The Handmaiden (2016)

¡De las mejores películas que vi en mi vida!

Hoy estoy contenta porque por fin les voy a estar hablando de una de mis películas favoritas de todos los tiempos (en general, no solo asiática): The Handmaiden.

Soy partidaria de que entre menos sepan de qué va esta película al momento de verla, mejor. Por eso solo les voy a adelantar que está protagonizada por una chica coreana que se hace pasar por una criada para entrar a trabajar en la casa de una familia japonesa y, de esa forma, poder estafar a la "señora" que tiene a su cargo.

¿Por dónde empiezo a enumerar todas las cosas que me ENCANTAN de esta obra de arte? Porque sí, es una obra de arte con todas las letras. La cinematografía es una delicia para los ojos, es una película realmente hermosa de ver. La paleta de colores, el encuadre de ciertas escenas... Una maravilla. Encima a esto le suma un montón el vestuario, el maquillaje y un largo etcétera.

Igual, no solo vale la pena por lo impactante que es visualmente, también cuenta con un guion súper inteligente que hace que no puedas apartar los ojos de la pantalla. Y las actuaciones, sobre todo de las dos protagonistas, están a otro nivel. Literal, la primera vez que la vi lo hice con la boca abierta porque no podía creer que The Handmaiden fuera una película coreana que se dio en el cine y no arruinó la carrera de las actrices (digamos que, si la ven, van a descubrir el significado de thriller erótico, just saying).

Pero bueno, si quieren puedo seguir diciendo cosas positivas: la música es buenísima, no aburre en ningún momento (la trama se reinventa constantemente), es turbia como pocas y al mismo tiempo muy bonita...
¿Hubo polémicas? Sí, muchas personas diciendo que es una película que refleja una fantasía masculina y nada más, pero no sé, yo no podría estar más en desacuerdo. Para mí es una historia que muestra mujeres fuertes que se la re bancan y saben bien lo que quieren (además de criticar ciertos aspectos de la pornografía, por ejemplo).

Lo único que nunca me gustó fue la elección del actor que hace del "tío". Tendrían que haber contratado a un actor más adulto, parece un flaco joven caracterizado y muy caricaturesco.

IG de reseñas cortas: @altoplottwist

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Uno de los mejores thrillers que he visto

Decir que esta película es una obra de arte es lo mínimo que puedo hacer. La cinematografía es un placer visual constante; cada toma es una pintura, una historia y un mensaje con pistas de la trama; amé la paleta de colores, fríos y pálidos. La música acompaña de forma impecable. La producción es espectacular; los escenarios, los vestuarios y todo en general exuda elegancia, seducción y una marca característica que refleja la cultura de los personajes.

Respecto a la trama, thriller erótico es más que clavado. Como dije, todo en esta película grita seducción, sin que nunca se sienta obseno, por más que el film se ponga cada vez más y más turbio. Es increíble lo bien escrito que está el guion; dividida en partes, la historia no deja de asombrar con plot twists que me dejaron confundida, perturbada, asustada e intrigada por partes iguales, y cada vez más y más. No hay agujeros de guion y todas las pistas se nos disponen sin que nos demos cuenta hasta que la explicación cae como bomba, en una narrativa espectacular que no deja de asombrar.

Las actuaciones son excelentes; les creí su papel toalmente a cada uno de ellos y comparten una química increíble, pero las que más merecen un aplauso son las dos actrices principales, sin dudas, que se entregaron completamente a sus personajes. Con un director tan bueno y respetuoso con su cast, amo que Corea haya recibido tan bien esta película, cuando es todo lo opuesto a lo que vemos en los kdramas y está tan llena de tabúes. Una película fascinante y admirable, no para cualquiera, pero sí para el que quiera ver un thriller espectacular y tan hermoso como perturbador.

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La segunda obra maestra de Park Chan-wook.

Tras probar suerte en Norteamérica con la infravalorada "Stoker", Park Chan-wook volvió a consagrarse como uno de los mejores directores de las últimas décadas con esta impresionante muestra de cine negro con tintes de thriller erótico y que a la vez resulta desgarradoramente romántico.

El reparto, la música, la fotografía, el guion... Todo alcanza a un nivel excelso para terminar de dar forma a otra obra maestra a la que se le pueden perdonar incluso algunos excesos en su último tercio, ya que en mi opinión no empañan el resultado final sino que dotan al conjunto de una mayor personalidad.

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This was a near-perfect movie. It's been highly talked about and so I was eager to watch it. I am glad I waited a bit to watch it with subtitles and didn't watch it raw because I wouldn't have understood it well. FYI it's a highly bilingual film and the characters use both Japanese and Korean heavily in it.

The story is excellent. You can see how much effort the writer and director put into it right from the first scene. While it gets dark and depressing, there is also a light tone to it during some parts. This is the first time I have watched a lesbian Korean movie and found myself highly loving it. While the two women serve as the main characters, Ha Jeong Woo also plays the male lead and has quite a presence throughout. During the entire course of the film, it will give you the feeling of reading a book than watching a film. It's poetic and literary in its narration and the atmosphere of the movie just amplifies all the best parts about the film.

There were a few erotic scenes but I felt like they were tastefully filmed. The girls have good chemistry with each other and Ha Jeong Woo was the perfect barrier between them. I was impressed by how well all three spoke Japanese in the movie (also the supporting cast). Plus the era the film is set in makes it a hundred times more interesting. It's intriguing to see Korea portrayed under the rule of Japan and you can see how much Korean culture was influenced by the Japanese during then. You could watch the movie just for the periodic setting and even then you could enjoy it for that solely as well.

What's cool about the movie is the plot- the conning, friendship, romance, perversion and obsession. There's also a slight revenge aspect to the story which was the main twist and made this movie way more likable. Also the costumes, sets and dialogues are what made it so fun. I swear I blushed during a few parts of the film because I never realized how erotic Japanese can sound with the right diction.

If you wanna know what sets this movie apart, it's the setting/era (undoubtedly) and also the ending. YES. The ending makes it all worth it. The entire 2+ hours will fly by and you will not even notice it. And the twist was so, so clever. Kudos to the writer.

Only watch it if you are over 18 or a mature teen. There are some scenes of torture and hints of BDSM and perversion. They are not too overbearing so do not worry. Just sit down and enjoy it- like me. The ending makes it the best thing ever. TRUST ME.

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Finally found some time to watch this movie, and I must say : I wasn't disappointed !
I first heard about it because it was officially competing at the Cannes's Movie Festival.
And then I saw that the great Park Chan Wook was the director behind it so I quickly decided to watch it.
BUT, neither did I read the summary first nor watched the trailer ... and maybe I should have had.

Don't get me wrong ! This movie is a masterpiece. But, I wasn't expecting that plotline AT ALL.
You should be aware that it gots some serious mature contents like SEX, BDSM and violence. You can feel really uneasy watching it. But that is the reason why this movie is so beautiful : the darkness and somehow weird feels matches so well with the love story. Some scenes are magical.
But just keep in mind that it is 18+ rated (basically 5 minutes of intense, non-stoping and not-really censured sex)

There is three major arks in the movie: the first two ones where you get to discover and even rediscover the characters and story from different point of views, and the third one where all of your answers are answered & the story ends.
This combination might seems odd to some viewers, as we sometimes get to rewatch the same scenes. But I personally find it really interesting.

The two main actresses are absolutely perfect. They convey all the feels of their characters in an emotional way. As it is stayed in the summary, they will both 'discover some unexpected emotions'. Lesbian relationship in Korean movies are quite unusual and I must say that this one is breaking down HUGE taboos. The geniuses of Park Chan Wook was to gamble on this idea, in a country where he perfectly knows that the critics will get fierce.
Thanks to a good casting choice, I personally think that he won his bet.
I was surprisingly amazed by Kim Tae Ri (Sook Hee)'s acting. She's new, It's her first movie. The idea of new fits perfectly her character. The way she acted was stunning. I want to see her in more things from now on.

Anyway if you're 18+, interested in some good suspenseful stories and open-minded regarding this movie love plot line, you will definitely enjoy it.
It's not Old Boy sure ...but it is The Handmaiden. They both have their qualities and universe.

Special mention to the ending song which was absolutely gorgeous ... kinda combines all of the feels that this movie gives you.

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Story: This movie has been in my watch list for a while. I've never read the book this is based off of, but I have seen the 2005 movie "The Fingersmith" before hand, so I had high hopes for this film. I enjoyed the version I had already seen, but this movie surpassed my expectations. The vibe in The Handmaiden was more dark and mature in comparison to The Fingersmith and I felt that it was much more put together. The plot consists of 3 story arcs; Sook Hees perspective, a second perspective, and then a satisfying conclusion with no loose ends. All of the arcs were interesting and the whole 2 hours I spent watching this flew by. I wasn't sure how they would fit the whole story in 2 hours because of how complicated the story gets, but it was well paced and it all felt natural. While I expected some erotic scenes, I was surprised to see that my definition of eroticism was much less than what the directors had in mind. There's an underlying BDSM theme to this as well as a couple of long sex scenes that weren't censored. While a lot of Korean movies and dramas can be pretty light in PDA, this is a mature film, so keep that in mind. I really enjoyed this Korean take on the story and I felt that this movie told it perfectly.

Acting/Cast: All of the main actors, especially the 2 female leads did a great job. I loved the relationship between Sook Hee and Hideko, I was excited to see how it would develop and I wouldn't have done had it any other way.

Music: I usually don't pay attention to the OST unless it's very special in particular. While there wasn't any memorable tunes, the soundtrack fit the show perfectly, and I loved the song in the ending credits.

Re-watch Value: I'm not one to re-watch a film or a show with such a complex plot, but I definitely wouldn't mind re-living the experience of this story all over again.

Overall: I honestly don't think there was anything wrong with this movie, I loved everything this film had to offer. I would recommend this to anyone willing to follow a complicated yet perverted story with a good plot twist.

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Do you know the feeling when someone recommends a movie or book to you as something excellent that you are sure to like, and meanwhile you are bored throughout the "consumption" of this "outstanding" work? I had that while watching this film. The film was recommended to me as one of the best erotic thrillers of recent years, meanwhile I found nothing of thriller or erotica here.

The film is aesthetically shot and the actors acted well, but that was the end of it. There was no tension building here, no involvement in the fate of the characters. It was as if it were a 19th-century story of a boarding school girl who had heard that there was a forbidden fruit somewhere, but had no idea where to look for what it looked like, let alone what it tasted like. The lesbian scenes were simply hilarious. The unexpected twists and turns had no suspense in them. Maybe my expectations were too high, but every time I recall a scene from this film, I snort with laughter or roll my eyes, and I guess that's not what an erotic thriller is about.

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TWs for pedophilia. incest, child abuse and heavy gore.

So I saw this movie knowing absolutely next to nothing which I wish I did because there's a lot (A LOT!!) of warnings and I have seen people recommend this movie before but no one ever mentions these things. I think these are the major content warnings: bdsm, explicit sex, pedophilia, incest, sexual assault, gore, violence.

Spoilers but read this if you want to have a little idea about the movie before going in, and especially if you're susceptible to the aforementioned triggers; The main character is used as a sort of sex slave her entire life and her uncle is very abusive and a pedophile.

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Some of you may not agree with me but this movie is definitely one of the most captivating films I have seen. I hardly moved in my seat because of the momentous engaging parts that are unpredictable, classy dark, simmering tension and the twist and turns circling of events.

This movie is more than just have an erotic style, it was the best of the characters who executed the story with intense performances without losing track of its meaning, purpose and the unique complexity.

The cinematography is like a visual feast to consider. The chemistry of the main leads is certain. Definitely, a movie with complete package shouldn’t be missed.

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If this was an arthouse film this would be called a role model perfection. The shots and the sets were gorgeous with so much intricate detail that colored the characters and the mood of the story. The two leads were also beautiful in their own ways and flaws, and their contrasting roles emphasized their beauty.
I was satisfied with all the artistic content the film delivered, loved the two women, and the story with its plot twists kept my attention. The two women and their feistiness made them quirky, but then the whole film was pleasingly eccentric which made it even more erotic. Kim Min Hee was dazzling as an innocent to a literal fox with her seductiveness and the same goes for Kim Tae Ri with her wits which flipped to a loyal companion once Min Hee revealed her true colors as well.
This is probably because of preference but I was put off by how eroticism influenced all the characters. I became bored with it and rather disgusted as it just ramped up the farther along the story went but then that was one of the points of the film so I can't negate it for that. The use of bells was the one thing that really confused and towards the end I started trying to figure that out more than focusing on the movie.
Overall if you're looking for a gorgeous film with atypical characters in unpredictable settings, this is definitely a recommend.

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