Lust, Caution (2007)

Loyalty overcome by longing -- in this sumptuously filmed tale of occupied China

Wong Chia Chi is a young and inexperienced woman from Shanghai, studying at a Hong Kong university to escape from the Japanese occupation of her home city. She is soon caught up with a group of idealistic young revolutionaries, in a plot to assassinate Mr. Yee, a high ranking official in the collaborationist government. Posing as Mrs. Mak, the wife of a wealthy businessman, she insinuates herself into the family of Mr. Yee, eventually winning his trust and becoming his mistress. Trouble is, the line between her passions and her pretense begin to slowly crumble, leading to questions where her ultimate loyalties lie.

This is a gorgeously filmed and subtly acted story of love, lust and betrayal. It does plod along a bit after a while, but for the most part kept me engaged and interested in the ongoing intrigue. While there are several secondary characters, the focus is on the developing relationship, that begins as savage lust and becomes an intimate and tender bond. Mr. Yee -- played by Tony Leung -- is both ruthless and refined, troubled and self-possessed. Tang Wei plays Wang Chia Chi/Mrs. Mak -- and moves brilliantly between the wide-eyed curiosity and anguish of a bright young woman who has been abandoned by her father, and a demure but articulate and seductive Mrs. Mak.

It is a shame that most of the attention this film received on its release centered around the volatile and savage scenes of passion -- for which this film received an NC-17 rating -- since it is a carefully produced and effective period piece and the sex is filmed to portray character rather than to titillate. This review is based on the R-rated version which I saw on dvd, and in that version it struck me that the sex was filmed in a way that underplayed its eroticism. Or, a better way to put that is that the scenes convey two people who are unable to achieve intimacy -- and the only genuinely erotic scene of love play between them was their final intimate scene in which they are fully clothed and she sings to him. Only at that point did he let his guard down and when she touches his hand it is as if they are genuinely touching for the first time. July 4, 2008

A Glamorous Noir Vision of China

Chinese auteur Ang Lee is the chameleon of directors. Who else has such a broad, genre-busting resume? A period piece based on a beloved classic of English literature (Sense & Sensibility); a superhero flick (The Hulk); a meditation on dysfunctional 1970s suburbia (The Ice Storm); another period piece about two doomed cowboys in the love that dared not speak its name in 1950s Wyoming (Brokeback Mountain). Lee returns to his country and language of origin with "Lust, Caution". This follow-up to 2005's "Brokeback" explores lust of a more traditional sort between a beautiful young woman and a powerful man in 1942 Shanghai. Complicating what would otherwise be a straightforward clandestine affair is that the man is a high-ranking official in the Chinese collaborationist government and the lovely young woman is a member of the resistance fighter cell targeting him for assassination. Her mission: get close, really close, to her target, close enough so that he will fall in love with her, drop his guard and therefore become vulnerable. The plan works, but it works too well, as the Chinese Mata Hari finds herself falling for the man she is on a mission to kill.

Not since "The Last Emperor" has China looked so glamorous on film. Equally glamorous and a real find is its leading lady, Tang Wei, in, remarkably, her first feature film. She gives a nuanced and gutsy performance in a grueling and often brutal role, as her character undergoes a transformation from naive schoolgirl to glamorous, capable espionage agent and sexually conflicted woman. The graphic scenes of rough sex (featuring at least 47 positions from the Kama Sutra) were an integral part of the director's vision, but the violent coupling of this pair is profoundly unsettling. Tang's high-ranking lover is played by Tony Leung, but not the Tony Leung of "L'Amant", the reminiscent love scenes notwithstanding. This Mandarin-language film presents a challenge for English-speaking viewers to keep up with the subtitles, but it presents a facet of Chinese history that is rarely explored on film. We have many films featuring the French Resistance, but none, until now, depicting its Chinese counterpart. A demanding but worthwhile film-viewing experience.
June 27, 2008

Great characters, but needs more historical context

I recognize that many aspects of this movie are nothing short of greatness. Ang Lee has once over outdone himself in a new genre - that said, "Lust, Caution" is deeply lacking as a Chinese movie published to the Western world. While the characters' actions are moving, there is not enough historical context to explain their motivation. For example, the audience is not introduced to any of the horrendous crimes on the part of the Chinese collaborator guy that justify the plots against him. There was even less mention of what was happening to China at the time, which diminishes the blood-pumping patriotism that is at the heart of the struggle against the lust/love. Equally unexplained was why the resistance made the decisions they made, which just makes the movement look ineffective if not stupid.

As a short story on paper, the plot may have been crafted to leave plenty of room for a reader's imagination to ponder on the morales. As a feature-length film on the big screen, the same plot is just too unsatisfying, especially to an audience who are not necessarily familiar with its background.

Good stuff. It just had the potential to be SO much better... June 14, 2008

Loved this film

Another film I purchased after renting it. I only wish I had seen it on the large screen....one would really have the feeling of being there in this time period.

Brilliant editing, filming, script, performances, story telling as well as sensual.... it is a breathtaking film!

Highly recommended! June 9, 2008

a dish best served cold

I have to admit I did not read the original story this movie based on.
With that aside, I find this movie ending very " disturbing ".
May be Mr. ang lee do not want to excrcise too much artistic freedom ( ala that Demi Moore's Scarlet Letter fiasco ), but a director's cut is in order with alternate endings.
1. The bad guy died in hails of bullets......happy ending but no depth.
2. The bad guy and girl died in hails of bullets..... better ending, it shows girl died for country and " love/lust " .
3. Final scene shows girl playing mah-jong with ring on finger..... best ending, total betrayal of country and submission to love/lust.

As it is now, it's like a dish that's once great but a bit cold..... something is missing and it's not a good feeling. June 9, 2008

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