I faced two
dilemmas as I thought about beginning my review of Kim Ki-Young’s The Husemaid (1960). On a secondary level, I wasn’t sure whether
or not I should view the 2010 remake of the film. That version has been stored in my DVR for
months now, as I debated seeing it before the original, fearing that I might
never find a copy. Once again, the
lifeblood of this quest that is YouTube delivered, and it became obvious that
seeing the remake wasn’t necessary. This
film should stand on its own merits.
That is a principle of criticism and should be respected, of course, but
it just so happens that this movie doesn’t need any other leg to stand on – dilemma
averted.
My primary
concern still remains: I simply do not know how to categorize this work. Now, before I lose you (dear reader) let me
state emphatically that this film does not fit the cliché of “defying genre.” It is a drama with morose and even morbid overtones,
probably a precursor to the psychological thriller, but tonally it never fully
steps outside of any bounds not laid down by Hitchcock (though it does exceed
the limits of the Hollywood production code that limited Hitch for most of his
career). The 1001 text notes that
there is a dash of Buñuel in here as well, and it is correct, but the American
film that this Korean picture most closely resembles is What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (made two years later, in 1962, by
Robert Aldrich). In both movies a
complex, multi-level set is employed to invoke a system of hierarchy reliant on
emotional and psychological power, and in both films this technique is wildly successful.
Mr. Kim appears
at first to be a minor character in his own story. He works as a music teacher for a company that
offers clubs such as a choir as after-hours recreation for their female workers
in order to reduce opportunities for labor organization. Many of the women find him attractive, but
obligation to his family and a fear of being fired prevent him from ever acting
on these crushes. One day he receives a
love letter from one of his students. He
notifies the company of the incident, and the girl is fired. When she later commits suicide his guilt is
overwhelming. To atone, he offers a friend
of the woman a favor. She wants another
female worker out of the factory, and he offers to take the woman on as a
housemaid. He’s in the process of
building a large modern home for his wife and two children, and he believes
that hired help will be beneficial as both domestic aid and social status elevator.
When the
maid arrives, she is neither polite, nor particularly helpful. Mr. Kim doesn’t much care for her attitude,
or her chain smoking, but the friend to whom he feels he owes the favor makes
frequent visits in the form of requests for piano lessons. He doesn’t want to let her down, so he does
all he can to keep up appearances. His
wife is pregnant with their third child, his daughter is partially paralyzed,
and his son is a brat. One more stressor
won’t break him. This status quo is maintained
for several months, but in a moment of weakness, when his wife is away visiting
family, he is seduced by the housemaid.
He regrets his actions, and momentarily believes that they can be swept
under the rug, but when the woman announces that she is pregnant, he is
trapped. He tells his wife that he is
the father, expecting for her to demand a divorce, but she refuses to give up
the house and the comfortable life they have built and to be shammed by his
actions. She insists that the maid be
kept on, and that appearances continue to be kept up.
This story
could play as unbearable melodrama, but director Kim knows he has better
emotions to work with here. Together in
the house these characters will be forced to come to terms or to blows, and the
director knows that the drama lies in the question of if and when an incident
will destroy the equilibrium. Time and
again as the situation progresses plausible solutions or opportunities for relief
present themselves, and each time characters’ attempts to redirect the situation
for their own benefit backfire.
Questions arise. With whom will
Mr. Kim Sleep? How will either of the
new children be welcomed? Will the
existing children suspect?
The set
here really does play an important role.
It represents both everything that Mrs. Kim is unwilling to part with,
and, with its varying narrow spaces, deep rooms, and sliding doors, the elements
that both unite and divide the unusual family.
Hallways and shared balconies connect and separate various pairings, and
in the middle of it all, the stairs partition those in power from those who
serve. The level on which the figure of authority
resides however is constantly in shift.
Music from the piano on the second floor regularly fills the house, but the
varying fingers from which these notes spring forth often dictates its mood.
There is
nothing on the surface level of this film that is in and of itself creepy, but
when you look at the characters and their motivations suddenly it becomes eerie. Why do they all act as they do? Are material possessions and appearances that
important? Is power over someone you
loath that addicting? Can satisfaction
be found in one’s self simply knowing that you’ve deprived others of it? And why is the daughter on crutches? Does she have to be more ostensibly pathetic
for the audience to sympathize with the family?
Or is this just another element of the film meant to make us realize
that life is not fair?
In some
movies, this many questions would mean a failure. Here they note a resounding, albeit cynical,
success. The Housemaid is a film for anyone interested in examinations of
the human capacity for cruelty, but devoid of any desire to see the Saw series. Here the torture is on the inside, where it
can really hurt. It’s also a darn good
piece of filmmaking from a technical standpoint. The production design team delivers in spades
a setting for twisted drama, and Kim (the director, not the character) uses
every angle of their work to heighten the dramatic action in his.
Language: Korean
Runtime: 111 Minutes
Available@YouTube.com
Grade: 3.5 Hats Off
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