Park Chan-wook's “The Handmaiden” gets Cannes invite
“The Handmaiden” / Courtesy of DAUM Movie
Park Chan-wook / Korea Times
By Bahk Eun-ji
Popular Korean film director Park Chan-wook’s new thriller “The Handmaiden” has been invited to the competition section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The Cannes organizing committee announced the lineup for the 69th festival at a news conference broadcast live Thursday on YouTube from the French city.
“The Handmaiden” is the first Korean film to be shortlisted for the festival in four years, since director Im Sang-soo’s “The Taste of Money (2012)” and director Hong Sang-soo’s “In Another Country (2012).”
“The Handmaiden” / Courtesy of DAUM Movie
Park received the Grand Prix honor at Cannes for “Oldboy” in 2004.
“The Handmaiden,” starring top actors Kim Min-hee and Ha Jung-woo, is a love story involving a mistress and her handmaiden in 1930, during Japan’s colonial rule. The film is based on Victorian-era lesbian crime novel “Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters.
This year's festival will be held from May 11 to 22.