After months of sweet anticipation and rounds of the much-hyped-about cuts and censorship, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee’s latest directorial effort, Lust, Caution, is finally delivered.
It’s not easy to follow an Oscar win, knowing that your reputation and name is known to the entire world and the dosage of expectations prescribed is nothing less than exorbitant.

For Lee, Lust, Caution could be a labour of anxiety rather than one borne of love and the honour of the Golden Lion for Best Picture at this year’s Venice Film Festival just before the film’s official release, together with all the hype its been receiving with the series of cuts and censorship, only raised people’s expectations of the film.

Still, the final product proved to be yet another tour de force from the legend himself among his already outstanding body of work, including 1995’s Sense And Sensibility, 2000’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and 1993’s The Wedding Banquet (with the exception of The Hulk, of course – a tragedy we’ve long forgiven him for after Brokeback Mountain).

Lust, Caution was able to capture the essence of 1940s Shanghai in its style, tradition and elegance.

The Story

Newcomer Tang Wei, who was selected by Lee from more than 10,000 females that auditioned for the lead role, stars as Wong Chia Chi – a freshman at a university – who chances upon Kuang Yu Min (Wang Lee Hom), the founder of a drama society. In an effort to shore up patriotism, Kuang gathers a group of students, including Wong, to execute a bold and ruthless plan to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chiu-wai).

Wong plays the lead role in this stratagem and disguises herself as the wealthy Mrs Mak to befriend Mrs Yee (Joan Chen) and establishes closeness with her husband before killing him. Huge and unexpected obstacles come by and Wong has to adopt vehement measures to ensure the success of the espionage and, in doing so, is faced with the dangerous risk of losing her identity, her loved ones and her life altogether.

Lee’s Artistry Further Explored

As we’ve come to expect of Ang Lee, every aspect of this film is beautifully and carefully approached, illustrated and designed, and then weaved together to form what can easily be considered art in it’s most seductive and exotic form with the given circumstances and situation.

Lee keeps the intensity and the action within the film balanced throughout, establishing and maintaining among the audience a deep sense of anticipation.

There’s such a kaleidoscope of captivating elements injected into this film that you won’t ever find your mind wandering –from the intricate details of costume design, especially the alluring range of cheongsams with perfect cuts, high-end silk material and elaborate embroidery, to the clustered design of the crowds in the Shanghai streets that lives true to the culture of the 40s.

Add that with the appeal of the wealthy Chinese lifestyle, the flamboyant and professional styles of traditional Chinese plays, embellished set decoration, copper stone roads, mahjong, Lee’s insightful direction and, above all, the splendid cast, and you’re in for 2 hours’ worth of attention-grabbing visuals.

The Perfect Cast

Tang Wei proved to be a fine choice on Lee’s part, which comes as no surprise considering his renowned ability to pay attention to detail. For her first feature film, Tang is remarkable, balancing the various faces and background of the character – an agent, a lowly and poor minor, a tai-tai (supreme wife), an innocent façade, and the cunning actress waiting to unveil her horns –and holds her own fabulously well amidst a potentially spellbinding collaboration of Ang Lee, Tony Leung, Wang Lee Hom, Joan Chen and Chin Ka-Lok.

It’s with such onscreen brilliance that you know, for sure, Tang took the opportunity offered by Lee for a breakthrough more seriously than Zhang Ziyi did with her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. With this rich, seductive and exquisite performance, Tang has labeled herself as a must-look-out-for in the Chinese film industry in the near future, and she has Lee to thank for this very fortunate label.

Fans of Tony Leung will be able to take pleasure in yet another showcase of his versatility as an actor, and may even be struck with fear with his deeply realistic exposé of Mr. Yee’s dark side.

Leung is, in his own right, naturally intriguing. Throughout, there is an evident sense of control on his part over his character and the fine balance of emotions that he experiences, as well as a positive and artistic influence towards the actors that he plays opposite from. He brings to the set a sense of class.

Joan Chen was a joy to watch as the pampered wife of a well-to-do individual and Wang Lee Hom embodies the role of Kuang rather brilliantly, reminding us what we tend to forget – with his music success – that acting is also his forte, as his performance in China Strike Force (2000) and Moon Child (2003) have shown. The only disappointment that came from Chen and Wang’s performances was that they weren’t allocated more screen time.

The Downfall

The lack of surprise in the film’s ending is possibly the biggest disappointment in the film, following the trend for the conclusion of good versus evil among Chinese films in recent years. It’s a suitable way to end the film, but not the most enticing or satisfying.

A greater involvement of Kuang in Wong’slove life could have spiced up the script and enhanced the intensity of the situation as well. The secret crush Kuang was supposed to have for Wong was barely evident, even from a viewer’s perspective. Such were the elements that caused the film a perfect rating.

And Then There’s The Sex Scenes…

It’snot that the sex scenes that were cut in many Asian countries would have been good to watch, but in most films that take such approaches, sex usually represents an artistic aspect of the film. In this case, it was fundamental in bringing across the struggle and pain that Wong had to go through in her effort to stay true to her disguise and her mission. Even a viewer of the cut version would have been able to identify that.

Thus, it’s sad and unfortunate that most of Asia have been neglected the opportunity to fully appreciate what exactly it is that Wong tries to convey in her sharing about her struggles late in the film. Some may say that the vivid description she uses is sufficient in bringing her message and pain across, but no one can deny that the impact of watching the actual scenes would cast upon the audience a deeper, greater and more accurate understanding of her trials.

Others may feel that the intention to protect artistic portrayals will only lead to audience receiving these scenes in a typical, superficial and commercial way. But that is for no one to judge. It is sad to know that Lee, who stayed strong to his mission of bringing across the love that Jack and Ennis shared through bold scenes of homosexual acts in Brokeback Mountain, failed to stand by his artistry just as strongly this time around.

Nevertheless, cut or uncut, Lust, Caution is yet another fine piece from Ang Lee.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Oct 4

Running Time: 157 mins (uncut) 148 mins (in Singapore)

Language: Mandarin

Cast: Tang Wei, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Wang Lee Hom, Joan Chen

Director: Ang Lee