At the 71st British Academy Film Awards, the film won the category of Best Film Not in the English Language. It was released in South Korea on 1 June 2016, to widespread critical acclaim praising above all its direction, screenplay, score, cinematography and performances, and grossed over US$38 million worldwide. The Handmaiden was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
It is inspired by the 2002 novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer Sarah Waters, with the setting changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule. ''Lady'') is a 2016 South Korean historical erotic psychological thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by Park Chan-Wook and starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong. The Handmaiden ( Korean: 아가씨 RR: Agassi lit.
