The Handmaiden immediately aligns the audience with seemingly harmless Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) as she agrees to participate in an unbelievable ploy to become the handmaiden for Lady Hideko (Min-hee Kim), a wealthy Japanese heiress. Sook-hee, a professional swindler assumes the role only after she is promised a piece of Hideko’s fortune by a trickster posing as the respected Count Fujiwara (Jung-woo Ha). The director of the film, Park Chan-wook, unapologetically creates an expressive thriller, that hooks the audience from the beginning. The 1930s period drama offers a distinctive aesthetic, as well as commentary on the various themes of the period which include the more predominant topics of gender roles and women’s issues.
Chan-wook’s choice to depict Korea during the Japanese colonial area is an interesting one. Both Sook-hee and Hideko serve as a symbol for the two opposing sides. Instead of suggesting or making commentary on the tension between the two sides, Chan-wook allows the two women to develop into their own person on the screen. The film’s separation of the story into three parts most effectively showcases this growth. Each part is told in a different perspective, revealing a little more about each character as it continues.
I began to understand and appreciate the multiple layers of the film and its characters the most during part two of the film. Our attention is slightly shifted from Sook-hee, and placed unto Lady Hideko. Unknown holes in the story are promptly explained, as Min-hee Kim, is allowed to shine in here role as Lady Hideko. We get a better understanding of how she is affected by Sook-hee and Count Fujiwara’s scheme. Her questionable relationship with her uncle, Kouzuki (Jin-woong Jo), is slightly explained in further detail as well, but it is still a mystery by the third act.
The treatment and exhibition of women and their roles in the film are all over the place, but somehow Chan-wook successfully hones in and each one is divulged by the third act. For example, Chan-wook successfully tackles the topic of gender roles and abuse, with the Hideko and Kouzuki relationship. The plot point is placed on the back burner and is slowly developed in act one and act two. This plot point, like others covered in the film, is slightly revealed to be a part of a larger puzzle by the end of the film.
The biggest subject covered, and probably one of the more challenging ones, is perhaps the topic of lesbianism. While the film does an excellent job developing both Sook-hee and Hideko, there are a few injustices done to their relationship. For instance, there immediate attraction to each other seems to be purely lustful. While the varying viewpoints of the built-up sex scene was clever, the extension of the scenes were both uncomfortable to witness and excessive. It also tipped towards more of a shallow relationship because of this unnecessary display of affection. It isn’t until the end, that we witness the level of depth that their relationship has reached. For example, Sook-hee’s destruction of the Hideko uncle’s library and her agreeance to be institutionalized symbolizes her dedication to Sook-hee. Hideko’s ploy to escape Count Fujiwara and her uncle also shows her loyalty to Sook-hee. The ending sex scene however contradicts this new found level of depth, and is completely unnecessary and ambiguous. The symbolism at the end is also completely inappropriate and a bit ironic. For example, there is a reminder of bells, the same ones that Hideko were punished with as a child, brought back up. Instead of being punished and pained, she now finds pleasure in the bells. I’m not sure if the audience is supposed to make something of this connection, or if it’s just an added, and therefore unnecessary symbol.
The film successfully establishes the friendship and strategically reveals the eventual complicated relationship that develops between Sook-Hee and Lady Hideko. Their relationship becomes the source of many symbols as the movie continues. Although their relationship is sometimes uncomfortable to watch, their growth together is without a doubt the most important element of the film. The triumph of the women, and subjection of the men was also a nice twist, especially for an era where women were thought to be inferior to men. Overall, the distorted vengeance turned love story has enough twists and turns to keep the viewer intrigued and onboard for the entire ride, despite the language barrier and lengthy runtime.
Agassi (The Handmaiden) [2016]
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Seo-Kyung Chung, Chan-wook Park
Stars: Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo
Run Time: 2h 24min
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