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The Handmaiden () is a 2016 South Korean historical psychological thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by and starring Kim Min-hee, , and . It is inspired by the 2002 novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer , with the setting changed from Britain to Korea under Japanese rule, where a Korean girl is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life on a countryside estate.

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 for its directing, writing, twists, cinematography, musical score and cast performances, and grossed over worldwide. At the 71st British Academy Film Awards, the film won the category of Best Film Not in the English Language. The movie appeared in many lists of 2016 top ten best movies, and since its release has been regarded as Park's best film since Oldboy (2003).

Plot
Part 1
In Japanese-occupied Korea, a con man operating under the of "Count " 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 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 , China, Sook-hee and Hideko celebrate their newfound freedom by having sex once again.

Cast
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 in Japan, using the exterior of the Moroto Seiroku Mansion and CGI to augment exterior details. Known as (), 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 the island in Jeolla, South Korea.

Release
In February 2016, announced that The Handmaiden was pre-sold to 116 countries, including to 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 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 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 across five cinemas in New York City and , and played in 140 additional cinemas in the following weeks. Eventually, the film grossed more than 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 . The film grossed more than 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 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 (behind Operation Chromite and Train to Busan).

Reception
Critical response
The Handmaiden received critical acclaim. On , the film has an 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 , the film holds a score of 85 out of 100, based on 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". described the film as a masterpiece. Benjamin Lee of 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 bodies offered up for the camera's delectation." The New Yorkers 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 , and placement ! scope="col"Publisher ! scope="col"Critic ! scope="col"Listicle ! scope="col"Placement ! scope="col" class="unsortable"
RogerEbert.comDanny BowesBest Film
Dan CallahanBest Film
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray & Katie RifeBest Film
Film School RejectsRob HunterBest Film
RogerEbert.comSean MulvihillBest Film
Tasha RobinsonBest Film
William BibbianiBest Film
Best Film
Witney SeiboldBest Film
The Daily BeastJen YamatoBest Film
ReelviewsJames BerardinelliBest Film
L.A. WeeklyBest Film
The Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesBest Film
Scott TobiasBest Film
Lean PickettBest Film
The Globe and MailKate TaylorBest Film
The Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiBest Film
ColliderHaleigh FoutchBest Film
ScreenCrushErin WhitneyBest Film
DC OutlookPeter FreemanBest Film
Parallax ViewSean AxmakerBest Film
VogueJohn PowersBest Film
Best Film
RogerEbert.com and Peter SobczynskiBest Film
The A.V. ClubMike D'Angelo & A.A. DowdBest Film
The Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzBest Film
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller Seitz & Brian TallericoBest Film
Christopher OrrBest Film
The Austin ChronicleSteve DavisBest Film
ScreenCrushMatt SingerBest Film
The Boston GlobeBest Film
The Hollywood ReporterBest Film
The New York TimesBest Film
New York MagazineBest Film
ReporterBest Film
The Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovBest Film
PaperDennis DermodyBest Film
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoBest Film
Reporter100 best films of the 21st century list
Reporterthe classics of modern South Korean Cinema

Accolades
2016Alliance of Women Film JournalistsBest Non-English-Language Film
Austin Film Critics AssociationBest FilmThe Handmaiden
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best Supporting ActressKim Min-hee
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Blue Dragon Film AwardsBest Film
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best ActressKim Min-hee
Best New Actress
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Music
Technical AwardJo Sang-kyeong (costume design)
Boston Society of Film CriticsBest Cinematography
Best Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Buil Film AwardsBest FilmThe Handmaiden
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best ActressKim Min-hee
Best New ActressKim Tae-ri
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best MusicJo Yeong-wook
Buil Readers' Jury AwardPark Chan-wook
Busan Film Critics AwardsBest New ActressKim Tae-ri
Cannes Film FestivalPalme d'OrPark Chan-wook
Queer Palm
Chicago Film Critics AssociationBest FilmThe Handmaiden
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Best Art Direction
Critics' Choice AwardsBest Foreign Language Film

Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics AssociationBest Foreign Language Film
Director's Cut AwardsBest ActressKim Min-hee
Best New ActressKim Tae-ri
Florida Film Critics CircleBest Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Best Cinematography
Korean Association of Film Critics AwardsTop Ten Films of the YearThe Handmaiden
Best Cinematography
Best FilmThe Handmaiden
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best Original Score or SoundtrackThe Handmaiden
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Los Angeles Film Critics AssociationBest Production Design
Best Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Melbourne International Film FestivalMost Popular Feature Film
New York Film Critics OnlineBest Foreign Language Film
San Diego Film Critics SocietyBest Foreign Language Film
San Francisco Film Critics CircleBest Adapted Screenplay
Best Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Best Production Design
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics AssociationBest Production DesignRyu Seong-hee
Best Foreign Language FilmThe Handmaiden
Toronto Film Critics AssociationBest Foreign Language Film
Vancouver Film Critics CircleBest Foreign Language Film
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationBest Foreign Language Film
Women Film Critics CircleBest Foreign Film by or about Women
2017Best Film
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best EditingKim Jae-bum, Kim Sang-bum
Best Production Design
Best SoundJung Gun, Kim Suk-won
Best Song"The sound of you coming" () (Gain and Minseo)
Best Ensemble Cast, Kim Min-hee, , Kim Tae-ri, ,
Best New ActressKim Tae-ri
Asian Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressMoon So-ri
Best NewcomerKim Tae-ri
Best Screenplay
Best Production Designer
Best EditorKim Jae-bum and Kim Sang-bum
Best Costume DesignerJo Sang-kyeong
Baeksang Arts AwardsGrand PrizePark Chan-wook
Best FilmThe Handmaiden
Best DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best ActressKim Min-hee
Best Supporting ActorCho Jin-woong
Best New ActressKim Tae-ri
Best Screenplay
Chunsa Film Art AwardsBest DirectorPark Chan-wook
Best ActressKim Min-hee
Best New ActressKim Tae-ri
Technical Award
Jung Jung Hoon
Director of the YearPark Chan-wook
Foreign Language Film of the YearThe Handmaiden
LGBTQ Film of the Year
Visually Striking Film of the Year
Houston Film Critics SocietyBest Picture
Best Foreign Language Film
National Board of ReviewTop 5 Foreign FilmsThe Handmaiden
National Society of Film CriticsBest Foreign Language Film
Online Film Critics SocietyBest Picture
Best Foreign Language Film
Satellite AwardsBest Foreign Language Film
Saturn AwardsBest International Film
Best Costume DesignJo Sang-kyeong
Seattle Film Critics SocietyBest Picture of the YearThe Handmaiden
Best Foreign Language Film
Best Production Design
Best Costume DesignJo Sang-kyeong
2018British Academy Film AwardsBest Film Not in the English LanguagePark Chan-wook and Syd Lim
Best ThrillerThe Handmaiden
London Film Critics Circle AwardsForeign Language Film of the Year

See also
  • Fingersmith, BBC mini-series that is also based on the book of the same name

External links
: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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