So the main qualities that shaped up Park's reputation are again on full display in this delicious period gem. Indeed, it keeps that familiar playful attitude even when it seems like it is overstepping the boundaries of decency or trying to intentionally shock, and it has the special dark mystique that Park's best early films are known for.
The film was inspired by Welsh writer Sarah Waters' novel Fingersmith, but there is no doubt that it is an original Park project. Park's latest film, The Handmaiden, appears to have reversed the process and quite possibly fully restored his desire to once again be bold and contentious.
His potential became obvious in the Vengeance Trilogy, but after Stoker it seemed like he had started evolving into a more mellow mainstream director. I've thought about it in the past, but I wasn't fully convinced that Park can be as effective of a provocateur as Oshima was. Perhaps it is finally appropriate to start comparing Park Chan-wook to Nagisa Oshima. In Korean, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. The release features an extended version of the film as well as various supplemental bonus features, including an exclusive filmed Q&A session with the director. Winner of Vulcain Prize for the Technical Artist at the Cannes Film Festival, Park Chan-wook's 'The Handmaiden' (2016) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye.
