The Handmaiden

What kind of film it is

The Handmaiden is a feature film Park Chan-wook released in 2016. Set in the 1930s, during the Japanese colonial period, it is built around a wealthy young heiress, a young woman who enters her household as a maid, and a swindler with his eye on the fortune. Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong play the main roles. The screenplay was co-written by Jeong Seo-kyeong and Park. It layers the characters' feelings over the skeleton of a con-game crime story, so it resists being pinned to a single genre.

The novel and the adaptation

The source is Fingersmith, a novel by the British writer Sarah Waters. The book is set in nineteenth-century England; the film relocates it to colonial Korea and a Japanese-style estate. The novel's concern with class and status gains a colonial dimension, so who speaks which language and who imitates whom take on new meaning. If you have read the book, comparing what was kept and what was changed is part of the pleasure. If you have not, watching the film first is the better way to protect its surprises.

Dialogue in two languages

The film mixes Korean and Japanese dialogue. Each character uses a different language depending on the situation, and that choice reveals their position and desires. Even when you watch with subtitles, keeping track of which language you are hearing makes the tension in a scene much easier to read. How the subtitles distinguish the two languages can vary by version and service, so check your settings before you start. Watching how the distance between characters changes when the language switches is one of the pleasures of this film.

A story told in parts

The film is divided into parts, and with each new part the vantage point on the story shifts. The same spaces and moments are redrawn through another character's eyes, so a scene you passed over early on can return later with a completely different weight. That is why a first viewing and a second viewing feel so different. On the first pass, concentrate on following the flow; on a rewatch, go back over the characters' expressions and glances one by one.

Design and space

The estate matters as much as any character. It joins a Western-style building to a Japanese-style one, and that hybrid space itself expresses the contradictions of the colonial era and the characters' double lives. The production design was by Ryu Seong-hee. Each room has its own colors and textures, and the library, the garden and the narrow corridors all create distinct moods.

• Moments when the setting switches between Western and Japanese rooms
• Doors, windows and curtains that block or open up a line of sight
• Costume colors and props such as gloves and jewelry
• Where books and handwriting are placed

The people behind it

Cinematography was by Chung Chung-hoon, who has worked with Park since Oldboy and built images that carefully control the distance and gaze between characters. The score is by Jo Yeong-wook, who also worked on Oldboy and Decision to Leave. Jeong Seo-kyeong co-wrote Lady Vengeance, Thirst and Decision to Leave with Park as well. Because the same people have made several films together, watching this one alongside Park's other work reveals both a shared sensibility and how it has changed.

What to watch for the first time

The tension comes into focus when you keep asking how much the characters know about each other, and whether you, the viewer, know more or less than they do. Notice who is imitating or performing for whom, and the moments when words and actions do not line up. Recurring objects such as hands, gloves and books are worth remembering too. Reading analysis beforehand is likely to give away the turns, so go into your first viewing knowing as little as possible.

Before you watch

The film is rated for adults only and contains explicit sexual content and violence. Think about who you are watching with and where, and check the rating shown on your platform first. It also helps to know there is an extended version with a different running time. Language and small sounds matter a great deal here, so set up your subtitles, find somewhere quiet and watch it without breaks.