‘The Handmaiden’: Park Chan-Wook’s Transgressive Masterpiece

Inspired by the novel Fingersmith by British author Sarah Waters, The Handmaiden is the sensual tale of two women—a young Japanese lady living on a secluded estate and a Korean woman who is hired to serve as her new handmaiden, but is secretly plotting with a con man to defraud her of a large inheritance.

Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) takes viewers into a world that’s like an erotic woodblock print brought to life. The film worships the female form and explores sapphic love in a way most other filmmakers would never dare to do. The emotional stakes and ulterior motives of the characters make the lengthy drama a thrill to watch.

The Handmaiden should be a cinematic touchstone for erotic film done right. The film pays homage to many erotic artistic traditions and layers them into something revolutionary and new. There are voyeuristic love scenes, spoken word sexual fantasies, erotic paintings, and hints of Ero guro.

There are few cinematic experiences where the term masterpiece is warranted. But in the case of The Handmaiden, masterpiece feels too small. This is a bold film that will doubtlessly awaken individuals and entire cultures to new possibilities within the sexual spectrum. This is an important film for lesbian representation and should be marked at a pivotal moment in artistic history. I believe that The Handmaiden’s influence will only be truly understood in decades to come.