Despite the run time of 2 hours and 24 minutes, it never gets dull, it's very evenly paced throughout. Musical score by Yeong-wook evokes, or better said, amplifies the emotions and the suspenseful tone. The three leads all gave terrific performances. I'm not only talking about cinematography, which offered plenty of memorable shots and beautiful scenery, but the costume and set design. The term 'every frame a painting' gets overused, but it really fits here. It offers a few surprises along the way as well. This way, the story is perfectly structured to give more and more insight as the film progresses, but at the same time, keep the viewers guessing. The film is divided into three chapters, all giving different perspective. The Handmaiden is a triumph on every level. She gets into a moral dilemma when she starts developing feelings for the heiress. However, she must manage to convince the heiress to marry a conman (Jung-woo Ha) who poses as a count, for which she will get a chance for a better life. Set in the 1930s Japanese occupied Korea, it's a story of a young female pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri) who becomes a handmaiden to a beautiful Japanese heiress (Min-hee Kim). The controversial film from Korean master Chan-wook Park evokes the sexiness of Abdellatif Kechiche's 'Blue is the Warmest Colour' and Park's own signature violence and thrills.
