It's pornography (including sadism) interwoven with an intricate, silly plot--if this intrigues you, fine! I had trouble with the absurd set-up to the film, which is (and feels) way too long because the graphic sex scenes are virtually endless. There are three points-of-view, and the film invariably slips out of POV from time to time. That said, the settings, costumes and cinematography. are absolutely gorgeous, as are the female actors. Except for a twist or two, the film goes nowhere and is about nothing. The Korean and Japanese dialogue (as translated) often sounds like a cross between what one would find in a romance novel and hard-core pornography--breathless, over-the-top, no pretense of being remotely realistic. Nevertheless, the reviews have been extremely positive and the people in the audience when I attended seemed really to like this film--I am hard-pressed to understand why. While the characters in the movie are lusting for each other, and making an all-out effort to titillate viewers, I hunger for a story that has character development and a journey worth traveling.
Review of The Handmaiden
