‘The Handmaiden’ review by Alyssa Heflin • Letterboxd
Part way through The Handmaiden, it is revealed that the prim and proper Lady Hideko has been groomed by her abusive uncle to perform readings of hardcore pornography to audiences of Japanese businessmen. During one of these readings, wherein she describes a lesbian couple performing a sexual act involving the insertion of "minling", otherwise referred to as "bells of passion" into the vagina, there is a power outage. The room is plunged into darkness at the height of the story, and the men around Hideko disappear. She continues reading, finally able to read not for the pleasure of the men but for herself. She closes her eyes. Her thoughts drift to her lover Sook-hee, who she plans to run away with. The story no longer sounds harsh or pornographic, but instead becomes tender and beautiful. And then the lights come back on. The men reappear, applauding the eroticism of her performance. What was for a brief moment sweet turns back to sour. It's been around 3 years since I first saw The H