The Housemaid (2010) Hanyo (original title)

Director:

Sang-soo Im

Writers:

Ki-young Kim (based on the film by)
Sang-soo Im (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 2010 (South Korea)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

When opportunity knocks, answer at your own risk.

Plot:

A man's affair with his family's housemaid leads to a dark consequences.

Plot Keywords:

Housemaid | Twins | Pregnant Woman | Quitting A Job | Servant

Awards:

8 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Do-yeon Jeon	...	Eun-yi Li
Jung-Jae Lee	...	Hoon Goh
Yeo-jeong Yoon	...	Byung-sik
Woo Seo	...	Hae-ra
Ji-Young Park	...	Hae-ra's Mother
Seo-Hyeon Ahn	...	Nami
Jeong-min Hwang	...	Eun-yi's Friend (as Jung-min Hwang)
So-ri Moon	...	Doctor
Jin-ah Kim	...	Doctor
Tae-back Chae	...	Herbal Medicine Shop Doctor
Shin-hwan Jeon	...	Chief Secretary
Sang-min Noh	...	Driver
Soon-kyu Jang	...	Security
Yong-jae Cho	...	Security 2
Hyun-kyung Lim	...	Yoga Instructor
Keum-yun Lee	...	Old Housemaid
Ji-sun Kim	...	Young Housemaid 1
Song-yi Han	...	Young Housemaid 2
Ju-sun Park	...	Death Leap Girl
Sun-hye Yoon	...	Nurse 1
Ha-young Seo	...	Nurse 2
Jae-hyeon Kim	...	CT Doctor
Hye-sun Woo	...	Anaesthetist
Eun-ok Kim	...	Scrub Nurse

Directed by
Sang-soo Im

Writing credits
Ki-young Kim		(based on the film by)
Sang-soo Im		(written by)

Produced by
Jason Chae	....	producer
Il-hyung Cho	....	co-executive producer
Pyung-ho Choi	....	co-producer
Pyung-ho Choi	....	executive producer
Un-seok Choi	....	assistant producer
Dong-won Kim	....	co-producer
Jin-sup Kim	....	associate producer
Kyung Hyun Kim	....	co-producer
Yoon Kim	....	co-executive producer
Jun-tae Park	....	co-executive producer
Bumseok Seo	....	executive producer (as Bum-seok Seo)
Gang-yoeng Shin	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Hong-jip Kim

Cinematography by
Hyung-deok Lee

Film Editing by
Eun Soo Lee

Production Design by
Ha-jun Lee

Art Direction by
Jung-yoon Bae

Set Decoration by
Hyeon-mi Yang

Costume Design by
Jin-a Lee

Makeup Department
Shin-young Jeon	....	hair stylist
Shin-young Jeon	....	makeup artist
Eun-ju Lee	....	makeup artist
Eun-ju Lee	....	supervising hair
Hey-kyung Lee	....	hair stylist
Hey-kyung Lee	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Eui-sung Kim	....	production supervisor: SidusFNH

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ja-Joon Koo	....	second assistant director
Yoo-chan Park	....	second assistant director
Jung-hun Seo	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Ah-reum Han	....	supervising art director
Sung-pil Jang	....	property assistant
Jai-uk Jun	....	supervising property director
Gyu-sick Kang	....	assistant set manager
Jung-eun Lee	....	property director
Shin-wook Lee	....	art assistant
So-ra Mo	....	art assistant
You-jin Oh	....	supervising property director
Yeong-hee Seo	....	art assistant
Suk-ki Song	....	set manager
Zafar Umid	....	set team
Hyeon-mi Yang	....	set team
Sung-jun Yeo	....	property assistant

Sound Department
Eun-ah Choi	....	dial editor: Bluecap
Hyen-gyu Choi	....	dolby sound consultant
Hyun-kyu Choi	....	dolby consultant
Hee-soo Eun	....	production sound mixer
Yoon-sung Hong	....	adr: Bluecap
Won-jae Jung	....	boom operator
Chang-sub Kim	....	sound effects editor: Bluecap
Chang-sub Kim	....	sound supervisor: Bluecap
Jae-kyung Kim	....	dolby sound consultant
Jeong-sook Kim	....	boom operator
Min Jung Kim	....	dial editor: Bluecap
Suk-won Kim	....	sound supervisor: Bluecap
Jin-hong Park	....	sound effects editor: Bluecap
Seong-yong Park	....	utility sound technician
Gyu-jong Shim	....	foley: Bluecap
Sun-do Woo	....	sound processing: SDL

Special Effects by
Hyoung-gon Ahn	....	makeup special effects team
Jang-pyo Hong	....	special effects: Effect Storm
Jong-bae Jung	....	special effects technician
Ga-Yeon Kim	....	makeup special effects team
Keun-hyung Kim	....	special effects team
Hyun-suk Oh	....	special effects team
Choul-young Park	....	special effects technician
Jae-ho Shin	....	makeup special effects: Mage FX
Ju Hee Shin	....	makeup special effects team
Dea-won Youn	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Sun-Young Ahn	....	matte painting artist
Won-mo Ahn	....	effects artist
Kyung-min Bae	....	digital cinema: Stareast Digital Lab
Back-ho Chae	....	compositor: Mofac Studio
Rick Chang	....	visual effects producer: Mofac Studio
Woo-jin Choi	....	digital i/o: Stareast Digital Lab
Woo-jin Choi	....	telecine: Stareast Digital Lab
Young-sun Heo	....	effects supervisor
Seong-ho Jang	....	digital supervisor
Seongho Jang	....	senior visual effects supervisor: Mofac Studio
Hyun-gi Jeon	....	effects artist
Hye-ryung Jo	....	compositor: Mofac Studio
Young-kyun Joo	....	digital i/o: Stareast Digital Lab
Soo-jung Jung	....	digital cinema: Stareast Digital Lab
Chul-min Kim	....	3D supervisor
Kiseo Kim	....	RND
Sang-heon Kim	....	modeler
So Yeon Kim	....	matte painting artist
Sung-tae Kim	....	on-set supervisor: Mofac Studio
Sung-tae Kim	....	project manager: Mofac Studio
Young Ju Kim	....	compositor: Mofac Studio
Oseong Kwon	....	lead compositor: Mofac Studio (as O-seong Kwon)
Hyo Jin Lee	....	lead compositor: Mofac Studio
Jae-sun Lee	....	digital colorist
Jong-hyeok Lee	....	lead matte painter
Na-kyung Lee	....	effects artist
Sang-wook Lee	....	compositor: Mofac Studio
Sun-young Lee	....	matte painting artist
Tae-won Lee	....	animator
Young Seok Lee	....	shading/lighting artist
Ju-ho Lim	....	compositor: Mofac Studio
In-sik Moon	....	3D lead artist
Sung Oh Moon	....	animator
Chul-hong Park	....	compositor: Mofac Studio
Jung-hoon Park	....	animator
Junu Park	....	effects artist
Ran Park	....	digital converting: Stareast Digital Lab
Young-Soo Park	....	visual effects supervisor: Mofac Studio
Kwang-hyun Ryoo	....	shading/lighting artist
Dae-yong Shin	....	compositing supervisor: Mofac Studio
Oh-hyung Son	....	lead matte painter
Hee-kwon Song	....	modeler
Joon-hee Tak	....	digital converting: Stareast Digital Lab
Chang-gil Yang	....	digital mastering
Myung-soon Yoon	....	telecine: Stareast Digital Lab
Ji-eun Yu	....	matte painting supervisor
Young-sun Yuk	....	digital intermediate assistant

Stunts
Won-chul Coh	....	action team
Min Heo	....	action team
Ji-sun Kim	....	stunt double: Do-yeon Jeon
Hong-Pyo Lee	....	action coordinator: Team Actioners
Ji-sun Park	....	action team
Ju-sun Park	....	stunts
Sung-Gyu Park	....	action team
Jae-Min Shin	....	stunt double: Jung-Jae Lee

Camera and Electrical Department
Jung-seok Chae	....	second assistant camera
Myung-duk Choi	....	light crane
Sally Choi	....	still photographer
Eue-su Hong	....	dolly grip
Kyeong Seok Hwang	....	assistant lighting technician
Yong-geun Hwang	....	scorpio head
Do-hun Jang	....	first "b" assistant camera
Jong Min Jeon	....	first chief lighting technician
Ji-yun Jeung	....	assistant lighting technician
Young-min Ju	....	shooting car
Hoon Jung	....	key grip
Jong-heon Jung	....	jimmy jib assistant
Kee Won Jung	....	"b" director of photography
Hee-seung Kim	....	jimmy jib assistant
Ju-young Kim	....	still photographer
Kwang-su Kim	....	steadicam camera assistant
Kyoung Kim	....	assistant lighting technician
Pyung-ki Kim	....	assistant lighting technician
Seok-in Kim	....	steadicam operator
Dae-hwan Ko	....	jimmy jib assistant
Chang-sub Lee	....	second "b" assistant camera
Hae-won Lee	....	assistant lighting technician
Hak-song Lee	....	scorpio head
Jea-in Lee	....	jimmy jib
Sang-jo Lee	....	scorpio head
Seok-young Lee	....	camera rental: Camplus
Seung-bin Lee	....	assistant lighting technician
Zi-hoon Lee	....	second assistant camera
Ju-cheon Mun	....	jimmy jib assistant
Bhung-ho Oh	....	assistant lighting technician
Chan-hee Park	....	third assistant camera
Se Mun Park	....	lighting director
Seung-hoi Ro	....	shooting car
Seung-hoon Shin	....	assistant lighting technician
Jin-woo Sin	....	jimmy jib
Hyun-lak Son	....	assistant lighting technician
Kok-hwan Song	....	electrician
Gi-young Yoon	....	light truck
Young-soo Yoon	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
So-hee Han	....	extra casting
Jae-yeoun Shin	....	extra casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Se-yeon Choi	....	supervising costume designer
Bo-seul Kim	....	assistant designer

Editorial Department
Eun-cho Chae	....	negative cutter
Jung-kwon In	....	positive processing: SDL
Young-ho Jo	....	positive processing: SDL
Hang-sook Jung	....	lab manager: SDL
Byung-Hyun Kim	....	positive processing: SDL
Chang-hong Kim	....	positive processing: SDL
Dong-ki Kim	....	negative processing: SDL
Ki-sun Kim	....	positive processing: SDL
Tae-hwa Kim	....	positive processing: SDL
Jong-woo Kwak	....	positive processing: SDL
Byung-kyu Kwon	....	negative processing: SDL
Jae-hoon Lee	....	printing: SDL
Suk-Young Lee	....	positive processing: SDL
Youn-jung Lee	....	negative cutter
Eun-kwang Moon	....	printing: SDL
Gi-hyun Park	....	assistant editor
Ji-woon Park	....	color master: SDL
Chung-hwan Seo	....	color master: SDL
Dong-sub Seo	....	printing: SDL
Sang-joon Sin	....	positive processing: SDL
Sun-do Woo	....	lab manager: SDL

Music Department
Jae-hyuck Lee	....	music recording
Eun-jin Lim	....	musician: cello
Ga-jin Lim	....	musician: violin

Other crew
Byoung-keol Ahn	....	legal consultant: Mirovision
Sang H. Bae	....	international division: Mirovision
Bong-kyum Choi	....	film financing: SidusFNH
Ha-jeun Choi	....	international business department: SidusFNH
Jin Choi	....	production assistant
Jung-hoon Choi	....	finance and administration department: SidusFNH
Yun-tae Choi	....	production assistant
Han-jin Heo	....	director of distribution: SidusFNH
Rachel Jang	....	international division: Mirovision
Sena Jang	....	finance and administration department: SidusFNH
Won-seok Jang	....	chemical analyst: SDL
Hye-rin Jeon	....	director of marketing
Ji-eun Jeon	....	finance and administration department: SidusFNH
Moon-gu Jeong	....	insurance
So-young Jeong	....	production assistant
Eun-ok Jung	....	administration department: SDL
Kyung-Il Kang	....	administration: Stareast Digital Lab
Dong-yoon Kim	....	technical supervisor: Stareast Digital Lab
Gina Kim	....	production and marketing director: Mirovision
Hoe-sik Kim	....	production: Mirovision
Hyun-woo Kim	....	production assistant: Mofac Studio
Jang-wook Kim	....	producer: SidusFNH
Ji-hoon Kim	....	chemical analyst: SDL
Jin-sang Kim	....	making-of
Jong-min Kim	....	production assistant
Kyu-sung Kim	....	chemical analyst: SDL
Sue-hyun Kim	....	production: Mirovision
Yun-jung Kim	....	food and food stylist
Chun-kyu Lee	....	chemical analyst: SDL
Hwa-bae Lee	....	head of distribution: SidusFNH
Ji-young Lee	....	administration: Stareast Digital Lab
Kwang-woo Lee	....	producer: SidusFNH
Mi-Jung Lee	....	management and planning: Mirovision
Myeong-hyeon Lee	....	director of distribution: SidusFNH
Seok-joon Lee	....	make-up car
Young-jae Lee	....	head of financing
Chul-woo Lim	....	production assistant
Kyung-heui Moon	....	administration department: SDL
Sung-joo Moon	....	director of financing
Dae-han Nam	....	production assistant
Erica Nam	....	international division vice president: Mirovision
Koong-sun Nam	....	script supervisor
Kung-ju Nam	....	marketing: Mirovision
Mi-jung Noh	....	administration department: SDL
Hee-won Park	....	finance and administration department: SidusFNH
Hye-min Park	....	production assistant
Isabelle Hyejin Park	....	international division: Mirovision
Jong-jun Park	....	film
Joong-hee Park	....	make-up car
Ju-young Park	....	international business department: SidusFNH
Soo-Kyung Park	....	finance and administration department: SidusFNH
Sun-hee Park	....	management and planning director: Mirovision
Young-ja Park	....	language adviser
Nicolas Piccato	....	international coordinator: Mirovision
Yeon Ryu	....	project coordinator: Stareast Digital Lab
Byung-in Seo	....	finance and administration department: SidusFNH
Sae-rom Seong	....	production assistant: Mofac Studio
Eun-ju Shim	....	marketing: Mirovision
Bo-kyung Song	....	administration: Stareast Digital Lab
Young-hun Song	....	production assistant
Jung-sim Won	....	producer: Mirovision
Hyun-suk Yoo	....	food and food stylist
Ja-kyung Yoo	....	food and food stylist
Jin-kyung Yoo	....	food and food stylist
Kaong-byung Yoon	....	technical director: SDL
Sunny Yoon	....	head of marketing

Production Companies

• Sidus FNH-Benex Cinema Fund 1 (presents)
• Michigan Venture Capital (co-presents)
• CJ Venture Investment (co-presents)
• Stareast Digital Laboratory (co-presents) (as Stareast Digital Lab)
• Hanwha Entertainment Fund No. 1 (co-presents)
• Mirovision (production)
• Sidus FNH (co-production)

Distributors

• Festive Films (2010) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2010) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• O'Brother Distribution (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Sidus FNH (2010) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Al!ve AG (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Axiom Films (2010) (UK) (all media)
• EDKO Film (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Long Shong Entertainment Multimedia Company (2010) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (all media)

Special Effects

• Mofac Studio (cgi)
• Mofac Studio (digital intermediate)

Other Companies

• All That Cinema  marketing public agency
• Bitnaneun  advertising design
• Bluecap  sound
• Dabo  printing
• Hancomm  advertising agency
• Hansol Daylight  HMI lighting
• Jonolee  poster still
• Kindinfo  homepage
• Lead Sound  optical sound
• Sebang Digital Lab (SDL)  film laboratory
• Sidus FNH  funding
• ZNE  on-line marketing

Also Known As:

"Hanyo" - South Korea (original title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Australia:MA (2010) | New Zealand:R16 | France:-12 | Singapore:R21 | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R15+ | Hong Kong:III | UK:18 | Germany:16 | Norway:15

Company:

Sidus FNH-Benex Cinema Fund 1

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.3" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Beethoven Piano Sonata 26

A misunderstood artistic drama with a couple of flaws

This movie is a remake from a film of the same name released back in 1960 but both movies are quite different and don't have the same story line. In the original feature, the housemaid seduces a composer and menaces his family until a bloody ending. In the new version, the sexually predatory femme fatale has become a poor and naive girl that gets seduced by an arrogant, cold and pitiless rich man. When she gets pregnant, the host family wants to get rid of her. But neither several attempts on her life nor money can't convince the young woman that wants to keep her child. She even ignores good advices from several friends and colleagues and decides not to quit the powerful family. When abuse, hatred and pressure reach their highest point, the young woman seeks for justice and has to fight not only a very influent and wealthy family but also her inner demons.

The strong points of the movie are definitely the portrait of the clash between rich and poor in modern South Korea and the quite credible acting. I also liked the movie for its artistic approaches. The opening scene shows a scene in the middle of a big city and portrays the everyday life in South Korea before a young and unknown woman commits suicide. Her story remains untold but the idea of showing a lost soul within a big and vivid crowd is an interesting symbol for the main story of this feature. It's the same thing with the final scene of the movie that works like a picture. It portrays a very superficial family portrait where frustration, resignation and sadness is covered by tasty champaign, luxurious decorations and expensive gifts. This last image resumes the entire movie in a short and visual way. It was a good idea to keep those scenes as they add something special to the feature.

Even though the acting in this movie is done rather well, I couldn't get any connection to any of the portrayed characters. While this kept me away from entirely enjoying the feature, I now think that this was the intention of the movie maker. Everybody does some big mistakes in this movie and shows his or her negative sides. Of course, some characters are worse than others but in the end they all ran blindly into tragedy.

The problem I have with the movie is that there are many lengths. It is all quite slow paced and also very predictable. The movie has some dramatic and melodramatic scenes but it lacks of true suspense. Some critics called this movie a flamingly sexy soap opera but I definitely can't agree on that. I actually think that this film is misunderstood by many Western critics. The sex scenes are cold and at some points even disgusting. I think that the director wanted to show us that even in normally exciting and positive moments, the characters are brutal and emotionless. This fits well to the rest of this coherent and quite detailed movie but none of the characters has any kind of sex appeal.

Another point I have mixed feelings about is the main character of the housemaid. Even the actress said in an interview that she still doesn't quite now who she portrayed. This mysterious image is intriguing first but gets quite frustrating in the end. Some actions of the housemaid are not only naive but are simply not logical at all. Especially the final scenes felt like a letdown in my humble opinion. The ending is definitely the only truly surprising element of the movie and gets therefor some credit from me but it somehow feels hardly credible. I would even call the ending unreal and didn't quite enjoy it.

In the ending, this movie is hard to sit through. It has many lengths, lacks of true emotions and has a weird disappointing ending. On the other side, it's an interesting portray of modern society in South Korea and convinces with many artistic elements. The movie feels like its characters as it is sophisticated but somewhat lacks of depth. Anybody who's looking for a sexy thriller or a twisted crime flick will be quickly disappointed. This movie is for those who look for an artistic drama only. I recognize the good intentions and efforts made by the makers of this movie but I didn't like it enough to truly recommend it or watch it again in the end.