Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Handmaiden'

Written by Kate McHargue

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Every so often a film comes along that breaks the mold, a film that defies paradigms and blurs the lines between genres until what you’re left with is not just entertainment, but an experience. The Handmaiden is one such film. If I had to name its genre, I’d say The Handmaiden is a psycho-sexual thriller, romantic horror, LGBT/feminist foreign film and quite honestly that doesn’t even begin to describe the multi-faceted nature of director Chan-wook Park’s masterpiece.
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I’d like to take a moment to reiterate the spoiler alert warning atop this page because, trust me, the plot twists of this film are better when experienced firsthand. If you are choosing to read on then I’m assuming you’ve already seen the film or else you are too curious for your own good.

The film begins simply enough as the quintessential hero’s journey to a distant and unfamiliar land. Sook-Hee (played by Kim Tae-ri) is a young Korean woman who leaves her home and family to become the handmaiden to Lady Hideko (played by Min-hee Kim). The film quickly shifts gears however when we learn that Sook-Hee is the daughter of a famous thief and that she herself is a pickpocket and con artist, employed by Count Fujiwara (Jung-woo Ha) who seeks to seduce and rob the Lady Hideko. What follows after this first twist is a bevy of shocking discoveries and gut wrenching reveals as the three part film toys with the audience’s emotions and our naïve assumptions about what’s coming next. 

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The quintessence of this film, however, is the relationship between Sook-Hee and Lady Hideko. If the plot twists and gorgeous cinematography are this film’s body, then the tour de force performances by Kim Tae-ri and Min-hee Kim are the soul. We watch as both women reveal the secret selves they keep hidden from the world, first to us and then to each other. Lady Hideko has been alone in the world since her mother died, leaving her at the mercy of her sadistic and perverted Uncle. Sook-Hee was left likewise motherless and has spent a lifetime trying to free herself from the confines of her station as the daughter of a thief. It is in loving one another that both women find freedom, both from their metaphorical cages and from the literal men who seek to keep them imprisoned.
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There are people who may disagree with me on this, but in my opinion the climax of The Handmaiden, the moment when Hideko and Sook-Hee are preparing their escape from her Uncle’s home, is easily one of the most moving scenes I’ve ever seen immortalized on film. Before leaving, Hideko takes Sook-Hee to her Uncle’s library, the place where he forced her to read erotic fiction and perform sex acts for the enjoyment of rich perverts who visit the estate. The fear in Hideko’s eyes as she confides her past and pain in Sook-Hee is enough to break the heart of any compassionate human being. However, it is the relief on her face when Sook-Hee begins destroying the library, the place that caused Hideko so much harm, that had me in tears. In one scene, this film gives us the epitome of radical female love overcoming the heteronormative patriarchy that cannot even begin to fathom the power of women.

This film will undoubtedly face criticism, as all films do. Perhaps people will argue that it is too sexual or else that certain scenes are merely there for shock value rather than actual plot development. To these critics I would say that this film is a masterpiece because it challenges conventions, both in film making and society. Which, if we’re honest, is precisely what good art does.

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