Just noticed this was available.
The latest film from director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Handmaiden, Thirst, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, Stoker).
This was my personal favourite movie of 2022 and was unfairly snubbed for a nomination in just about every category at the Oscars last year.
Yes, I know, SBS streaming quality is terrible and it has ads, but free is free and it's a quality film
Handmaiden was adapted from a book written by a woman about lesbians during the Victorian era in England.
Park adapted it relevant to the time in Korean/Japanese history and the cultural sensibilities that followed.
A lot of people with strange takes due to lack of information in these comments…
An adaption that unnecessarily toned up the explicitness and erotica. Showing a wet dripping mouth while character A was going down on character B… I prefer something a bit more tasteful.
@tikei: You sound conservative. I noticed you haven't mentioned an issue with the violence portrayed in any of these movies
I also found it boring.
You guys don't have to watch it or comment telling people you were bored. Just continue your marvel rewatches and I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Lots of colours and action 👍
@capslock janitor: I absolutely am as some people are coming off as ignorant. There's a very self-aware level of irony I'm acting within
@Faro: No need to be so defensive about a movie, you didn't produce it mate. Some people like stuff, some people don't. Relax. And btw I don't watch Marvel, and I watch a lot of Korean/Asian shows. Doesn't mean I enjoy them all.
@RotundPolarBear: There's an irony in my criticisms directed toward something (someone) being based on assumptions I don't understand, huh?
@Faro: People can comment on how they disliked it as much as commenting on how they loved it.
It's rather shallow to think that not liking something = not understanding something = ignorance.
If you feel comments should only be one-sided and only positivity is allowed then I would argue that is promoting ignorance in itself.
@tikei: Okay, so if my assumption is shallow, then I assume you were able to understand and pick up on the references to Hitchcock's Vertigo?
The way Park Chan-Wook uses verticality to express tension and demonstrate when plot points will reach a peak?
You saw that during the interrogation scene early on the focus was shifted on and off between the reflections and profiles of the two leads to highlight their disconnection?
The sushi box painted to look like a beach with one full and one empty soy sauce tube lying on it?
The dissection of the romantic concept of being able to be "saved" by a romantic partner?
Tang-weis ultimate decision to forever be an unsolved case in order to give the detective a reason to continue to live? Another example of ideas lost in translation
The portrait becoming visible in the waves from the aerial shot towards the climax of the film?
If you can honestly tell me you picked up on and understood half of that, I will take back my remarks and fully accept that you merely didn't like it in spite of its excellent craftsmanship ✌️
@Faro: I haven't watched it yet but you're not doing it or yourself any favours. It may be a surprise to you but the condension/wank involved in your comments above are things many people have no special interest in. They watch primarily to be entertained, educated, challenged maybe. Expectations that others will like any film for the reasons you personally do or for reasons you think they should is a road to perpetual disappointment.
@Igaf: Comments like this that demonstrate a stubbornness towards differing experience as well as the irony that comes with intolerance towards my intolerance of intolerance by describing my takes as "condensing/wank" are a large factor in why I make them to start with.
You seem more invested in shutting down people who can appreciate films like this than you are in learning or being "challenged" from it anyway 🙃
@Faro: That convoluted vent er argument style works for you usually does it? Your conclusions about why people like, dislike or are indifferent to various movies is arrant nonsense. There is no right/wrong with highly subjective things such as tastes in art, film, music etc etc. I can't put my finger on it but for some reason your statement about "stubbornness towards differing experience" is ringing a bell. Irony? Certainly. Unintended hypocrisy? No doubt.
I'm not shutting you or anyone else down, as your response obviously shows. No-one on your deal has suggested that people can't or shouldn't appreciate the film - which I was watching and quite enjoying until SBS OD spat the dummy - for any reason they see fit. Conversely your dissing of the less-gushing opinions of others - because unlike you they apparently don't understand its wonders - suggests you have no concept of basic human variety. Look up vive la difference and cogitate on how it applies to your condescension here. Don't worry though. We're all heretics, hypocrites and philistines in many ways.
@Faro: I'm not your bro afaik but I am using a very common movie technique you'd be familiar with. It involves mirrors. Don't like the reflection? Time to do some I suspect.
I'll return to give you my unwashed opinion of the movie later (not tonight sorry). You'll be disappointed though because I'm not big on analysing why I do/don't like movies beyond the basics of dialogue, story line (+- credibility), acting, enjoyability, and sometimes cinematography (the Bourne shaky camera experiment was a total fu imo).
@Igaf: All the irony is going over your head pretty hard. You don't have to respond. You're not going to achieve anything. I'm very aware of what I've been doing this whole time and the lack of results it yields.
Arguing on Ozbargain is the silliest thing I've ever done, so I play around with people's sensitivities occasionally. But people have targeted me in the past for no reason as well. It's a shitty format for conversing, so unless you have a solution for it all your methods aren't achieving anything with me here
@Faro: The first sentence shows a complete lack of self-awareness if I may say so - I did anyway I guess. Your
"playing around" excuse doesn't wash with me, and I somehow doubt even you believe that's what you were doing. Well I hope that's the case.
@Faro: Did I need to demonstrate that? Clearly I don't know you. I'm commenting on your comments and how they appear to me as an (initially) agnostic reader. Anyway mountains and molehills look both different and similar when viewed through different eyes yeh? In a way George Lucas showed us precisely that.
@tikei: And for the record, many comments were making claims about how they didn't like it before they'd finished watching it.
You're assuming I don't understand how the process of liking or disliking something goes.
I understand people not loving something or not clicking with it. That's perfectly fine. But when it comes to art such as filmmaking, more often than not people are seeking familiarity. That usually means they want enough similarities between the movies they know and love already (generally speaking these are American Hollywood styled blockbusters with some action, anticipation, violence and a "happy" ending). When something deviates too far from this formula it can be jarring and instead of becoming curious and interested in said differences, people immediately disregard them as "bad" or "boring" or whatever other meaningless adjective they wish to ascribe to it.
It's a completely different type of movie. I'd say that Parasite is the easier watch, but Decision to Leave is worth watching too.
No way I'd rather watch parasite 100 times more
Thanks Op, now I know the two ways to find out if my phone has malware.
i assume all of you have mastered the art of sailing high seas
I never thought those are high seas.
Great movie, Joyland also another great flick from that year deserves more recognition.
Cheers OP may check it out.
Anything over about 6.5 on IMDB seems decent, over 8 is usually excellent.
If you are into korean shows I really liked Bloodhounds
Generally a fan of the K-Dramas that I've seen! Really enjoyed Flower of Evil, Twenty-five Twenty-one and Attorney Woo most recently
Would you recommend Black Knight?
Haven't seen it so can't comment
@Faro: Silly isn't it but hey that's Ozb for you. No rhyme or reason for many negs. Your comment was just stating a fact. Have a couple of + votes back :-)
I was watching Korean movies in the 2000s, were a simple formula of revenge of a lost love one and gangster fighting/Shoot em ups.. and the odd not so happy ending. They are a bit more interesting these days and like the culture.
The Call is a different one.
"…needlessly complicated and at times almost impossible to follow" - sadly I have to concur :-/
What did you find difficult about it?
Watch on Apple TV with Adblocking dns to watch ad free
Very good watch, sad to see many of these amazing newer films being limited to short theater releases and put up on streaming services - meaning that despite the quality of the film/s, it will never reach the same level of previous hype. Park's previous films like Oldboy have had way more acclaim and for a good reason, it was pretty much distributed evenly during release. But even Park's fans wouldn't even realise he had made a new film, I only came across this film when I saw it on a poster at the cinema (and says it was directed by Park).
Just watched it… did not like the plot line.
you should 100% watch rogue heroes on sbs demand was great series
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10405370/
…here for the bargains, not film recs.
This has been up for 2 days. You took precious time out of your day to comment on the thing you're not here for. Well done.
i know right? well done, me!
got any other films recs i should ignore?
Watching a movie would be a better use of time than sitting on here squabbling:P
I use PiHole and Ads appear. In the past they didn't and suspect my blocklist changed. What Blocklists are you using?
Kodi good
Huh, whats Kodi good?
this sounds like my struggle with AusPost parcel deliveries
disclaimer. my postie is actually quite good
Me when the bill comes.
No.
I found this rather boring. That said, I also found the handmaiden to be overrated and seemed to me like it was a filmaker putting his perversion into cinema… Tentacles, lesbians, erotic readings…