In Japan-ruled 1930s Korea, a new handmaiden is hired to attend to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life with her domineering uncle. But the handmaiden harbors a secret that threatens her lady’s fortune and freedom. As the handmaiden puts her plan into action, unexpected connections throw a carefully calibrated scheme into a labyrinth of double crosses, backstabbings, and an unforgettable ending for this wildly acclaimed film.
Considered a masterpiece of global cinema, The Handmaiden has also been consistently ranked as one of the best queer films ever made by Vulture, Elle, IndieWire, and Harper’s Bazaar, and appeared on numerous critics’ “best of 2016” lists when it was originally released. Learn more about the film with writer/director Park Chan-wook’s interviews with the Hollywood Reporter and Curzon, and Jia Tolentino’s New Yorker essay “The Handmaiden and the Freedom Women Find Only with One Another.”
See the film at IU Cinema this Friday!
“A lush, silken, erotic, disturbing, beautifully photographed drama of betrayal and passion.” — Times (UK)
The Handmaiden will be playing at IU Cinema on November 22 at 7pm as part of the Q+ series.