# The Handmaiden

The Handmaiden (Korean: 아가씨; RR: Agassi; lit. 'Lady') is a 2016 South Korean erotic historical psychological thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by Park Chan-Wook and starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong. It is inspired by the 2002 novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer Sarah Waters, with the setting changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule.
The Handmaiden was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in South Korea on 1 June 2016 to widespread critical acclaim and grossed over US$38 million worldwide. At the 71st British Academy Film Awards, the film won the category of Best Film Not in the English Language.

## Plot
### Part 1

In Japanese-occupied Korea, a con man operating under the sobriquet of "Count Fujiwara" plans to seduce a Japanese heiress named Lady Hideko, then marry her and commit her to an asylum to steal her inheritance. He hires a pickpocket named Sook-hee to become Hideko's maid and encourage Hideko to marry him.
Hideko lives with her Uncle Kouzuki, a Korean man who helped the Japanese take over his country in exchange for a gold mine. Kouzuki then uses this wealth to feed his obsession with rare books, selling forgeries to accumulate further money and books. Sook-hee's main job is to help Hideko prepare to read for Kouzuki's guests. Returning frustrated from a reading, Hideko demands Sook-hee to sleep next to her. The two end up having sex, under the pretext of preparing Hideko for her married life with the Count. Sook-hee begins expressing reluctance about the plan, but when Hideko suggests she loves someone other than the Count, Sook-hee insists on the marriage. Hideko slaps her and violently throws her out of the room.
When Kouzuki leaves on business for a week, Hideko and Fujiwara elope, with Sook-hee in tow. After they cash out Hideko's inheritance, it is revealed that Hideko's naïveté was part of the con. She and Fujiwara double-crossed Sook-hee and convinced the asylum that she was the "Countess" to have her committed in Hideko's stead.

### Part 2

A series of flashbacks show that Hideko's "reading practice" was Kouzuki teaching her to read sadistic pornography since she was five years old. The flashbacks show a regimen of psychological and physical abuse that gradually degrades the sanity of Hideko's aunt, who is eventually found hanging from a tree in the yard, and so Hideko takes over as the reader for the auctions. When Hideko questions the description of hanging in a book she has to read, Kouzuki tells her that he murdered her aunt using torture devices in the basement after she attempted to run away.
In the more recent past, the Count realizes seducing Hideko would be impossible and instead includes her in the plan to elope and then split her inheritance. When Hideko expresses her fear of her uncle, the Count bribes her with a vial of opium with which to commit suicide so that she can never be taken to the basement alive, calling it a "wedding present". Hideko demands the Count find her a girl to hire as a maid, to commit to an asylum in Hideko's place.
While being instructed by the Count, who takes advantage of Sook-hee's illiteracy, Hideko unexpectedly falls in love with her. Hideko tries to confess her love, but when Sook-hee insists the marriage go forward, Hideko throws her out of the bedroom and then tries to hang herself. Sook-hee saves her, and both admit to their plots. Hideko helps Sook-hee write a letter to her family to say she has teamed up with Hideko, asking for their help in carrying out a plot to get Hideko and Sook-hee away from the men who have been manipulating them. Hideko shows Sook-hee the books she was forced to read, and Sook-hee begins destroying the library. Hideko calls Sook-hee "her savior" and joins in destroying her uncle's collection.

### Part 3

After leaving Sook-hee at the asylum, Fujiwara and Hideko eat together at a high-class hotel, where he tells her of his past and asks her to marry him again, this time as Sook-hee, as they have switched identities. He also reveals that Sook-hee will be dead within a few days, causing Hideko to question Fujiwara's desires. Sook-hee's friend Bok-soon sets a fire at the asylum and poses as a firefighter to rescue her. In the pretense of re-creating their wedding night Fujiwara attempts to rape Hideko, however he is rendered unconscious after drinking wine that Hideko earlier dosed with drops from the opium vial. This allows Hideko to leave with her money. The women reunite and flee together, disguising Hideko as a man to avoid detection.
Kouzuki captures Fujiwara after receiving a letter from Hideko detailing Fujiwara's deception. He tortures Fujiwara in his cellar with his collection of antique bookmaking tools and presses him for sexual details about his niece. Fujiwara makes up a story about making love on their wedding night, while a flashback shows that he watched Hideko masturbate before cutting her hand with a knife to stain her sheets with blood, refusing to consummate the marriage. When Kouzuki presses for more details, Fujiwara convinces him to give him one of his cigarettes, after which he disgustedly refuses to give further details. Kouzuki notices the cigarettes are producing blue smoke, and Fujiwara reveals that his cigarettes are laced with mercury, and the toxic gas in the smoke kills them both.
On a ferry to Shanghai, China, Sook-hee and Hideko celebrate their newfound freedom by having sex once again.

## Cast

* Kim Min-hee as Lady / Izumi Hideko
* Kim Tae-ri as Maid / Nam Sook-hee
* Ha Jung-woo as Count Fujiwara
* Cho Jin-woong as Uncle Kouzuki
* Kim Hae-sook as Madame Sasaki
* Moon So-ri as Hideko's aunt
* Lee Yong-nyeo as Bok-soon
* Lee Dong-hwi as Goo-gai
* Jo Eun-hyung as young Hideko
* Rina Takagi as Hideko's mother
* Han Hannah as Junko
* Lee Ji-ha as Owner of Ryokan
* Jeong Ha-dam as Housemaid
* Choi Byung-mo as Audience member

## Production

In December 2014, it was reported that Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong signed on for the film. Kim Tae-ri was selected from 1,500 candidates to play the role. Shooting for the film began in June 2015 and concluded in October 2015.
The print The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife and the book Jin Ping Mei feature in the film.

### Locations

The film was shot in both Japan and Korea. Kouzuki's mansion with combined elements of Japanese and British architecture was filmed in Kuwana in Mie prefecture in Japan, using the exterior of the Moroto Seiroku Mansion and CGI to augment exterior details. Known as Rokkaen (Japanese: 六華苑), it was designed by British architect Josiah Conder and built in 1913. The interior of the library and the staircase leading to Hideko's bedroom were built as interior sets. The cherry tree from which Hideko's aunt is found hanged was in the gardens of the hospital on Sorok Island in Jeolla, South Korea.

## Release

In February 2016, CJ Entertainment announced that The Handmaiden was pre-sold to 116 countries, including to Amazon Studios for the US. The film premiered in competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation, and Ryu Seong-hee won the Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist for her art direction work on the film. The film was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, where The Playlist named it as one of the 15 best films of the festival. In South Korea, the film was released on 1 June 2016 and sold more than 4 million tickets.
In the United States, the distribution of the film was handled by Amazon Studios and Magnolia Pictures. The film opened in limited release across five cinemas in New York City and Los Angeles, and played in 140 additional cinemas in the following weeks. Eventually, the film grossed more than US$2 million in the United States theatrically; the film outgrossed Stoker and became the highest-grossing Park Chan-wook-directed film in the United States. It was released on DVD in the US on 24 January 2017 and Blu-ray on 28 March 2017.
In the United Kingdom, the distribution of the film was handled by Amazon Studios and Curzon Artificial Eye. The film grossed more than US$1.8 million in the United Kingdom theatrically, and became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the UK in 2017.
The original theatrical cut of the film runs 144 minutes. An extended cut, running 168 minutes, was later given a limited theatrical release in the UK and has also been released on home video in some international markets.

### Home media

In the United Kingdom, it was 2017's fifth best-selling foreign language film on home video, and the year's third best-selling Korean film (behind Operation Chromite and Train to Busan).

## Reception
### Critical response

The Handmaiden received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96%, based on 225 reviews, and an average score of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Handmaiden uses a Victorian crime novel as the loose inspiration for another visually sumptuous and absorbingly idiosyncratic outing from director Park Chan-wook." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The Economist described the film as a masterpiece. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian ranked it four out of five stars and described it as "a hugely entertaining thriller".
The film's numerous sexually explicit scenes between the two main female characters were criticized by Laura Miller at Slate, who described the scenes as "disappointingly boilerplate" and featuring "visual clichés of pornographic lesbianism, [the actresses'] bodies offered up for the camera's delectation." The New Yorker's Jia Tolentino said that "the women know what they look like, it seems—they are consciously performing for each other—and Park is deft at extracting the particular sense of silly freedom that can be found in enacting a sexual cliché."

### Listicles

The Handmaiden was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists.
Name of publisher, name of critic, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Critic | Listicle | Placement |
| RogerEbert.com | Danny Bowes | Best Film | 1st |
| RogerEbert.com | Dan Callahan | Best Film | 2nd |
| The A.V. Club | Noel Murray & Katie Rife | Best Film | 2nd |
| Film School Rejects | Rob Hunter | Best Film | 2nd |
| RogerEbert.com | Sean Mulvihill | Best Film | 2nd |
| The Verge | Tasha Robinson | Best Film | 2nd |
| CraveOnline | William Bibbiani | Best Film | 2nd |
| MTV | Amy Nicholson | Best Film | 3rd |
| CraveOnline | Witney Seibold | Best Film | 3rd |
| The Daily Beast | Jen Yamato | Best Film | 3rd |
| Reelviews | James Berardinelli | Best Film | 3rd |
| L.A. Weekly | Bilge Ebiri | Best Film | 3rd |
| The Austin Chronicle | Kimberley Jones | Best Film | 4th |
| Village Voice | Scott Tobias | Best Film | 4th |
| Chicago Reader | Lean Pickett | Best Film | 5th |
| The Globe and Mail | Kate Taylor | Best Film | 5th |
| The Austin Chronicle | Josh Kupecki | Best Film | 5th |
| Collider | Haleigh Foutch | Best Film | 5th |
| ScreenCrush | Erin Whitney | Best Film | 5th |
| DC Outlook | Peter Freeman | Best Film | 5th |
| Parallax View | Sean Axmaker | Best Film | 6th |
| Vogue | John Powers | Best Film | 6th |
| TheWrap | Alonso Duralde | Best Film | 6th |
| RogerEbert.com | Christy Lemire and Peter Sobczynski | Best Film | 6th |
| The A.V. Club | Mike D'Angelo & A.A. Dowd | Best Film | 6th |
| The Arizona Republic | Bill Goodykoontz | Best Film | 7th |
| RogerEbert.com | Matt Zoller Seitz & Brian Tallerico | Best Film | 7th |
| The Atlantic | Christopher Orr | Best Film | 7th |
| The Austin Chronicle | Steve Davis | Best Film | 7th |
| ScreenCrush | Matt Singer | Best Film | 8th |
| The Boston Globe | Ty Burr | Best Film | 8th |
| The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy | Best Film | 8th |
| The New York Times | Manohla Dargis | Best Film | 8th |
| New York Magazine | David Edelstein | Best Film | 8th |
| The Guardian | Reporter | Best Film | 9th |
| The Austin Chronicle | Marc Savlov | Best Film | 10th |
| Paper | Dennis Dermody | Best Film | 10th |
| San Francisco Chronicle | Walter Addiego | Best Film | Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) |
| The Guardian | Reporter | 100 best films of the 21st century list | 41st |
| The Guardian | Reporter | the classics of modern South Korean Cinema | 1st |

## Accolades

List of awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 2016 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Non-English-Language Film | Park Chan-wook | Won |
| 2016 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Film | The Handmaiden | 4th Place |
| 2016 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Min-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Adapted Screenplay | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2016 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Nominated |
| 2016 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actress | Kim Min-hee | Won |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Won |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Nominated |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Music | Jo Yeong-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Blue Dragon Film Awards | Technical Award | Jo Sang-kyeong (costume design) | Nominated |
| 2016 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Won |
| 2016 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | Kim Min-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Won |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Nominated |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Best Music | Jo Yeong-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Buil Film Awards | Buil Readers' Jury Award | Park Chan-wook | Won |
| 2016 | Busan Film Critics Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Won |
| 2016 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Cannes Film Festival | Queer Palm | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Cannes Film Festival | Vulcan Award | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2016 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Adapted Screenplay | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-kyeong | Won |
| 2016 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Nominated |
| 2016 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Art Direction | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Director's Cut Awards | Best Actress | Kim Min-hee | Won |
| 2016 | Director's Cut Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Won |
| 2016 | Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Top Ten Films of the Year | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Won |
| 2016 | IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Film | The Handmaiden | 7th Place |
| 2016 | IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | 5th Place |
| 2016 | IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Original Score or Soundtrack | The Handmaiden | 8th Place |
| 2016 | IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Cinematography | The Handmaiden | 4th Place |
| 2016 | IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Editing | The Handmaiden | 8th Place |
| 2016 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Production Design | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2016 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | Melbourne International Film Festival | Most Popular Feature Film | The Handmaiden | Runner-up |
| 2016 | New York Film Critics Online | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Adapted Screenplay | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2016 | San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2016 | San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Production Design | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2016 | St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | Best Production Design | Ryu Seong-hee | Won |
| 2016 | St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Toronto Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2016 | Women Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Film by or about Women | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Cinematography | Chung Chung-hoon | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Editing | Kim Jae-bum, Kim Sang-bum | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Production Design | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Sound | Jung Gun, Kim Suk-won | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Song | "The sound of you coming" (임이 오는 소리) (Gain and Minseo) | Won |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Tae-ri, Moon So-ri, Kim Hae-sook | Nominated |
| 2017 | Apolo Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Won |
| 2017 | Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Moon So-ri | Won |
| 2017 | Asian Film Awards | Best Newcomer | Kim Tae-ri | Won |
| 2017 | Asian Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2017 | Asian Film Awards | Best Production Designer | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2017 | Asian Film Awards | Best Editor | Kim Jae-bum and Kim Sang-bum | Nominated |
| 2017 | Asian Film Awards | Best Costume Designer | Jo Sang-kyeong | Won |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Grand Prize | Park Chan-wook | Won |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress | Kim Min-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Cho Jin-woong | Nominated |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Nominated |
| 2017 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Screenplay | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2017 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Director | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2017 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Kim Min-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Tae-ri | Nominated |
| 2017 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Technical Award | Ryu Seong-hui | Nominated |
| 2017 | Chunsa Film Art Awards | Technical Award | Jung Jung Hoon | Nominated |
| 2017 | Dorian Awards | Director of the Year | Park Chan-wook | Nominated |
| 2017 | Dorian Awards | Foreign Language Film of the Year | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2017 | Dorian Awards | LGBTQ Film of the Year | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Dorian Awards | Visually Striking Film of the Year | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Houston Film Critics Society | Best Picture | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Houston Film Critics Society | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2017 | National Board of Review | Top 5 Foreign Films | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2017 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | 2nd Place |
| 2017 | Online Film Critics Society | Best Picture | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Online Film Critics Society | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2017 | Satellite Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Saturn Awards | Best International Film | The Handmaiden | Won |
| 2017 | Saturn Awards | Best Costume Design | Jo Sang-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2017 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Picture of the Year | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Foreign Language Film | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2017 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Production Design | Ryu Seong-hui | Won |
| 2017 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Costume Design | Jo Sang-kyeong | Won |
| 2018 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Film Not in the English Language | Park Chan-wook and Syd Lim | Won |
| 2018 | Empire Awards | Best Thriller | The Handmaiden | Nominated |
| 2018 | London Film Critics Circle Awards | Foreign Language Film of the Year | The Handmaiden | Nominated |