English Title: Lust, Caution
Language: Mandarin, some amount of Japanese, English, Hindi, Shanghainese, Catonese
When Tony Leung acts in movie, I watch it.
He is one of the BEST actors in the world. If you have been following Chinese movies, you would know that Tony Leung - Kar Wai Wong combination have made some fantastic movies. Ang Lee himself being a good director, I watched this movie with great expectations. And WOW!
The period is Second Sino-Japanese War
The main characters are -
- Secret service head and a Japanese collaborator, Mr.Yee
- Young student, Wong Chia Chi, who enthusiastically joins
a resistance group to make a difference
- Sex
The plan is to seduce Mr.Yee, be aware of his whereabouts, and kill him at a vulnerable moment.
How the plan is carried out and what ends up happening is the story of this movie. And it is very interesting.
But why did I mention sex as a main character?
Seducing Mr.Yee is big part of the movie. Yee knows that there are many people who hate him for being a Japanese collaborator and want to assassin him. He does not believe anyone. So you see seducing Mr.Yee and getting him to actually trust you, is difficult. The job is even more dangerous because Yee is cold, very withdrawn.
What starts as an amateur idea to infiltrate into Yee's household, becomes a serious mission over time. This job of getting access to Mr.Yee falls on Wong Chia Chi. Wong Chia Chi is a young student, enthusiastically joins a drama group, and is also dealing with her own abandonment issues by her father. Even though she takes up the mission, she really does not have any personal vengeance against Yee in her mind unlike other people who are part of the resistance group. They tell her he is a traitor, she believes that.
After she successfully gets Yee's attention, sex becomes a big part of the movie. The emotions, feelings, trust or the lack of it, opinions Yee and Wong Chia chi have about each other is simply shown through the sex scenes. What starts as a violent abuse by Yee who only wants her body, slowly transforms into love making and finally into love. This is the best part of the movie.
Ang Lee beautifully shows this transformation in the way in the way they hold each other, in the way they kiss and so on. No words do the talking. He is still cold and withdrawn. But you slowly see that he has begun to trust her and treat her with care; care in the most subtle way. At the same time, you see that she is slowly losing any anger and purpose. I cannot think of any other movie that has managed to speak so much through few sex scenes. Absolutely wonderful and creative!
Even though you know Yee is no saint, you understand him a little, his longing and his heart. And by the end of the movie, you will, maybe just a little, start falling in love him too. Tony Leung takes the credit of this. One of his best performances!! He switches from being violent to soft to a gentleman with ease. When you look at Yee you don’t think he can be violent and as you know him more, you don’t think he is capable of such love. Tony Leung brought such a mystery to this character and I can go on and on about Tony Leung. Wei Tang's performance was great considering it is her first movie?
Some might quickly dismiss the movie over the sex scenes. But I feel it is integral part of this movie and project all of its beauty. The cinematography is brilliant, especially when the wives play Mahjong. This definitely is one of a kind movie. I don’t think a movie like this can be achieved again.
Keep watching this space, for more life, love and cinema.
