The Housemaid (2010)

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

Director:

Sang-soo Im

Writers:

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

Stars:

Jeon Do-yeon, Jung-jae Lee, Yuh-Jung Youn

15 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeon Do-yeon	...	Eun-yi Li (as Do-youn Jeon)
Jung-jae Lee	...	Hoon Goh (as Lee Jung-jae)
Yuh-Jung Youn	...	Byung-sik (as Yuh-jung Youn)
Woo Seo	...	Hae-ra
Ji-Young Park	...	Hae-ra's Mother
Seo-hyun Ahn	...	Na-mi
Jung-min Hwang	...	Eun-yi's Friend
Moon So-ri	...	Obstetrician (as Moon So-Ri)
Jin-ah Kim	...	Doctor
Yi-yeong Shim	...	Doctor (as Jin-ah Kim)
Tae-back Chae	...	Herbal Medicine Shop Doctor
Sin-hwan Jeon	...	Chief Secretary
Sang-min Noh	...	Driver
Soon-kyu Jang	...	Security
Yong-jae Cho	...	Security 2

Storyline

Eun-yi is a playful young woman, a good match for a job as nanny to a precocious child, Nami, the daughter of a wealthy couple, Hae-ra and Hoon. Hae-ra will soon have twins as well. The majordomo, Mrs. Cho, is the household's cold stone center. Before long, Hoon seduces Eun-yi, and when Mrs. Cho tells Hae-ra's mother about the affair, Eun-yi is up against women with wealth, power, and no conscience. Can Eun-yi maintain her dignity and perhaps even put the family in their place?

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Plot Keywords:

mother in law son in law relationship | power of money | abuse of power | jealous wife | south korea | 

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Taglines:

When opportunity knocks, answer at your own risk.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Around 1 hr 9 min, when Eun-yi is sitting on a bed, in the background is a large piece of art with English words faintly visible on it. The words are a quotation from Nathanael West's novel Miss Lonleyhearts, a work with many themes that mirror those in this movie such as depression, lonliness, drinking, adultery, and physical abuse.

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Goofs

The body harness is visible during the hanging.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2010 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major 'Les Adieux', Op. 81a, 'Adagio' (1st Movement)
Performed by Unknown
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

After the first hour, it gets boring

You'd better watch the original movie, 'The Housemaid' directed by Ki-Young Kim in 1960, which is one of the first and finest Korean movie I've seen so far. Compared to the original version, The Housemaid (2010) is really deceiving.

The first hour is OK, but then it gets really boring, even though the acting isn't that bad. It's just a pity that such good actors' talent was wasted (see Do-Yeon Jeon in 'Sunshine (2007)' and Jung-Jae Lee in 'New World (2013)').

Not to mention the ending, which reminded me Brian De Palma's 'The Fury', deceiving too.

Details

Official Sites:

IFC Films [United States] Official site [France]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English

Release Date:

26 January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Housemaid

Filming Locations:

Seoul, South Korea

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,670, 23 January 2011

Gross USA:

$157,961

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,038,301

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sidus FNH-Benex Cinema Fund 1, Michigan Venture Capital, CJ Venture Investment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1