The Best Queer Thriller To Stream During Pride Month
It’s rare that a book adaptation evolves to take on an entire life of it’s own, creating something unique that is on par with the original content, but that’s exactly what we get with Park Chan-Wook’s film The Handmaiden based on Sarah Waters novel Fingersmith.
Where Waters spins a Dickensian tale set in Victorian England, Park transports the setting to Japanese occupied Korea, layering on imperial and cultural undertones that play into the power dynamics between the characters.
Sook-hee is a Korean pick-pocket hired by a conman posing as the ‘Count Fujiwara’ to infiltrate the home of Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko, who lives under the care of her Uncle Kouzuki, a man who betrayed his country in exchange for a gold mine, and aspires to pass as Japanese himself.
While Sook-hee intends to help the Count seduce Lady Hideko in an attempt to gain control of her inheritance, the two women form a strange and chaotic connection that develops into a romantic relationship. Sook-hee is torn between the intense bond she shares with Hideko, and the reward the Count has promised her in exchange for her help.
The narrative is told in a non-linear fashion that reveals each character’s perspective, filling in chronological gaps with new information that completely changes our perception of each person’s intent, loyalties, and true desires.
Without giving away too many spoilers, we learn about Uncle Kouzuki’s obsession with collecting erotic literature, and the torture Hideko has endured living with such a monster. It’s here that Park’s reinterpretation of the original IP shines the most.
Kouzuki’s leather gloves, blackened lips, and tongue, from repeatedly licking a calligraphy brush, his collection of illustrated erotic texts, his Japanese theater for “live readings” performed by Hideko, and secret dungeon all add a sinister aesthetic that completely transforms the character from an abuser to a true villain.
This Palm d’Or entry will make you think, feel, gasp, and shiver at every twist and turn, and is perfect for those looking to celebrate Pride month in a spooky way.
