Ah-ga-ssi

October 18th, 2016







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Ah-ga-ssi

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Release Year: 2016

Rating: 8.0/10 ( voted)

Critic's Score: /100

Director: Chan-wook Park

Stars: Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo

Storyline
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl (Sookee) 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 elope with him, rob her of her fortune, and lock her up in a madhouse. The plan seems to proceed according to plan until Sookee and Hideko discover some unexpected emotions.

Writers: Seo-Kyung Chung, Chan-wook Park, Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo, Min-hee Kim, Kim Tae-ri, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo, Hae-suk Kim, So-ri Moon, , , , , , ,

Cast:
Min-hee Kim - Lady Hideko
Kim Tae-ri - Sook-Hee (as Tae Ri Kim)
Jung-woo Ha - Count Fujiwara
Jin-woong Jo - Uncle Kouzuki
Hae-suk Kim - Butler
So-ri Moon - Aunt of Noble Lady



Details

Official Website: Official Facebook | Official Site |

Country: South Korea

Language: Korean, Japanese

Release Date: 3 Jan 2016

Filming Locations: Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Box Office Details

Budget: KRW 10,000,000,000 (estimated)



Technical Specs

Runtime: | (extended)



Did You Know?

Trivia:
Filming began June 15, 2015 in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Filming was completed on October 31, 2015. Shooting took place in various locations in Japan and South Korea. See more »

Quotes:



User Review

Author:

Rating: 10/10

This is hands down the most perfect film I have seen so far this year. I gave a score of 5/5 to movies like The Revenant, Spotlight and The Songs We Sang. But even with these excellent films I can always find a spot that doesn't quite sit right with me. With The Handmaiden, it is perfect; every frame handcrafted to perfection. Even with 4min of explicit sex taken away by my country's dumb censors, this is still perfect every way I see it.

Auteur Park Chan-Wook's The Handmaiden is a superb exercise in form, structure and tone. With the latter, Park (Oldboy & Joint Security Area) has achieved something extraordinary. If any scene were to linger a few seconds longer or he had decided to focus on a certain issue, the film would have veered off to a different territory. As it is, and with all the major characters' kooky off-kilter portrayals, I can't pinpoint whether I was watching something real or abstract. I was also kept in awe by the intricate and resplendent set- design which suggests something dark and Gothic is working the undercurrents. There are of course some serious girl on girl action but that never encroaches into the spine of the story.

Adapting Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, a Victorian tale awash with all manner of Dickensian motifs, Park spins an engrossing tale that ebbs and flows with a Hitchcockian suspense; it withholds as much as it discloses; it is an erotic tale that beats with raw fervour. It is at once a love story but also a menagerie showcasing human beings in their vilest forms. Park's finger hovers over all the buttons, teasing us gleefully but it is with the ultimate restraint that he never descends down to the usual tropes. The story is divided into three chapters; each told from a different character's perspective. The structure is Rashomon-esque but Park puts his own stamp on it. The film may be nearly 2.5 hours but I hardly moved in my seat; my senses kept spellbound as each twist hits me hard. When it ended I couldn't believe 2.5 hours have whizzed by. The plot is pulsating and it never lets up. There is even an octopus in it! This is definitely the most perfect film I have seen this year. You may not agree with me but for me this is cinema of the masterclass level.

It's sexy time!





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