Released in 2016, The Handmaiden (South Korean title: Agassi) is a visually stunning erotic psychological thriller directed by Park Chan-wook. Inspired by Sarah Waters' novel Fingersmith, the film relocates the setting from Victorian England to 1930s Korea during the Japanese occupation. Plot Overview
Set during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1930s, the plot is a neo-noir heist. A con-man posing as a Japanese Count hires a pickpocket (Sook-hee) to serve as handmaiden to a wealthy, reclusive heiress (Hideko). The goal? Trick Hideko into marrying the Count, then lock her in an asylum and steal her fortune.
The story begins through the eyes of Sook-hee, an orphaned pickpocket recruited by a conman ("The Count"). They plot to defraud Lady Hideko, a wealthy Japanese heiress, by having Sook-hee serve as her maid. Act II: The Lady’s Perspective: