One of the joys outside of just poring over the fantastic-looking Cannes line-up is the amount of footage and images we get from some of our most-anticipated films of the year. Near the top of the list for what we can’t wait to see is Park Chan-wook‘s follow-up to his English-language debut Stoker, The Handmaiden, which will hopefully be released by the end of the year by Amazon Studios.
Returning to South Korea, he’s adapted Sarah Waters‘ novel Fingersmith, the period crime drama that follows young female thieves (aka fingersmiths). Led by Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee, Jo Jin-woong , and Kim Tae-ri, a batch of images and a pair of beautiful posters arrived yesterday, and today we get the first teaser.
Adapting the story, Park follows a young Korean female pickpocket from the slums who is hired by a charming con man to join an elaborate scam. She becomes the personal servant of a wealthy Japanese heiress and seduces her. The teaser only runs 30 seconds, but it’s a great preview to see the director’s precise formal style at play in this period drama. Check it out below.
The Handmaiden will be released by Amazon Studios later this year.