The Handmaiden

Even though it's essentially an erotic thriller, I can't help but appreciate much more than just the erotica, which is very well shot. I particularly liked the composition of individual scenes, where Chan-wook Park proves he has an eye for detail, a sense of color selection, and an overall arrangement of shots. These are images that soothe the soul. (30/09/2016)

Instead of a refined erotic game, it is more of a shallow voyeur prank that is neither provocative nor too eccentric. Its excessiveness lies in the overuse of sentiment, melodramatic clichés and naive acting. The potentially great double-twist is completely lost in the storytelling, which lacks economy and finesse. Subjectively, it took 4 hours. Park filmed his Sucker Punch to name the hidden chambers of desire and lust, as well as the devastating manipulation associated with them. But this much more than a masochistic feast evokes a red library with a few over the top violent scenes. Disappointment... [Cannes 2016] (14/05/2016)

For some viewers, The Handmaiden will be a lesbian romance in which the path to discovering one’s own identity and overcoming the patriarchy leads through an encounter with a giant octopus. Others may see the film as a reflection on artistic representations of the female body and the pleasure of looking at them or simply as an erotic thriller with a clear and cohesive narrative in the manner of Hitchcock. Beneath the beautiful surface, however, there are enough other layers with which Park seems to be so fascinated that you'll want to see The Handmaiden several times despite its extraordinary length and slowly rising pace. (14/08/2016)

Although there was no trace of action in the film, the story certainly didn't stagnate or get boring. The running time that seemed scary at first wasn't a problem in the end. The plot may have been slightly overelaborate in places, sometimes I even got lost in the story (due to the alternation of time planes), but I wasn't bored for a second, and the uncle's weird cravings were quite amusing. (28/10/2019)

The film is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses on the naive thief and con artist Sook-hee, which is definitely not the most interesting introduction to the film. The second part, on the other hand, focuses on the noblewoman Hideko, revealing her side of the story; and it is this part that managed to engage me much more. Although the story of the film, directed by Chan-wook Park, is nothing surprising or particularly interesting or rewarding for the more experienced viewer, The Handmaiden manages to captivate with its costume design, sets, and interesting cinematography. At times, it doesn't matter what the film is about or who is trying to trick or take over whom, the layout and framing of the scenes manages to captivate and enthrall so much more. Park also doesn’t hold back on showing the sex scenes between Sook-hee and Hideko, to the point that it's hard to tell if they're beautifully erotically liberating or just a man's wet dream. But the actresses feared no boundaries in these scenes, and with their immaculate nudity they set themselves up as if on a platter for the viewer. Female sexuality and eroticism are expressed here as a warm safe haven compared to the male one, which is portrayed almost grotesquely, as something negative and violent. In its 145 minutes, the film has both its stronger moments and weaker moments that can't quite hold the viewer's attention. In the first half, The Handmaiden pretends to be an erotic thriller, but then it slips into a lethargy from which director Park tries to wake the viewer, either with a twist at the end of the first half of the film, with erotic scenes or violence that weaker stomachs won't appreciate, or a flashback narrative. The ending is too easy for the cage Hideko is escaping from and all the girls have gotten themselves into. A mediocre film, nothing at all revelatory, too long. (15/07/2016)