The Handmaiden (Agassi) (2016)

Park Chan-wook is kind of like Quentin Tarantino. I noticed some elements in this film that I saw in the Hateful Eight, but The Handmaiden was so much better. Park's violence is not as gratuitous as Tarantino's, but there were certainly some over the top scenes. He does have a lot of nudity in this film, but it is mostly necessary to the plot, save for the final scene which is purely gratuitous as the movie had already finished. The weird thing is I usually don't like Tarantino, but I loved this movie. It was a more tasteful and less comic than Taratino's recent work in the way that his recent films don't compare to Pulp Fiction.

Park cleverly transposed the source material from Victorian England to colonial Korea, making the story his own. The style is apparent from the very beginning. There are some gorgeous shots. I particularly loved the design of the mansion that is half-Western, half-Japanese, and fully Korean undergoing westernization and Japanese imperialism.  It has that creepy feeling that Victorian homes have, while it also retains the openness of a Japanese courtyard. The costumes also take inspiration from two worlds. The design and cinematography is just so beautiful, as are all the actors.

The film unravels in parts, with new twists being revealed by rewatching the story from different points of view. It is a clever way to tell a story and it keeps the viewer guessing what the next twist will be. The Hateful Eight was also like that, but with just three main characters this was a little more manageable.

I did notice an interesting translation. The French title Mademoiselle retains the original meaning of the Korean title Agassi, in reference to the lady. However, the English title refers to the lady's maid. The English title leads us to believe that the maid is the protagonist, and she is for part one. But the story evolves and Agassi takes center stage too. Why the change? I'm not so sure. I am very glad I got to see this one in the palace. It was my first film in the main competition and it didn’t disappoint.