The Handmaiden

[projekktor id=’25834′]

The Handmaiden is an erotic thriller co-written and directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker). The film, which is based on Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and played at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It stars Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, and Kim Tae-ri.

Park presents a gripping and sensual tale of two women – a young Japanese Lady living on a secluded estate, and a Korean woman who is hired to serve as her new handmaiden, but is secretly plotting with a conman to defraud her of a large inheritance. Inspired by the novel Fingersmith by British author Sarah Waters, THE HANDMAIDEN borrows the most dynamic elements of its source material and combines it with Park Chan-wook’s singular vision to create an unforgettable viewing experience.

Park moved the setting of the film from its original Victorian England to 1930’s Korea. “When thinking about such plot elements as a society where there’s still the separate class of the nobility, where the occupation of the handmaiden exists, where there’s a character who collects rare items, etc., it seemed the only reasonable option. That was an era in which some traditional elements remained, but modernity was just beginning to take hold.”

The Handmaiden is rated 18A.