Toto I have a feeling we're not in Kansas
anymore Hey guys welcome back to another Foreign
Film Friday so firstly thank you to everyone
for your very interested and positive feedback
for last months Korean zombie movie "Train
to Busan" I hope you got a chance to see it.
Now for this months title we are staying in
the Asian region with a South Korean/Japanese
film "The Handmaiden."
This is directed by one of my favourite Asian
directors Park Chan-Wook some of his films
I highly highly recommend "Oldboy" and the
whole vengence trilogy and also his English
language film "Stoker." "The Handmaiden" is
based on the British novel called Fingersmith
this is written by Sarah Waters but here for
this film it has been reworked to fit 1930's
Japan occupied Korea. Here the lowly pickpocket
Sook Hee played by Kim Tae-Ri enters a plot
with a conman to serve as a maid to a rich
heiress Lady Hideko to befriend her and gain
her trust as this conman swoops in and tries
to marry her so they can steal her money.
I have to start by saying the beauty, the
artistic eye the artistic vision of this film
is just overwhelming stunning from the cinematography
to the costumes of this 30's era to the actual
actresses themselves Kim Tae-Ri and also Kim
Min-He are seriously both ridiculously stunning.
This is a masterfully crafted piece of cinema
where you can pause any frame anywhere in
the entire movie and have a gallery worthy
portrait. This is a screenplay presented in
acts so the information is dolled out piece
by piece and it's extremely ambitious in its
twists and turns as the characters continue
to evolve and reveal a little bit more and
a little bit more as the movie goes on.
Moving right along to the big asterix and
that is the full on boarderline porographic
Lesbian Sex lesbian sex, lesbian sex. Yes
I just said lesbian sex in a review. There
is quite a lot of confronting lesbian sex
and it is very graphic to point of maybe too
much, yes possibly but then again maybe I
just have a good imagination and prefer a
little bit to fill in the blanks as opposing
to see.. everything but then again this is
an extremely erotically charged story and
it's got subject matter that really fits some
hardcore graphic sex. This is a film which
juggles the extremes so harmoniously it's
really breathtakingly beautiful in parts but
it can also be quite repulsive as well especially
in how it deconstructs and breaks apart the
male gaze so how it is that men perceive women
sexually but also just ordinarily as well.
It is going to challenge you with all the
traditional gender stereotypes and stigmas
and though this is a long run at nearly 2
and a half hours it's such a complete exploration
of these characters that it really does justify
every moment that you spend with them.
