You
may need some patience to appreciate Lust, Caution,
Ang Lee’s latest film (now available on DVD), which is
a tale of love and betrayal in a murky Japanese-occupied China.
Based on a short story, at 157 minutes running time you have
to be thankful it’s not based on a novel. However Lee
is certainly one of the most interesting and controversial contemporary
film directors, with movies like Brokeback Mountain,
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Wedding Banquet
on his list of credits.
He knows the techniques of filmmaking and gets excellent performances
from his cast. Indeed Lust, Caution has some wonderful
moments if slightly dampened because of the slow pacing. It
begs comparison to Black Book which has similar themes,
a film that moves like an express train despite its long running
time. To be fair, after a glacial beginning Lust, Caution
picks up a head of steam towards the gripping finale.
But not helping is the dialogue driven opening sequence, which
actually sets the scene for an assassination. Society women
sit around a table playing mahjong and talking local shopping
gossip. You need your speed reading up to scratch here in the
plethora of subtitles. Not Lee’s fault of course, since
it is filmed in Chinese language; but the opening is a bit daunting
until the plot gets further advanced. The director gives equal
weight to scenes like this and the more intense matters of subterfuge,
sex, and murder.
The film begins in Hong Kong in 1942, then flashes back to
Shanghai during the cruel Japanese occupation in 1938. A group
of students are recruited by the resistance movement to try
and eliminate the sinister powerful figure in the collaborative
government Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). Their chief weapon in this
is lovely young Wong Chia Chi (Tei Wang) whom they manage to
infiltrate the Yee household in the identity of Mrs. Mak and
soon to be seduced by Yee. As his mistress a passionate steamy
affair develops, while at first Wong Chia Chi is revolted by
the vicious Yee in time they both become dependant on their
strange sado-masochistic relationship. Which gradually leads
to a devastating conclusion.
Both
veteran Tony Leung (New Police Story) and brilliant
newcomer Tei Wang in her first screen appearance go well beyond
the call of duty in their portrayals. They’re extremely
talented actors and Ang Lee manages from them performances in
the award class. A fine supporting performance comes from the
excellent Joan Chen (The Home Song Stories) as Yee’s
wife, a small but important part and also Lee-hom Wang as the
radical student leader.
Mr. Yee is the chief interrogator and a much feared person,
no interrogation or torture is actually shown in the movie yet
Tony Leung projects in his cold presence a frightening menace.
Their lively sex scenes will be subject of much discussion as
they are unusually explicit for mainstream cinema, as Lee’s
camera dispassionately observes their athletic and convoluted
bedroom antics. The screen is filled with contorted limbs in
almost abstract patterns.
More disturbing is the scene in which a traitor is murdered
by the students, brutally stabbed to death in the manner of
Julius Caesar proving how difficult it is to actually kill a
person. The cinematography throughout is of the highest quality,
and the era superbly captured; recreating the Shanghai of the
period with what appears to be accuracy.
In this espionage thriller Ang Lee once more explores the theme
of forbidden love, with the heroine playing a role within a
role. There are obvious reflections to the director’s
past work. Despite its length and the pedestrian pacing of a
number of scenes, those who take a patient view of the movie
will be fully rewarded. It’s certainly a film you'll remember.
