Firstflix
  • Blog
  • About/Donate
  • Films Reviewed List
  • Albums Reviewed List
  • Concerts Reviewed List
  • Contact

Intricate Storytelling lAyered with Dark Themes (The Handmaiden)

11/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Going into the theater, I expected something a bit different from what I encountered with this film.  I expected a dreary and dark thriller that would lack the coherency of Chan-wook Park's (Oldboy) past filmography.  Yet, The Handmaiden is most definitely my favorite film that Park has directed.  It is a long film, but almost all of the scenes add to the building tension of the characters.  Park's final product is reminiscent of the storytelling methods used by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Kill Bill​).  The technical aspects are brilliant and constantly catch the audience off-guard with a series of twists.

Throughout the film, a symphony of sweet melodies and tense pitches add to the perfection of the story.  This is my favorite non-lyrical soundtrack of the year so far, and it will be damn-near impossible for any other film to beat it.  The melodic tracks add a charm to the characters, as the audience tries to figure out who is good and who is bad.  At the same time, there are tracks that have the intensity of 80s horror themes.  The balance between all of the instruments creates a tone that is coherent, but everchanging.

I warn readers that this film is not for the faint-hearted.  Filled with nudity and gory sequences, the darkness of the film is overwhelming.  However, if you appreciate modern cinema even in grotesque forms, this film is a must-see.  Although it is grotesque, most viewers will find something to enjoy about it.  You can focus on the filming techniques or the setting to move through the film without disgust.  Or at times, you can close your eyes and listen to the soundtrack.  In order to get the full experience though, you must watch the full 2.5 hour film and focus on everything at once.  Then, once you realize that you missed something, you can watch it again in fragments to see what is going on behind the outer-shell of the story.

The Bottom Line:  This film ranks within my top 10 for the year because of the depth in storytelling and technical aspects.

Score: 9.7/10 
Image credit: â€‹By tenasia10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbknOaI-4pI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52956567
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    If you like what you are reading, you can click here to donate:
    ​Donations for First Flix

    Archives

    September 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    January 2015


    Categories

    All
    10/10 CLUB
    Action
    Adventure
    Animation
    Annual Top Tens
    A Touch Of Weird
    Award Shows
    Biography
    Cinema Exploration
    Classic
    Comedy
    Crime
    Documentary
    Drama
    Drop The Beat
    Family
    Fantasy
    Flix For Friday
    Foreign
    History
    Horror
    Music
    Musical
    Music Mania!
    Mystery
    New Movies
    News
    Romance
    Sci Fi
    Sounds On Screen
    Sports
    TBT
    The Obituary
    Thriller
    War
    Western
    What To Watch

    ​ALL NAMES, TRADEMARKS AND IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.