The Handmaiden

Unfortunately, the eroticism permeating the film doesn't work very well, making it more annoying than exciting. Although there are plenty of plot twists in it, The Handmaiden gets a bit boring after a while. I felt like I was watching one big perversion made in Korea that was good visually, but that's just not enough. (45%) (06/20/2020)

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. (09/30/2016)

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. (07/15/2016)

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] (05/14/2016)

Typical Park, where you can't trust so much as a coffee mug, which once again captivates with its moral resignation and charmingly inappropriate humor. This time it doesn't thematize anything beyond the edge of the film, but instead resembles a child in a sandbox building a castle out of fifty little dolls, each belonging to a different battered child. On first viewing, it makes your head spin, not only because of the jumbled plot, but especially because of Park's tradition of multi-layer shots that throw in several pieces of plot information at once, and you even have to marvel at their incredible mise-en-scene and work with movement and focus. (07/28/2016)