As Amazon studios continues to flex their muscles, the streaming outlet keeps acquiring material perfect for cinehphiles and arthouse audiences. So far this year, Amazon has picked up Woody Allen’s “Café Society,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s “The Neon Demon,” Todd Solondz’s “Wiener-Dog” and later this year, they’ll release Oscar contender, “Manchester By The Sea.” There’s one more in the mix too, “Oldboy” director and South Korean auteur Park Chan-Wook’s latest, “The Handmaiden.”
Based on the book “The Fingersmith,” the movie is about a woman who is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her. Chan Wook’s work is always dark, but also black and disturbingly comedic (and sometimes just plain disturbing too), so this sounds like a perfect fit for his idiosyncratic sensibilities. Here’s the synopsis:
From PARK Chan-wook, the celebrated director of OLDBOY, LADY VENGEANCE, THIRST and STOKER, comes a ravishing new crime drama inspired by the novel ‘FINGERSMITH’ by British author Sarah Waters. Having transposed the story to 1930s-era colonial Korea and Japan, Park presents a gripping and sensual tale of a young Japanese Lady living on a secluded estate, and a Korean woman who is hired to serve as her new handmaiden, but who is secretly involved in a conman’s plot to defraud her of her large inheritance. Powered by remarkable performances from KIM Min-hee (RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN) as Lady Hideko, HA Jung-woo (THE CHASER) as the conman who calls himself the Count and sensational debut actress KIM Tae-ri as the maid Sookee, THE HANDMAIDEN borrows the most dynamic elements of its source material and combines it with PARK Chan-wook’s singular vision and energy to create an unforgettable viewing experience.
Starring Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Kim Tae-ri and Cho Jin-woong, this one impressed Jessica Kiang at Cannes, who called it “gorgeous, fun, silly and sexy,” so it sounds like Chan-Wook hasn’t lost his touch. Amazon Studios and Magnolia Pictures will release “The Handmaiden” in theaters on October 14th.
