The Handmaiden
You're the one being tricked.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sook-hee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki.But the maid has a secret.She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
- Director
- Park Chan-wook
- Signature
- Craft · Drama · Tension
- Worldwide
- $39M
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
The Nutevio profile
Movie DNA
How The Handmaiden actually feels to watch, measured on the twelve traits our editors track across every Nutevio title.
Perfect if you enjoyed
Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sook-hee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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Why We Recommend It
Why It's Ranked
The Handmaiden appears in 7 Nutevio collections. Here is the argument behind each placement.
- Romance Movies Ranked #13
Placed at #13 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Best Romance Movies Ranked #13
Placed at #13 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Best Psychological Thrillers Ranked #30
Placed at #30 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Thriller Movies Ranked #32
Placed at #32 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Best Movies of the 2010s Ranked #34
Placed at #34 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Top 100 Mind-Bending Movies Ranked #55
Placed at #55 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Top 250 Movies of All Time Ranked #130
Placed at #130 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
The record
Awards
1 win
CST Award of the Technical Artist
1 win
- WinnerCST Award of the Technical Artist
The numbers
Box Office & Release
The Handmaiden returned 4.5× its budget worldwide.
- Budget
- $9M
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $39M
- Release date
- Jun 1, 2016
- Runtime
- 2h 25m
- MPAA rating
- —
- Language
- Japanese, Korean
- Country
- South Korea
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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