LUST, CAUTION

I’ve been stewing on what I think of this movie just about every day since I first watched it three weeks ago. My initial reaction was that I could have done with a touch less lust, and indeed a bit less caution. I wanted to love it, and when I wasn’t trumpeting its greatness I began to ask myself why. It was an intriguing story, with some solid directing, and good acting. So why was I left wanting? My only guess, is that with the expectation I had of the film coming in, the total result wasn’t quite as good as the sum of its parts.

LUST, CAUTION is a story about Wang Jiazhi (Wei Tang), a university student in Japanese occupied China during World War II. She and her fellow students hatch a plan to infiltrate an enemy regime, and attempt to assassinate the leader. The plan involves Wang meeting Mrs. Yee (Joan Chen) and gain enough of her trust so that she’ll introduce her to Mr. Yee (Tony Leung), the captain in charge. Mr Yee is quickly drawn to her subtle seduction, and begins an affair with her. At first everything seems to be going to plan, but as she continues to spy and relay what she’s learned back to Jie Se (Lee Hom Wang), she struggles with the fact that a part of her is falling in love with her target. The story is slightly complicated, but an intriguing one.

Much of the acting is good, if a tad too subtle. The movie really belongs to Wei Tang, who as Wang tries her hardest to contain the secrecy of her objective, and understand the passion of this strange relationship she has began. Yee professes his love and wanting for her, though she doesn’t seem to completely trust his word. After all, the fact they are meeting for constant sexual rendez-vous might be tinting his whole view of the situation. At the same time, there is an undeniable chemistry between her and Jie Se, the last man standing from her original group. Wei’s expression whenever they are together is one of true love and wanting, and I would have enjoyed seeing more of their story.

Much has been made of the film’s cinematography, but that was actually one area where I was most disappointed. Ang Lee’s movies are some of the most consistently best-looking films, and just about every time I watched one for the first time there was at least one “that’s a great shot” moment. I didn’t get that with LUST, CAUTION, so while it is shot well, it didn’t strike me as visually interesting as some of Lee’s other films like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN or THE ICE STORM. That said, I did enjoy the scenes that involved the four women conversing over their game of mah–jongg. It reminded me a lot of the scenes in EAT, DRINK, MAN, WOMAN where the characters talk passionately as they cook.

There are some lengthy sex scenes in the movie that has landed it an NC-17 rating Stateside, and an 18A in Canada. While the movie certainly isn’t for kids, I can’t say I agree that it deserves the scarlet letter that an NC-17 carries (limited play, limited marketing). While it has a touch of S&M, the sex isn’t exploitive, nor is it especially provocative. Thinking back, it might just be that it seemed a bit too real for groups like the MPAA to let pass. At the same time, I can’t help but scratch my head at Ang Lee’s decision to keep the scenes intact and take the hit. The movie is already a tad long, so trimming it down a bit wouldn’t hurt, and these scenes don’t do very much to establish plot or character. If this film ends up flying under the radar, you could probably blame it on one butt shot too many.

I’m left a tad confused, because the film actually won The Golden Lion Award – Best Picture at The Venice Film Festival. My confusion may continue, since Taiwan has tapped it as their entry for the best foreign film Oscar. The movie is good, but it’s not that good. I’ve said before that when I sit down to watch a movie, I do so with an open mind in the hopes that I will enjoy myself. In the case of LUST, CAUTION I had high expectations because of how much I loved Ang Lee’s prior work. I might have sat down expecting too much, because I think back on the movie, and don’t feel moved the same way I was with Lee’s other movies. While you could certainly do far worse than LUST, CAUTION for your money right now, I’d suggest going out and renting THE ICE STORM or CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Treat yourself to Lee’s great movies, rather than his good one.