‘The Handmaiden’ is stunningly enchanting but lacks complexity

Actor Ha Jung-woo and actress Kim Min-hee as Count Fujiwara and Hideko, respectively, in the Korean film “The Handmaiden.” This photo was provided by CJ Entertainment, the film’s distributor.

SEOUL, (Yonhap) — South Korea’s art-thriller master Park Chan-wook has always been unafraid to tackle taboo subjects, and he turned his eyes to homosexuality this time.

Park’s new film, “The Handmaiden,” is stunningly beautiful, enchanting and tasteful but, unfortunately, lacks complexity.

Despite teasing the audience with thriller elements, this is not a typical thriller. Instead, it is an erotically charged film focusing on two women experiencing sex together.

As the female protagonists enter into an affair, it is clear that there is an element missing, the element of the audience’s emotional attachment to the characters. The dialogue remained mostly superficial, allowing the audience little insight into the depth of each character. Instead, the film hastily develops the relationship between the two women from the limited exposition that vaguely depicts their feelings toward each other.

Loosely based on Sarah Waters’ award-winning novel “Fingersmith,” the film relocated the Victorian Britain to 1930s colonial Korea.

This photo provided by CJ Entertainment shows a scene from “The Handmaiden.”

It begins when a con man who calls himself Count Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo) employs the help of Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a lowly pickpocket, to swindle a wealthy, lonely heiress named Hideko (Kim Min-hee). The woman lives in a cavernous mansion under strict protection from her uncle after losing her parents in her early years.

The plan is for Sook-hee to become Hideko’s maid and slowly convince her to marry Fujiwara so that he may elope with her and subsequently make away with her fortune. The scheme, however, doesn’t go as planned and hidden truths slowly rise to the surface. The story then takes a series of unexpected turns.

The film provides viewers the fun of growingly finding the truth behind what happened to the three people through its story split into three sections and unfolds from multiple points of view.

Actor Ha Jung-woo and actress Kim Tae-ri as Count Fujiwara and Sook-hee in “The Handmaiden.” This photo was provided by CJ Entertainment, the film’s distributor.

What makes it stand out from all other films is its lavish-looking artistic elements, ranging from the secluded mansion’s interior decorated in hybrid British-Japanese style and Hideko’s beautiful costumes. For the work, the film’s art director Ryu Seong-hie won the independent Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. Ryu became the first Korean winner of the award.

The movie’s eroticism never feels cheap. For some audiences not familiar with Park’s films, however, it can be a grueling movie to watch for its sexually deviant characters and some extremely violent scenes.

The film is set to open in local theaters on Wednesday.

Actors Ha Jung-woo (L) and Cho Jin-woong as Count Fujiwara and Hideko’s uncle in “The Handmaiden.” This photo was provided by CJ Entertainment, the film’s distributor.