far as sexuality; the two main women of the film, the handmaiden and her master/mistress or what have you, end up having an emotional connection and this leads to a sexual one. This has the most graphic lesbian sexuality on screen since Blue is the Warmest Color, but here the rawness is matched by the elegance of Park's direction, and while you get to see much of it, only some of it (but there *is* some) that is gratuitous. Otherwise, this is a story of backstabbing and betrayal, but all of it leading up to being in the larger sense about how people fit in to the circumstances they are in, how they have to not simply play but BECOME the characters they're playing - and how these images flip based on perceptions and how we see the scenes.

Here's where I may become less articulate in my criticism: the film is in three parts, and I forgot about there being 'parts' as I was so into the film during its first part. There is a major betrayal, but then the movie goes into a 'Part 2', and it turns into a different story... a VERY different kind of story, and it is one that left me confused at first, left adrift, and only Park's direction kept me afloat. As Part 2 went on I got into the movie more, though you have to be prepared for scenes from part 1 being repeated - and whether this becomes tedious will vary depending on the viewer. Nothing is ever not gorgeous to look at, and Park is inspired by paintings and art in the real world, and it's completely sumptuous (I'd be rooting for this to win all the costume/production design awards come February), but there comes a point where the filmmakers are showing the 'here's what happened this scene' moments a little too much. I won't reveal why this is done except to say that the characters take on other roles we didn't expect, and their decisions and how they hide parts of their personalities makes for fascinating viewing. Some times.

And then it gets to part 3, and the movie goes into being sordid melodrama and not much more. By this time, the filmmakers have to wrap the story up, and show what this man who has been trying to machinate everything for his own ends is met with a nasty fate. Overall there's so much about The Handmaiden to admire, from the performances by Min-hee Kim as Lady Hideko (appearing in part 1 as varieties of cold and distant and then close and warm and terrified in the other parts), Tae-ri Kim (Sookie, who has much to learn about the art of performance, I mean her character not the actress, she's great), and Jung-woo Ha as the 'Count' who has to remain in control for the whole runtime, but gives in to his passions too. And yet I also wonder if a first viewing trying to explain everything how I felt doesn't do the film justice: it moves slower and more languidly than other Park films, so it took longer to get in to, and the themes of conning and performance may be done stronger in any given Quentin Tarantino film (though here done with more taste and intense sexuality - i.e. the scene with the thimball on the tooth).

Another viewing may give more, or less. I can tell you now it's worth seeing if you love pure CINEMA, the likes of which get made by directors with a passion for the form and expressing stories of early 20th century sexual excess and emotional f***ed-up ness (it is early 20th century Korea with a major Japanese influence - in that way it'd make a solid double feature with Kim Jee-Woon's Age of Shadows). As for whether it's a great film, I'm not so sure.

Not the craziest film content wise, that award goes to The Neon Demon, but definitely the craziest film storytelling wise. Park Chan-Wook's The Handmaiden is almost as good as the film that put him on the map, Oldboy, and brings such ferocity and energy that it will be one of the most unforgettable films of 2016.

Think of The Handmaiden as The Duke of Burgundy F'd Up Edition. This film is pretty twisted in the most unexpected ways from the cinematography that is very reminiscent of Possession in that it always keeps moving, eroticism that is reminiscent of Blue is the Warmest Color, performances as spellbinding as Carol, and the insanity of Park Chan- Wook as expected.

The cinematography is some of the most entrancing of the year. Shots that look like they came out of The Master. It's shots like these that make me wonder how was this even possible? It looks so damn cool!

The performances are perfect in sucking you into this world of erotica, selfishness, and trickery. Both female leads were fantastic. Min-hee Kim and Kim Tae-ri are amazing with sharing their sexual tension with the audience watching. It's films like these that are the most memorable. Making you feel how ther characters are feeling. Jung-woo Ha and Jin- woong Jo were great as these sexually and financially repressed men who do the most screwed up things to feel the pleasure they so desire. Nothing wrong with the cast at all.

Of course Park Chank-Wook hits it out of the part with directing. How else would this immaculate vision be done without him niche for detail. He always knows exactly what to do to get an emotion out of his audience and I applaud him for that.

The only negative is that during the middle briefly the pacing slows down a lot and it became really unbearable because I wanted to know exactly what was going to happen next. Thankfully it doesn't last that long and it's really minor that probably won't affect others viewings.

If you have any interest in The Handmaiden or you've just heard about it for the first time I strongly suggest checking this out as soon as it comes out. I'll definitely re watch it when it releases in theaters. Easily one of the best films of the year and one I hope to re watch soon.

The Handmaiden is a beautifully told story in a beautifully shot film. Some of it's chosen exterior locations are so captivating and mesmerizing, you almost feel you're there, or wish you were. The actresses are beautiful and perform nothing short of excellent, the young girl (The Handmaiden) especially, such a professionally acted job. You'd expect more so sex scenes, that kind of left me a little downtrodden. The major lesbian one, amidst only a couple of others, in this near two and half hour piece, is one of the hottest and most explicit, I've ever seen, this one again, beautifully shot. The story involves a young girl, a new handmaiden, forced to defraud the wife of the husband, only the young girl falls for the wife, where the story kind of manipulates you, as to where the girl's intentions will lead, where revenge is thrown in too, as we go back in time to an earlier period, involving our young girl, and the wife, where we find ourselves returning to some old scenes, but with added stuff- purpose here. This is one you'd have to watch a couple of times to get the complete picture. Didn't understand the change in color of the subtitles, my only qualm. Acting by all is top notch, and our handmaiden is definitely something to ogle at. A handmaiden who's beautifully made. We too have some violence, and some humorous moments. Hopefully this film will command more attention from moviegoers in Adelaide, as here's one faultless cinematic experience, you should experience, and by no accounts, miss, as it will be your loss. The most impressive thing here though, above everything else here is the filming/photography from obviously a very talented photographer.