Director Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy,” this year’s “No Other Choice”) masterfully captures the deception, intrigue, and sexuality of his characters in this visually stunning film. Expertly balancing tension, thrills, and moments of laugh-out-loud comedic relief, “The Handmaiden” was nominated for the Palme d’Or and won the Vulcain Prize for Best Technical Artist at Cannes in 2016.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
