The Handmaiden is a cinematic masterpiece, but its content is so sexually provocative that the average viewer should probably skip it for tamer fare, especially if you are unfamiliar with Chan-wook Park’s work. American audiences were introduced to Park with Stoker, but film lovers are familiar with his vengeance trilogy: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. I was introduced to him when I saw Thirst, Park’s take on vampire mythology. If the Academy Awards were based on merit, South Korean movies would dominate every category, and Park would use the Oscars as doorstops.
The Handmaiden, which is actually called The Lady in South Korea, is a complex tale of set in Japanese occupied Korea. The first act is told from the perspective of a Korean woman who comes from a family of con artists, and another scammer hires her to help him get a lady of great wealth to marry him. The second act is told from the perspective of the lady and reveals a great deal about her uncle raising her. The third act shows what happens to the four characters that dominate the story, the handmaiden, the lady, her suitor and her uncle. The Handmaiden resolves any tension or secrets introduced in the prior two acts.
The Handmaiden is an artfully crafted film visually reminiscent of Stoker, but more complex in terms of how Park teases the audience by not revealing everything until the very end. Even the detail of using different colored subtitles to distinguish translations of dialogue spoken in Japanese and Korean is a much-needed detail that I hope other foreign films copy in the future. The Handmaiden was truly an edge of your seat ride that will have you breathless until the end. Immediately after I saw Moonlight, I saw The Handmaiden and was unaware beforehand that my choice was appropriate in terms of narrative structure. I actually managed to guess what was going to happen in The Handmaiden probably because of my familiarity with Park’s work, and Moonlight was a perfect mental exercise to get me prepared for the psychological and chronicle challenges.
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I knew there was going to be a triple cross, but did not know how it was going to play out. The Handmaiden is a gothic thriller that tackles the horror of occupation on a human level. The Handmaiden seems to suggest that the only way to escape the horrors of colonization as exhibited by the desire to pretend to be of another nationality such as self-hating, ambitious Korean men pretending to be Japanese with British tastes is through Korean and Japanese women leaving the distorted world of patriarchy and the site of occupation, Korea. Please bear in mind that I know little of Korean and Japanese history so I obviously defer to those who know more about this subject matter.
The Handmaiden is also a tale of child abuse, both sexual and psychological. The handmaiden is a victim of abuse, albeit now an adult and willing participant, who is forced to work in the criminal world since she was a child. Just because she does not feel like a victim of abuse and is proud of her family and skills does not mean that she is not a victim. The lady is more obviously a victim of physical and sexual abuse from her uncle even if there is no penetration. For me, the most powerful moment in The Handmaiden is when the lady can finally reveal her uncle’s library, the site of her abuse, to someone she loves and who loves her without being judged and cathartically destroys it. The two women abandon the world of exploitation, can finally be their authentic selves and become naked and unashamed. I hope that all victims of abuse can find such peace and acceptance.
If you are up for the challenge, The Handmaiden is a rewarding and enjoyable viewing experience that will leave you wanting more from Park.