Park Chan-wook directed Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mister Vengeance, meaning he’d have to make about 40 terrible movies in a row in order for him to stop receiving benefit of the doubt that anything he makes will be amazing. Given the quality of the rest of his oeuvre, which includes Stoker and Thirst, there shouldn’t be any doubt that he’d need to receive the benefit of anyway.
His latest film, The Handmaiden is inspired by the 2002 novel Fingersmith, a historical crime drama written by the acclaimed Sarah Waters. The story involves deception, seduction, theft-by-marriage-scamming, and asylums, so it sounds like something Park ought to have adapted in his own mind-bending manner years ago.
The Handmaiden is set for a 2016 release and will compete for the Palme D’Or at Cannes this year.
