This film was made and released at a time where freedom of expression had come to Korean cinematic practices as then the right for film censorship had been transferred from the government to civil organizations, specifically the Film Ethics Committee. This freedom, both democratic and artistic, was momentary, however, due to a military coup d’état on the 6th of May 1961. The imprecise year from the revolution to the new military regime provides a temporal window of artistic cinematic practice and haebang (liberation). From 1960 to 1961, Korean auteurs such as Yu Hyun-mok and Lee Man-hui, together with Kim Ki-young, made films that addressed ‘dark social realities’ such as Aimless Bullet/ Oboltan (Yu Hyung-mok, 1961) and Kaleidoscope/ Jumadeung (Lee Man-hui, 1961) (along with much more).
The Housemaid is commonly described as one of the three or four most significant Korean films of all time and was a huge box-office success upon original release.
The movie has been widely praised as a classic displaying expertise in filmmaking skill during a relatively early period of Korean cinema history
The editing of this movie is unlike anything I have ever seen before. How the scenes are cut especially are very distinct. It is as if the camera does a spin in a fast motion. I am not however familiar with this particular technique. However, the editing in this film can be compared to that of renowned filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock in his film vertigo.
Kim Ki-young’s style is similar to Hitchcock when looking at the film’s interesting camera angles, & unusual camera movements, zooming in and out from one room to another with a smooth technique. Every shot has a purpose, even the littlest, seemingly random things in the house helped in adding to the sinister feel of the movie. Add in the piano sounds properly injected in scenes, the result is a portentous, uncanny mood all throughout. The editing is noticeably very clean. I really like that fade out-fade in the transition of scenes, especially when compared to films nowadays with their idle editing styles.
