Vitals

Ha Jung-woo as Count Fujiwara, conniving con artist

Japanese-occupied Korea, Summer 1930

Film: The Handmaiden
(Korean title: 아가씨)
Release Date: June 1, 2016
Director: Park Chan-wook
Costume Designer: Jo Sang-gyeong

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Considered one of the best South Korean movies of all time, The Handmaiden premiered nine years ago this month during the 69th Cannes Film Festival in May 2016, just weeks before it was released to theaters on June 1st. Director and co-screenwriter Park Chan-wook was inspired by Sarah Waters’ 2002 novel Fingersmith, reimagining the setting from Victorian-era England to Japanese-occupied Korea in the years leading up to World War II.

The eponymous handmaiden is Nam Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean pickpocket recruited by the smooth con artist known as “Count Fujiwara” (Ha Jung-woo) to work for the aloof Japanese heiress Izumi Hideko (Kim Min-hee), helping the Count gain Hideko’s favor so she ultimately agree to marry him—only for him to commit her to an asylum and inherit her fortune. Continue reading →