MOVIEVIBE ← Back to Home

The Handmaiden

2016 2h 25m
Thriller Drama Romance
MOVIEVIBE Rating
8.2/10
4,478 reviews
Your Rating
The Handmaiden

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sook-hee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.

"You're the one being tricked."

Top Billed Cast

Kim Min-hee
Kim Min-hee
Lady Hideko
Kim Tae-ri
Kim Tae-ri
Sook-hee
Ha Jung-woo
Ha Jung-woo
Count Fujiwara
Cho Jin-woong
Cho Jin-woong
Uncle Kouzuki
Kim Hae-sook
Kim Hae-sook
Ms. Sasaki
Moon So-ri
Moon So-ri
Hideko's Aunt
Lee Yong-nyeo
Lee Yong-nyeo
Bok-soon
Kwak Eun-jin
Kwak Eun-jin
Kkeut-dan

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

R Reno Verified TMDB Critic
2017-08-10

**In the circle of romance, deceive and defraud.**

Those who are into the world cinema, particularly the Korean, knows Park Chan-wook very well. But if you don't, then you must. His films are definitely for the grown ups. Like everybody else, my admiration for his work has started a decade ago with the film 'Oldboy'. He had tried his luck in Hollywood with 'Stoker'. Despite a good entertainer, it was criticised. I love Park Chan-wook doing hundred masterpieces like this in Korea than trying to do one in Hollywood. His ability to turn the good book into a great flick was phenomenal. Here it ...

C CinemaSerf Verified TMDB Critic
2023-01-05

Talk about the best laid plans! This is a cracking, sexy, thriller set in Korea during the Japanese occupation of the 1930s. It centres around the charming, butter-wouldn't-melt "Sook-Hee" (Tae Ri Kim) who takes a job attending the wealthy "Lady Hideko" (Kim Min-hee). She lives on a grand estate with her cantankerous uncle "Kouzuki" (Cho Jin-woong) and is frankly rather low maintenance for her new maid. Pretty quickly, though, we begin to smell a rat! Is she what she seems, and what has the obviously duplicitous "Count" (Ha Jung-woo) got to do with things? Well gradually, we find out that ther...

A Alunauwie Verified TMDB Critic
2025-09-23

The Handmaiden, adapted from Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, masterfully transposes the 19th-century London setting to 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, creating a rich and visually stunning historical backdrop. Told in three intricately woven chapters, the film unfolds with gripping suspense, emotional depth, and narrative twists that keep viewers fully engaged. With award-winning cinematography, meticulous artistic direction, and powerful performances—especially from debut actress Kim Tae Ri—The Handmaiden stands out as a bold, sensual, and unforgettable cinematic achievement that expertly blend...