Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master ListBAFTA · 1
Spoiler-free premise
A young woman enters a wealthy household as part of a confidence scheme involving a secluded heiress.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
In Japanese-occupied Korea, pickpocket Sook-hee enters a secluded estate as maid to wealthy heiress Lady Hideko. She secretly serves a con man posing as Count Fujiwara, who plans to marry Hideko, seize her fortune, and have her institutionalized.
Why it belongs
The Handmaiden gives deception sensual form through divided viewpoints, intricate production design, charged objects, and exhilarating reversals of power.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
The Korean mansion's Japanese and Western wings, gloves, books, keys, screens, and repeated scenes make looking and possession tangible. Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri transform perspective shifts into an increasingly mutual emotional intelligence.
