`Handmaiden’ nominated for best non-English film at British film awards
SEOUL: The Handmaiden by Korea’s celebrated film director Park Chan-wook has been nominated for best non-English movie at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts ( BAFTA).
The movie, based on Sarah Waters’ Victorian lesbian crime novel “Fingersmith,” is among five nominees for the Best Film Not in the English Language category. Other films include First They Killed My Father produced by Hollywood actress and director Angelina Jolie.
Set in the 1930’s in South Korea and Japan, the tale revolves around four people: a noble lady ( Kim Min-Hee) who has inherited a fortune, a swindler count ( Ha Jung-Woo) who is after the noble lady’s fortune, a young female pickpocket ( Kim Tae-Ri) hired by the swindler count and the noble lady’s uncle (Cho JinWoong) who is her guardian.
The erotic thriller was one of 21 films selected for competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in 2016. It won Best Foreign Picture and Best Production Design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association ( LAFCA) in December the same year.
Meanwhile, the hit fantasy, Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds remained on top of the South Korean box office. With US$ 10.3 million earned from 1.32 million admissions between last Friday and Sunday, the Lotte Entertainment release has amassed a cumulative of US$ 86.7 million ( RM346.8 million).
CJ Entertainment’s 1987: When the Day Comes remained in second.