The Handmaiden

Park Chan-wook is probably my least favorite Korean director. This film was boring. Interesting in terms of art, the atmosphere was decent, even the eroticism was nice, but that was it. The story was too convoluted for me, I got lost. There’s no gore, nothing much to praise. I survived, I'll give it a weak three stars with gritted teeth. Still better than Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, but never again. 50%. (10/11/2016)

Even though it's essentially an erotic thriller, I can't help but appreciate much more than just the erotica, which is very well shot. I particularly liked the composition of individual scenes, where Chan-wook Park proves he has an eye for detail, a sense of color selection, and an overall arrangement of shots. These are images that soothe the soul. (30/09/2016)

Although there was no trace of action in the film, the story certainly didn't stagnate or get boring. The running time that seemed scary at first wasn't a problem in the end. The plot may have been slightly overelaborate in places, sometimes I even got lost in the story (due to the alternation of time planes), but I wasn't bored for a second, and the uncle's weird cravings were quite amusing. (28/10/2019)

Instead of a refined erotic game, it is more of a shallow voyeur prank that is neither provocative nor too eccentric. Its excessiveness lies in the overuse of sentiment, melodramatic clichés and naive acting. The potentially great double-twist is completely lost in the storytelling, which lacks economy and finesse. Subjectively, it took 4 hours. Park filmed his Sucker Punch to name the hidden chambers of desire and lust, as well as the devastating manipulation associated with them. But this much more than a masochistic feast evokes a red library with a few over the top violent scenes. Disappointment... [Cannes 2016] (14/05/2016)

Unfortunately, the eroticism permeating the film doesn't work very well, making it more annoying than exciting. Although there are plenty of plot twists in it, The Handmaiden gets a bit boring after a while. I felt like I was watching one big perversion made in Korea that was good visually, but that's just not enough. (45%) (20/06/2020)