The Handmaiden (2016)

Summing it up in two words: brilliantly crafted.

To be honest, I didn't expect this to be that explicit. I wouldn't normally watch films like this so I was really uneasy at first but I gotta admit, that was one astounding cinema. Every little thing from the plot, the score, the shots, the characters and all other elements this was comprised of was just topnotch. You'd know there were some genius and creative brains who worked behind this because this was an actual masterpiece. Phenomenal. I am especially blown away by how this film was divided into parts and in each part, the whole story shifts. You think you know what's happening, but really, you don't.

I watched this because of Kim Tae Ri and yes, I wasn't prepared for what I have seen. I didn't expect that she'd actually have scenes with nudity. I first saw her in Twenty Five, Twenty One so seeing her in scenes like that made me a bit uncomfortable. That doesn't change the fact that she has proven her range and prowess in acting and she is exceptional. Kim Min Hee was also amazing in this. They were both sensational.

Sex and eroticism are major themes of this film. That may seem off-putting but when you get a grasp of the whole picture and what's it's trying to tell you, you'd realize that this film is sending a strong message. Females are often regarded as objects of sex and desire and no matter how disgusting that may seem, that's the reality of this world which prevailed even during the modern times. This film has strongly and bravely presented women rejecting this sickening belief that they are obliged to serve men and satisfy their pleasures all the while discovering their own desires and allowing themselves to actually enjoy their bodies and sexualities.

Well, okay, I don't think I would rewatch it simply because as I've mentioned, I am not a fan of watching heavily sexual films especially in Korean media in which I am used to watching wholesome Korean series and dramas. However, I won't deduct a point because that wouldn't really be fair to this work of art. This was perfect in every sense of that word.

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The Handmaiden: The Plot Twist Of The Fucking Plot Twist

1st impression: "Aww, I hope they stay together..."

2nd impression: "I don't believe you're doing this..."

3rd impression: "Wait, so you too?"

912498148th impression: "I give up........... Just show me the truth already.... Please..."

Story 10/10

The story is amazing, you'll be shivered and entertained from start to finish.

Acting/Cast 10/10

The acting is well done, you'll go from love to hate and hate to love with the movie characters in each twist of the plot.

Music 10/10

The soundtrack is well chosen, just adding thrill to the thriller.

Rewatch Value 7/10

Well, the magic of the movie is in the plot twists, so once you know what will happen it kinda loses a bit of its entertaining value, but I'm not one to rewatch any movies at all so maybe I'm not suitable to give my opinion at this. I'm giving 7 out of 10 because this movie is almost perfect and I really can't give a score below 7 for this masterpiece, but in reality I'm not watching this again.

Watch the movie yourselves, you'll not regret it I promise. The plot is so well done that you'll be shivered and entertained from start to finish.

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Wow. Just wow. What an impeccable movie.

Watching this now, four years after it came out, I realize how many movies might have been inspired by this one, but none of them did this story as well. This movie is a masterclass of film making.

The script is exceptionally written, with twists, turns and moments of intrigue that fit together like a well-crafted puzzle. It's hard to describe the story without spoiling anything important, I suggest going in with as little information as possible and letting yourself be guided by the storytelling. Jung Seo Kyung did the best job in the entire movie with that script, but everyone played a part in making it shine.

The acting is mostly good, especially Kim Min Hee in a sublime performance. Her role is probably the most difficult to pull off efficiently, to tie in the suspense and the narrative of the story as it is, and she did an amazing job at it. My only problem, which is why this is not entirely a 10, is that some of the actors didn't fully convince me when it came to portraying the Japanese characters, but it didn't ruin the experience.

The movie is explicit, in different ways. There's a contrast between two different kinds of scenes that involve explicit content, and the way in which they are shot and performed, as well as written, weaves in a message that is super intense, in many ways.

It's absolutely, in my opinion, one of the best lgbtq+ films of the 2010s, I have no doubt about that. I had heard a lot about it and I had expectations, especially after having seen other films compared to it, but the expectations were met and surpassed. There is a love story between two women in the heart of this film that upholds and maintains the plot at all times, and everything is built upon showcasing that story, not only of love but also of redemption and empowerment.

All in all, great movie. Wow.

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I advice anyone to watch that movie, it's such a great movie.

First of all, I've only watched one other of Park Chan Wook's films, Old boy, but it's worth watching cause it's also a really great film.

The movie is really well written, it's divided in three parts that are following one character each, and each of those part is really well written and mind blowing. The whole film is mind blowing actually, form plot twist to plot twist, the suspense is here.

The pictures are very beautiful also, it's what I call great cinema: even before I had the chance to see it, I knew I would like it cause the pictures and the music that are shown in the trailer really set what you are going to see, which is georgeous images of the Korean countryside or the city, and the music that is just perfect. Also the actors are really talented and they were all really good in their role.

But there's two things I actually really really liked about this film:
- The whole story about Japanese occupation. I didn't have the chance to see much about that precise period, and the fact that Korean are able to talk about that difficult situation is very important I think (on that subject, I advise you the Korean drama Bridal Mask, it's really good). Listening to those two beautiful languages is also a plus for me. I liked that the historical part is here, but not in a central place, cause the story between the characters is way more important, and that's really weel done.
- Strong lesbian characters. As queer female myself, I'm thrilled to see such strong characters. Finding good gay male character is quite difficult in Asian cinema, even though it's getting easier each year fortunatly, but lesbian characters are always absent (especially in Korean films and dramas), just search "gay" and "lesbian" tags on the site and compare by yourself. So these girls are really important to me, and as well as the historical side, it's here, but it's not like "queer propagandia", theur queerness is just natural.

Some scene can be, not difficult to watch, but quite "disgusting" (I don't really know what word I should use), but they don't feel useless, I feel like everything is here for a reason. The film is relativly long (144 min) but, I promise you won't be bored.

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Um filme praticamente perfeito.
A história é extremamente rica e bem planejada. Desde o primeiro momento, é perceptível o cuidado e a boa execução dos produtores e dos roteiristas. O filme inteiro traz mistério, drama, tragédia, suspense, romance e até mesmo um pouco de comédia; tudo na medida correta. Quando você acha que está chegando no clímax, um novo acontecimento te surpreende. A existência de tantas descobertas e plot-twits faz com que as (quase) três horas de filme valham a pena de serem assistidas.
O romance é sensual e explícito, mas não vulgar e sem sentido. Mesmo assim, não recomendo que pessoas abaixo de 18 anos assistam, pois traz conteúdos de violência, estupro e tortura que podem acabar sendo perturbadores para algumas pessoas (apesar de que, para mim, deram um "quê" diferente para a produção).
O trabalho de TODOS os atores foi simplesmente incrível. Eu não tive uma única decepção com o profissionalismo, dedicação e execução beirando a perfeição, onde o filme mesclou o tempo todo entre dois idiomas (japonês e coreano) que eram falados com fluência pelos atores.
Talvez os únicos pontos que poderiam ser melhorados é a trilha sonora, que quase não apareceu, e talvez um foco um pouquinho maior na questão histórica, porque para quem não entende como aconteceu a ocupação Japonesa, pode ficar um pouco confuso alguns detalhes da cronologia histórica em que o filme ocorre (eu, por exemplo, demorei para entender algumas coisinhas).
Fora isso e o tempo um pouco extenso do filme que pode acabar incomodando algumas pessoas (e que também me levou a colocar uma nota 8.0 para o valor de reassistir), eu simplesmente amei! Fazia um BOM tempo que eu não ficava tão satisfeita assim com um filme!
Amei e, com toda a certeza do mundo, vou recomendar para as pessoas.
Nota 9.5

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I remember googled "best Korean movies" and this movie is always on every list. That convinced me there must be something since people raved it as "perfect movie". Turns out those people aren't wrong, this is indeed a perfect movie.

The Handmaiden is divided into three parts and we will get different impressions for each part. We don't know where the story is going and the plot itself is already perfect and satisfying. The atmosphere in this movie is really unique, sometimes it feels lunatic then shifts to thrilling then digusting. It's psychologically intriguing.

As for the casts, everyone performed greatly. I have to mention Kim Min-hee stands out the most, she showcased her acting skills here. Remember I told you there are three parts with different impressions? Kim Min-hee is able to give off various vibes throughout the movie. I'm a fan.

Seriously folks, perfect plotting adds to flawless acting performance equals to a perfect movie. I'm grateful they made The Handmaiden.

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gag

estou fascinado com esse filme aqui. tem uma atmosfera tão hipnotizante que eu não queria saber de nada além do aconteceria nos minutos seguintes. tem algo que torna ele extremamente sensual e eu aposto na melancolia que rodeia não só os personagens mas o próprio ambiente. é muito interessante acompanhar o modo como o filme escala pois vem sempre algo de surpreendente na história, e todos personagens são tão intrigantes que você sabe que pra onde o passo andar vai ser bom de se acompanhar.

p.s. a sookhee destruindo a biblioteca foi uma das coisas mais sensuais e românticas que eu já vi.

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BE GAY, DO CRIME AT IT'S HISTORICAL FINEST~~

Much sexy, much love, much wow.
Nothing beats having two lesbians happily in love and a happy ending.
do...

The sound of bells and the peaceful moon at the end do justice to the storyline, a beautiful way to drop the curtains. Although yes the movie should be tagged mature for the content.
When you start the movie you feel like a simple con movie? That's it? But at the end who gets coned for real is the real deal. In the end, you feel like no I can not continue this but pleasant it has been.

The complicated nature of humans comes to the surface in this stellar movie. Respect for the actors.

If you think about it, LOVE was what saved them, if both of them continued their initial scheme, they wouldn't have ended up together, if both of them viewed money as their ultimate goal, either one of them would've died. But they chose LOVE in the end, despite the odds, they believed in each other and I think... that's really beautiful. :') ♡

Plot twists at its best. :')

I would definitely recommend this to my fellow LGBTQ+ but only if they're above 21. ;)

To the people who made this film possible and my new women empowerment queen Jung Seo Kyung, kamsahamnida!

Sincerely,
Your gay mind blown viewer

Final Rating: 10/10

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Disturbing, yet satisfying.

I had high expectations and this movie met them. I liked it from the acting to the cinematography, the storytelling, the settings and visuals (Gorgeous!!). But I'm also going ahead to talk about what I didn't like, since it was already praised so much.

This is one of the few movies that caught my interest within the first 10 minutes, not wasting any time and jumping right into the story. I can easily see how other movies will take their time portraying the maid as an innocent and go "But NO! She was actually a cheat!" after like 20 minutes. Glad that they didn't do that. The first part was visually gorgeous. Take a screenshot and it would be a painting. It also seemed like a regular drama plot-wise. You're just waiting for something to go wrong and in my case, the first plot twist did not work too well as I could see it coming. Things were simply going too well for the careless and overly confident maid. Still did not stop me from enjoying their relationship and since I found the maid absolutely adorable and entertaining.

The second part though was truly unexpected. Easily the best part of the film. I was completely invested in the backstory of our main lead. It quickly went into fucked up territory and had me feeling disturbed to thinking "that's absolutely disgusting". I understand the significance of the auction scenes, but I would probably skip them on a rewatch. Absolute best scene was when Miss broke down and attempted to hang herself; the turning point. I must say it was incredibly satisfying to watch and realise where things were going later on.

For the last part, I'm going to be a little picky. Since its purpose is to wrap up the show, things were starting to go way too well. The tone shifted to that more of a kdrama, which was fine, but some scenes also felt slightly unnecessary. Still, the cellar scene was satisfyingly disturbing and you will thank the Count for killing the creepy uncle along with himself.

About the characters. The two leads had amazing chemistry and completed each other perfectly. The "Count" was probably the standout character though. He's despicable and he deserved his outcome, but was actually not all that unlikeable since he ironically gave the Miss her freedom and punished her uncle for her. What I really liked was that all of them had immoral intentions, which made the protagonists much more charming imo.

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