Reviewed by Cassam Looch
Stars Tang Wei, Tony Leung, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang,
Chung Hua Tou, Chih-Ying Chu, Yue-Lin Ko, Johnson Yuen
Written by James Schamus & Hui-Ling Wang,
based on a short story by Eileen Chang
Certification UK 18 | US X
Runtime 158 minutes
Directed by Ang Lee
Recently, we saw old master Francis Ford Coppola return to the big screen and fail to ignite with a story that failed to find meaning and clarity of thought. The main problem with Youth Without Youth was that existentialism often alienates the majority of viewers while profoundly resonating to a handful of chin-stroking outsiders. Ang Lee faces the same problem with this mammoth story encompassing espionage, an elaborate honeytrap and the internal politics of a multi-layered Chinese society. However, Lee is in fine form following on from Brokeback Mountain, and Lust, Caution is a beautiful and intriguing adaptation of a literary favourite and already a frontrunner for film of the year.
Wong Chia Chi (Wei), an idealistic young woman and fledgling political activist, joins a radical underground movement determined to provide resistance and punish collaborators during the Japanese occupation of China. Along with her fellow inexperienced rebels, Wong is dispatched to infiltrate the household Governor Yee (Leung) and his socialite wife. The regular gatherings they hold serve little purpose other than allowing the women to pass judgement on one another, but Wong manages to catch the eye of Mr Yee. Inexperienced in the art seduction, she looks to a fellow activist with whom she has an emerging romance to help, but he declines and suggests she looks elsewhere. The following experiences change her forever, and when she meets Mr Yee years later they begin a torrid and abusive affair which may still all be part of a grand scheme to disarm the cautious politician.
A lot of attention has been focused on the explicit nature of some of the film's later scenes. The fact that these are in the final third of the film and absolutely integral to the progression of the story means the fuss is misplaced. The focus should instead be on the amazing sets, superb central performance by newcomer Tang Wei and a director in tune with the dense source material.
Based on a short story by Eileen Chang, Lee has crafted a visual feast that delivers on every level. Working again with writer Schamus, who has a gift in substantiating even the slightest original stories, Lust, Caution is the director's most personal film to date. The attention to detail from the streets of Shanghai to the face of the leading lady is perfect to the period. The film is a labour of love which is welcoming enough to a wide audience while providing thought-provoking enlightenment for all.