A con-man is trying to seduce a wealthy Japanese lady and to bilk her out of her inheritance with the help of her young handmaiden Sookee. It is happening in Korea, in the 1930th.
If one wasn't swayed by Oldboy or [Chan-Wook's] underrated English-language debut Stoker, The Handmaiden may be the one to convince audiences of this remarkable talent.
The Handmaiden is just pure cinema, a dizzying, disturbing fable of love and betrayal that piles on luxurious imagery, while never losing track of its story's human core.
Park Chan-wook is a master of classy trash... There's artistry in his filmmaking, but also a lot of blood, plenty of sick humor and moments of sheer lunacy. The Handmaiden ranks among his best films yet.
... the look of a lavish period drama, the elegance of an arthouse film, the complex plotting of an ingenious caper that only the movies could sustain, and the sex of a classy softcore picture.