The Handmaiden (2016)

In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.

The Handmaiden (2016) dir. by Park Chan-wook

This was possibly one of the greatest films of this century’s era of World Cinema that I have ever seen. The film is a dramatic, intense experience of multiple timelines and deception like you would not believe. This double crossing, this very realistic characterisation and this intense social and historical context which serves as not only a backdrop but seeks to make the film and the relationships within even more endangered by their incompleteness. It’s a brilliantly scripted film and the violence is never without reason. I honestly cannot fault this film at all. You can read my review of it here.

It premiered at Cannes in mid-May and was released in June of the same year. It is a beautiful film and received a lot of acclaim.

The critics’ consensus states on the Rotten Tomatoes website that:

"The Handmaiden uses a Victorian crime novel as the loose inspiration for another visually sumptuous and absorbingly idiosyncratic outing from director Park Chan-wook.”

The Guardian gave the film four out of five in the year that it was released and the time it was being played at Cannes. The review concentrated on the directing style, the storytelling and the way in which the film ‘simmers’ and constantly creates this cycle of tension. It is a violently beautiful film and here is what the Guardian said about it and its tense inventiveness:

“What’s so fascinating is how unsatisfying and often grotesque male sexuality is in comparison to the eroticism and warmth generated by the women of the film. The Count, played by The Chaser’s Ha Jung-woo, is merely an annoyance to the pair, a repugnant fly on their windshield. While the uncle, who involves his niece in perverted “readings” for a male audience, is a sadistic fool indulging in pornography over reality. Men are pathetic, unwanted voyeurs; misusing, abusing and misunderstanding what women really want…Exquisitely designed and sexually liberating, this is a hugely entertaining thriller that has shades of Gaslight, Les Diaboliques and last year’s Duke of Burgundy, but thankfully no grey…”

Matt Zoller Seitz stated on Roger Ebert’s site and for Vulture that the film was ‘magic’ and represented the talents of World Cinema:

“It’s also as inspiring an example of East-West cross-pollination as cinema has given us, on par with Akira Kurosawa’s adaptations of Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Dashiell Hammett in its ability to submerge a respected source while keeping its outlines visible. The plot faintly evokes many Gothic thrillers (chiefly "Rebecca," "Jane Eyre" and "Gaslight") and quite a few examples of film noir as well; Park’s source is Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, a 2002 novel set in Dickensian England that was previously made as a 2005 British miniseries. The result seems at once specifically English, specifically Korean and not of this astral plane; like Park’s best work, it’s an expressionistic, at times surreal movie that skates along the knife-edge of dreams. Every frame pulses with life, sometimes with blood.”

What a gorgeous review of “The Handmaiden” - do you think that this film deserves its place on the list or not? I definitely think so. I definitely, definitely think so.

The Guardian Review

Roger Ebert Site Review by Mike Zoller Seitz