The Handmaiden (2016)

 ●  Korean ● 2 hrs 20 mins

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A rough neighborhood in a city in Japanese-occupied Korea, 1930s. Sookee is the orphaned daughter of an infamous female thief. She lives with her adoptive mother, who deals in stolen goods; an adoptive brother who makes forgeries; and an adoptive sister who is a pickpocket. One day a suave, shady crook who calls himself Count visits them and invites Sookee to take part in a scam that will make her rich. The Count has made the acquaintance of a wealthy Japanese Lady named Hideko who lives on a vast estate and makes virtually no contact with the outside world. Her Uncle, an ambitious Korean man who married into her family, controls her every move and is obsessed with book collecting. Each month he invites men from aristocratic families to come listen to Hideko perform readings of rare books. The Count, who is no novice at seducing women, has hatched a plan to woo Hideko and elope with her to Japan. After marrying her and converting her fortune to cash, he then plans to declare her insane and lock her up in a madhouse. To make all this possible, Sookee is to enter Hideko’s home as the Lady’s maid, and secretly work behind the scenes to further the Count’s plot. Everything goes more or less according to plan. Sookee is dazzled by the opulence of the estate, and the beauty of her new mistress, but she sets the gears in motion. The Count arrives several weeks later, ostensibly to give the Lady painting lessons. Sookee is a diligent and resourceful maid, and as the days pass, she and Hideko share secrets and become closer. The Count makes his advances on the Lady, and the day of reckoning draws near, but Hideko remains curiously cold and distant.

Cast: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Tae-ri, Min-hee Kim

Crew: Chan-wook Park (Director), Chung-hoon Chung (Director of Photography), Jo Yeong-wook (Music Director)

Rating: R21 (Singapore)

Genres: Drama, Romance, Thriller

Release Dates: 11 Nov 2022 (India), 28 Oct 2016 (Canada), 01 Nov 2016 (France), 30 Jun 2016 (Hong Kong), 07 Jul 2016 (Singapore), 14 Apr 2017 (United Kingdom), 21 Oct 2016 (United States), 01 Jun 2016 (South Korea)

Korean Name: 아가씨

Did you know? Ryu Seong-hie had won the independent Vulcan Award for her art direction work on the film Read More
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as Count Fujiwara
as Sook-Hee
as Lady Hideko
as Uncle Kouzuki
as Butler
as Aunt of Noble Lady

Direction

Director

Production

Production Company
Executive Producer

Writers

Screenplay Writer
Novelist

Camera and Electrical

Director of Photography
Still Photographer
Assistant Cameraman
Key Grip

Music

Music Director

Sound

Sound Designer
Sound Mixer

Art

Production Designer

Costume and Wardrobe

Costume Designer

Editorial

Makeup and Hair

Makeup Artist

Visual Effects

Visual Effects Supervisor
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
Korean
Colour Info:
Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Camera:
ARRI ALEXA XT
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Filming Locations:
Trivia:
Director Chan-wook Park was nominated for the Palme d'Or award and the film was eligible for the Queer Palm awards

Ryu Seong-hie had won the independent Vulcan Award for her art direction work on the film
Filming End Date:
31 Oct 2015