Lust , Caution (2007)

Director : Ang Lee
Rating : 2.5 out of 5

My heart is still beating even after watching for "Ang Lee" 's latest release "Lust, Caution" ; a movie about a woman spirit changing from sexual explicit to Forbidden Love .

Setting in WWII-era Shanghai , new comer Wei Tang give the outstanding performances as innocent Wang Jiazhi who was used as a lure for the mission. The movie open with the women group who playing Mahjong. After that Mark Tai Tai (Wei Tang) goes into the cafe ,places a call, and then sits and waits. She remember her story began several years earlier as shy and innocent Wang Jiazhi. The student group in Hong Kong to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung) and she has to play as Mark Tai Tai who will gain Yees trust by befriending his wife (Joan Chen) and then draw the man into an affair. Anyway they fail but Wang have to lost her virginity to her friend to seduce Mr.Yee . After 3 years later, the group restart their plan and that time she can influenced Mr. Yee. But finally Wang really fall in love to Mr. Yee and she let him escape from their plan . At the end all the students are killed by Japanese for their plan and Mr.Yee enter the room where their (Mr.Yee and Wang) first encounter.

Sex paly very important role in this movie ,Wang's love for Mr. Yee . Actually Wang is sexually abused by Mr. Yee for the first time. The later sex scenes show the mutual understanding, love ,obsession and sexual emotion between two characters especially for second and third encounters.

Anyway the movie shown in Singapore is edited version and the sex scenes are just briefly shown and no explicit scenes. Mr. Lee rated this film as "M21" in USA and Taiwan but for others like mainland China and Singapore he cut out about "10 minutes" of sex scene. Over all this movie is good emotional and should watched.

For actors' performance Wei Tang is the most outstanding and main charcter. She give the outstanding and natural acting.She one of most promising star that she will be the leading lady in Chinese Cinema followed by Joan Chan , Gong Li and Ziyi Zhang.

Other characters are faint and not clear even Mr. Yee. I think Mr. Lee waste the talented Joan Chen for neglected wife role and just playing Mahjong . For the whole this film is watchable. Good but not be classics like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But congrats Ang Lee for giving us this wise emotional movie.