The Handmaiden

DirectorPark Chan-wook Year2016 Score2 Much like Decision to Leave, this film was technically really good but in my opinion not so enjoyable to watch. Park Chan-wook tries so hard, and yet. This film has the edge over decision to leave because the two female protagonists are complex but ultimately likeable characters, whereas in that film we’re meant to sympathise with a pair of cheaters. Here, all the male characters are terrible people doing whatever they want with essentially no consequences until it all comes crashing down. That’s satisfying. But it’s a very long film with some fairly predictable massive curveballs and the ending is almost too neat to feel justified given the hundred and fifty minutes of buildup. I think it would be better on a second watch, but i don’t feel excited to go back and give it a second watch, so conceptually that feels like a directorial failure. That said, a lot of people love it, and i can understand why. So i encourage you to watch it for yourself…