The Handmaiden

Completed2016145 min

In Japanese-occupied Korea, Sook-hee enters a wealthy household as a maid to the secluded Lady Hideko. Her position is part of a confidence…Read more +Read less −

In Japanese-occupied Korea, Sook-hee enters a wealthy household as a maid to the secluded Lady Hideko. Her position is part of a confidence scheme involving a man posing as a count, but the household contains arrangements and secrets she does not fully understand. As Sook-hee and Hideko spend time together, the intimacy between them begins to complicate the plan that brought them into each other’s lives. Questions of trust become inseparable from the ways both women have been watched, instructed and used by others. The film moves through deception and shifting perspectives, following a relationship that creates the possibility of a different future within a world organized around control and possession.

Watch trailer

Thriller Drama Romance

Sapphic characters & cast

Kim Tae-ri

as Sook-hee

Main sapphic character

Official platform credited performer publicity portrait

Kim Min-hee

as Lady Hideko

Main sapphic character

Official platform credited performer publicity portrait

YOUR FIRST LOOK

Watch the trailer

Watch trailer on youtube.com ↗ · The YouTube player loads only when you choose it.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Details & credits

Country: South Korea, Japan
Language: Korean, Japanese
Premiere: 2016-10-21
Runtime: 145 minutes
Director: Park Chan-wook

Exact-film official platform titled key art; rights pending

Artwork source & permission status

Editorial review approved — rights not independently confirmed

Exact-film official platform titled key art; rights pending

Original publication ↗

Sources & editorial notes (5)

Last researched 2026-10-31. Editorially approved.

year: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
genres: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
status: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
country: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
language: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
directors: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
description: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
trailer url: Official distributor exact-film trailer: Madman Films
watch links: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
western cast: Exact-film official platform edition and cast credits; dated territorial edition can differ from original
premiere date: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
runtime minutes: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
classification note: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence
representation type: Exact film identity and substantive sapphic lead/story evidence