Ah-ga-ssi

In drei Versionen entrollt sich ein Vexierspiel zwischen Dominanz und Betrug, Verbrechen und Liebe, das uns, im besetzten Korea der 1930er Jahre, quasi in die Wunderkammer patriarchaler Gewalt führt. Als dessen zentrale Inkarnation hat sich der vollständig an die Kolonisatoren angepasste Koreaner Kouzuki in seinem fantastischen, viktorianisch-japanischen Schloss eine monströse pornografische Bibliothek eingerichtet und delektiert sich an der sadistisch ausgelebten Macht über seine Nichte Hideko. Doch mit deren neuem Dienstmädchen Sook-hee fügt sich eine neue Variable in die erstarrte Matrix der Gewalt und macht den Ausgang der Geschichte unberechenbar. (Barbara Kronsfoth)

AH-GA-SSI is so rich in detail, narrative and possible readings that it warrants re-viewing at any time. For a programme that aims to present a small overview of the Korean post-colonial gaze, there is hardly a more essential film. With a plot that clearly gives its female protagonists the upper hand, the Korean title refers to both of these young women, not just the titular handmaiden, but also the Japanese heiress. By contrast, their male counterparts are at a loss about their identity. The (fake Japanese) Count asks the (Korean) uncle of the Japanese heiress: “Why this urge to become Japanese?” “Because Korea is ugly and Japan is beautiful.” As Park Chan-wook explains in a 2016 interview with Film Comment, “there are those people in Korean society, found among the intellectuals in the upper class, who during the Japanese occupation would worship the Japanese. These days, they could be worshipping the Americans. […] There’s a Korean term, sadaejuui, that is used to uniquely express this notion, where the people of a smaller nation are so drawn to the power of a larger nation, and become subservient to that power. They internalise it so much that they are not worshipping the bigger power by force, but are doing it voluntarily.” (Gerwin Tamsma)

Park Chan-wook: THE MOON IS... THE SUN’S DREAM (1992), JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000), SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE (2002), OLDBOY (2003), LADY VENGEANCE (2005), I’M A CYBORG, BUT THAT’S OK (2006), THIRST (2009), STOKER (2013), LIFE IS BUT A DREAM (2022, K), DECISION TO LEAVE (2022)