1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
If The Handmaiden hit you the right way, here are Hollywood films that share its DNA. Same emotional weight, same kind of stories, same kind of payoff.
Like The Handmaiden, this one is rooted in all-consuming love and figuring out who you are. The world both films live in revolves around men and women navigating expectations and class and money. The feel is the same: dark comedy, tense, slow burn, and escalating.
