Review of The Handmaiden (2016) by Brian S — 24 Nov 2016

It's been (a long) three years since South Korean director Park Chan-wook last took us on an Hitchcockian journey of intrigue, questioning motivations and surprising revelations (with 2013s lukewarm Stoker) and he triumphantly returns with a masterclass of filmmaking with 2016s The Handmaiden, a tale too good not to indulge in.

Set in Victorian era Korea, Chan-wook's recreation of this transitional time is interesting to look at and it is hard not to admire the level of craftsmanship that went into building this lost time.

Based on the novel "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters, Chan-wook and Chung Seo-kyrung adapt the source material to truly utilize the benefits of the cinematic form and rewards the viewer with subtle visual iconography that harkens to the "show don't tell" rule of thumb.

Though some of the content within The Handmaiden will not sit well for some (and some scenes do go on for too long), Chan-wook has a dark sense of humor throughout so the tone never goes into exploitative territory, rather it has a devilish wink.

The cinematography by Chung Chung-hoon is Oscar-worthy and perfectly compliments Chan-wook's inventive directing, while also highlighting the great performances from the story's trio of actors.

This is a "page-turner" of a film, always interesting, always keeping us guessing, always making the viewer wanting more, solidifying Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden not just one of his best films (which is saying something) but one of the best films of 2016.