When looking at Ang Lee's body of work, including critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain and Sense and Sensibility, Lust, Caution should not be ignored. This extraordinary piece of film exposes life in occupied Shanghai and the lengths the Chinese are willing to go for the resistance movement. A twisted story of erotic, overpowering love between a beautiful Chinese woman working for the resistance and a powerful man pulling the strings of the Japanese occupation, Lust, Caution earns an NC-17 rating due to the passionate escapades. Brilliantly photographed and composed, this film comprised of Mandarin subtitles is truly a work of art.
Wei Tang magnificently plays Wong, an innocent school girl that transforms overnight into a risk-taking seductress, snaking her way in Mr. Yee’s heart in an attempt to aide in his assassination. The dialogue of the film becomes increasingly complex and meaningful throughout, and Wei Tang expertly delivers her lines. The women of the film wear beautiful costumes by Lai Pan of 1940’s Chinese dress, and Alexandre Desplat’s original musical score melodically flows as the camera follows the seductive glances stolen between Wong and Mr. Yee.
The screenplay is based on a short story by Eileen Chang and touches on themes of sacrificial love and loyalty. By the end of the film, Wong is given a choice between letting Yee walk into his assassination or warning him about it, risking her own life, exposing her true identity. She chooses the latter, a nod to the true passion and love she has for Mr. Yee, regardless of the horrible things he does to her Chinese compatriots. At the same time, she gives up the entire assassination group, and in effect sentences everyone to death. Regardless of the consequences, the depth of the love between Yee and Wong invokes a feeling of admiration akin to Romeo and Juliet. Wong knowingly gives up her life for Yee, but he is restrained by his sense of duty and cannot return her act of passion.
The darkness of the film does not stifle, instead it lends to the treacherous lives of lies and deceit that all the characters in the film lead. The camera work and editing are a perfect match, splicing furtive eye contact between Yee and Wong creating tension and anxiety until it is at last released in sensual sex scenes that, however graphic, are neither raunchy nor distasteful. Ang also directs a visceral scene of raw violence, when the blood hungry group of assassins takes turns stabbing one of Mr. Yee’s assistants. The camera opens to a wide frame shot, leaving nothing to the imagination of the brutal attack that the group feels completely justified in committing.
Interestingly, the film is bookended with talk of rings, bringing the story “full circle” so to speak. It starts with Wong sitting around the table with her new “friends,” the wives of top Japanese occupation officers, discussing their jeweled fingers as they play a traditional board game. The story line flashes back to before Wong meets Mr. Yee, when she is still an innocent school girl, unaware that she will soon join the resistance, and proceeds chronologically from there. The end of the film, when Wong sacrifices herself to save Yee, is set in a jewelry store with Wong trying on the “quail egg” diamond ring Yee has made especially for her. Although normally guarded and unemotional, his love for her is exposed when he says he doesn’t care about the diamond, he just cares about how it looks on her finger; she has become the treasure of his life.
Lust, Caution is a poetic film, directed with a truly artistic eye. Ang chooses the vessel of a period piece to cover topics of love and political passion. The thematic qualities of the story and the inventive direction, editing, and photography harmoniously blend into a visual masterpiece.
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