Hot Romantic Intrigue in “The Handmaiden”
By Skip Sheffield
“The Handmaiden” is a kind of Asian Masterpiece Theatre
filled with intrigue, twists, sumptuously beautiful sets, costumes and a
healthy dollop of torrid girl-on-girl sex.
If that got your attention, read on. The story is set in
Korea in the 1930s during the brutal Japanese occupation. The handmaiden of the
title is Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-Vi), a bright and pretty orphaned Korean girl who
got her education in the streets as a pickpocket. Sook-Hee is recruited by a
con man who calls himself Count Fujiwara (Jung-Woo Ha). The bogus Japanese
Count wants Sook-Hee to become handmaiden to the beautiful, lonely heiress
named Lady Hideko, who is legitimate Japanese royalty and quite wealthy. Count
Fujiwara wants Sook-Hee to ingratiate herself with Lady Hideko so that she may
plant seeds of desire in the lady for the alleged Count. Then Fujiwara would
sweep in, sweep Lady Hideko off her feet, marry her, then have her declared mad
and committed to an asylum so he can steal her fortune. But first he must get
past Hideko’s controlling Uncle Kouzuki (Jin-wong Jo), who has his own designs
on her fortune.
Count Fujiwara is a villain of the lowest sort, so when his
plan goes off the rails, it is quite satisfying.
Director Chan Wook Park co-wrote the screenplay, based on
Sarah Waters’ 2002 novel “Fingersmith.” He previously directed the violent, intriguing
“Oldboy” and “Lady Vengeance.” “The Handmaiden” is in both Korean and Japanese.
To help keep things straight, the Japanese subtitles are in yellow. Be prepared
to invest some time. The movie is two hours 24 minutes long. This movie could
be considered a feminist triumph, Korean-style. I have been to both Korea and
Japan, and I know the cultures are quite different. Let’s just say the Koreans
are a lot more hot-blooded. It doesn’t get much hotter than when the women turn
the tables on the scheming men.
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