Park Chan-wook on His New Film 'The Handmaiden'

From Park Chan-wook, the celebrated director of "Oldboy," "Lady Vengeance," and "Stoker," comes a ravishing new crime drama.

Park presents a gripping and sensual tale of two women -- a young Japanese Lady living on a secluded estate, and a Korean woman who is hired to serve as her new handmaiden, but is secretly plotting with a conman to defraud her of a large inheritance. Inspired by the novel "Fingersmith" by British author Sarah Waters, "The Handmaiden" borrows the most dynamic elements of its source material and combines it with Park Chan-wook's singular vision to create an unforgettable viewing experience.

An ardent cinephile, Park juggled film directing and criticism in the 1990s before his commercial breakthrough "Joint Security Area (JSA)" in 2000, which broke local box office records and screened in competition at Berlin. However it was with his critically acclaimed follow-up "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" in 2002 that he established the intense, relentless cinematic style for which he is now renowned. After the success and worldwide recognition of "Oldboy" (2003), his follow-up features "Lady Vengeance" (2005, Venice competition), "I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay" (2006, Berlin competition) and "Thirst" (2009, Cannes competition), further demonstrated Park's cinematic and thematic range.

If you enjoy a foreign drama then you are going to love this film, which was filmed in Korean and Japanese with English subtitles. The camera work and the dramatic script are highlighted by the fact that the director kept the unique structure of the book, which tells the story from the three main character's points of view. It is reminiscent of other films that have come from Asia and have developed and perfected different methods of film making. Think of any old Bruce Lee movies or "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," and you will know what I mean. The camera work is very different than the traditional American film, and while it was distracting at first, it gives the film an indy vibe while not losing the appeal of the intensely dramatic story.

Speaking of the story, there are a lot of twists and turns that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat, as the drama builds. Here is what Park had to say about the film.

Tell us about how you chose this project as your next film.

It was the same as what happened with "Oldboy." Producer Syd Lim came across the source material first, showed it to me and asked, "What do you think?" I'm sure it was the same with other readers, but when I read the novel, the end of Part One caught be completely by surprise, but not only that, I fell in love with the author's very detailed and vivid writing. More than anything, I chose this story because the two women at the center of the story felt so alive.

Why did you decide to move the setting from Victorian England to the Colonial Era of the 1930s, as opposed to another time in Korean history?

There were practical reasons. When thinking about such plot elements as a society where there's still the separate class of the nobility, where the occupation of the handmaiden exists, where there's a character who collects rare items, etc., it seemed the only reasonable option. That was an era in which some traditional elements remained, but modernity was just beginning to take hold.

Before shooting, you gave music CDs to the cast and crew. What was your intention with that?

It wasn't that I planned to use the music in the film, but rather I wanted the actors and crew to be able to feel what the atmosphere of the completed film would be like as they made their preparations. There are the drawings in the storyboard, but since music is also effective in creating a mood, I prepared three CDs worth of music and gave it to them.

How would you describe "The Handmaiden," in a few words?

It's a thriller movie, a story about swindlers, a dramatic story with several unexpected twists, and more than anything else, a romance.