20 LGBTQIA+ stories with upbeat endings

12. The Handmaiden

Just because a couple of women who learn to love one another are also in a thriller movie doesn’t mean that they have to meet a sad or violent end. In fact, they can even triumph over others who tried to suppress and harm them.

The Handmaiden, directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker) is inspired by Fingersmith, the historical lesbian crime novel by Sarah Waters. Only, instead of taking place in Victorian-era Britain, The Handmaiden is set in 20th-century Japanese-occupied Korea.

It begins with Lady Hideko, a Japanese heiress who is the subject of a complicated inheritance plot. A con man who goes by the name “Count Fujiwara” hires a pickpocket named Sook-hee to act as Hideko’s maid. Sook-hee and Hideko grow close and begin a romantic relationship.

We eventually learn that Hideko has a very dark past. Her uncle is abusive and may have caused the death of Hideko’s aunt. He is also part of a seemingly legitimate book trade. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the most lucrative part of his career deals with an underground trade in pornographic literature.

Is it any surprise, then, that Hideko agrees to marry Fujiwara in an attempt to escape her life? However, she must betray Sook-hee in order to flee. Hideko and Fujiwara convince everyone else that Sook-hee is actually the Countess and have her committed to a mental asylum.

However, that’s only part of the story. The Handmaiden, like its inspiration, is full of twists and concealed information. The motivations of Sook-hee and Hideko are moving targets. We only learn their true intentions close to the end of the film. But, like every other work of art on this list, it all works out pretty well for the pair.