Rent The Housemaid (2010)

A South Korean upstairs-downstairs social drama full of erotic tension - The Housemaid review by Philip in Paradiso

The film could be described as a thought-provoking erotic social drama that has elements of a psychological thriller too. It takes place in today's South Korea. The central character is a young woman coming from a poor background, called Eun-yi. She is perhaps a little bit naive and is described in the film as a good person. She is hired as an au-pair girl by a very wealthy family - a lot of the film dwells, directly or indirectly, on the huge gap in wealth between poorer, hard-working South Koreans and the small elite of ultra-rich bourgeois types, who sip expensive red wine and listen to European classical music, living in secluded palatial mansions. Eun-yi is due to help Hae-ra, the beautiful housewife who is pregnant with twins. She is married to a powerful and successful businessman, Hoon. Eun-yi must also look after the couple's young daughter, Nami. Eun-yi moves in and discovers the life of a domestic servant.

Despite the fact the story takes place in South Korea - and unlike what often happens, in my opinion, with Chinese or Japanese films - it is easy for us to relate to the situation, which has an upstairs/ downstairs element to it (think Downton Abbey in 2010, South Korean-style, but far slicker and much sharper). The characters are expressive and we follow their emotions and reactions quite easily, and they are easy to comprehend. The film is very well-made and superb aesthetically. To the social element, i.e. the tension between the social classes, there is, added to the mix, intense erotic tension, as the maid is, inevitably, involved in the intimacy of the couple employing her. This makes for a very interesting and captivating film.

I have 2 reservations, however. The 1st one is that the storyline, somehow, follows a slightly predictable path for much of the lead-up to the climax, which can be a little bit slow at times (i.e. the first 70% of the film). The 2nd one is that the ending, in my view, is not completely convincing or plausible. It only works up to a point. As a result, it is a very good film, but it is not the masterpiece it could have been. 'Parasites', the 2019 South Korean movie also focused on class differences in society, is that masterpiece (and the 2 films are quite different in some ways).

Revenge is a dish served cold - The Housemaid review by CH

Excellent and understated Korean film, that despite an adult certification restrains itself from any gratuitous imagery with an opening scene of suicide and subsequent themes of a cold revenge for the cold seduction of a housemaid.