Review of Lust, Caution (2007) by Shazeda M — 10 Jul 2010

This is an interesting political espionage thriller by Ang Lee set in Japanese occupied Shanghai during WWII which is remembered for it's controversial scenes which blacklisted actress Tang Wei for nearly 3 years more than anything else. Tang Wei plays a character Wong Chia Chi who joins the Chinese resistance. They plan to assassinate a Mr Yee as he's a traitor who's working for the Japanese. Mr Yee is an ultra cautious man who has discovered several resistance people trying to get close to him in the past and has had them executed. It's up to Wong Chia Chi to use her sexual feminine wiles to try and trap him using her body and wait until the resistance decide to make their move and kill him.

Lust Caution for me was just too long - at over 2 and a half hours. A good 40 minutes could have been cut easily from it and the story would be none the poorer for it. Many will also probably be put off from the slow pacing of the storyline but those that have the patience will be rewarded by a great movie filled with beautiful cinematography and superb acting by the 2 main leads (Tony Leung and Tang Wei). It's such a shame that it's taken so long for Tang Wei to get her career back up and running after the furore made by the Chinese when this movie was released.