Lust, Caution (2007)
"Se, jie" (original title)

An espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, in which a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Eileen Chang (story), James Schamus (screenplay),

Stars:

Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Mr. Yee
Wei Tang	...	Wong Chia Chi / Mak Tai Tai
Joan Chen	...	Yee Tai Tai
Leehom Wang	...	Kuang Yu Min
Chung-Hua Tou	...	Old Wu
Chih-ying Chu	...	Lai Shu Jin
Ying-hsien Kao	...	Huang Lei
Lawrence Ko	...	Liang Jun Sheng (as Ko Yu-Luen)
Johnson Yuen	...	Auyang Ling Wen / Mr. Mak
Kar Lok Chin	...	Tsao
Yan Su	...	Ma Tai Tai
Saifei He	...	Hsiao Tai Tai
Ruhui Song	...	Wang's Aunt
Anupam Kher	...	Khalid Saiduddin
Jie Liu	...	Leung Tai Tai

Storyline

Frustrated in his attempts to assassinate Yee, who is an important official in Japanese-ruled Shanghai, Old Wu, who has lost his wife and two sons as well as two women who had attempted to seduce Yee, now recruits Kuang, Mai Tai Tai, and their troupe of drama students from Hong Kong University in yet another attempt to do away with Yee. Mai Tai Tai is chosen to befriend Yee, which she does by posing as the wife of Mak, befriending Yee's wife and her female friends, and then eventually befriending Yee himself. Even though both get together, they do end up going separate ways, only to meet again four years later. This time Mai is all set to entrap Yee at Chandni Chowk Jewellers which is owned by an East Indian man named Khalid Saiduddin. The question does remain: Will she and her troupe succeed?

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Plot Keywords:

student | hong kong | china | resistance | play | 

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Taglines:

To kill the enemy, she would have to capture his heart....and break her own.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for some explicit sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Focus Features [United States] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA China Taiwan Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Japanese English Hindi Shanghainese Cantonese

Release Date:

24 September 2007 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

Lust, Caution

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£240,665 (UK) (4 January 2008)

Gross:

£744,417 (UK) (18 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hai Sheng Film Production Company, Shanghai Film Group, Focus Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min 148 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Lust, Caution' was submitted as Taiwan's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008), but it was rejected on 17 October 2007 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences because many of the film's personnel were not Taiwanese. Taiwan then substituted Huai-en Chen's Island Etude.

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Goofs

The story ends with Mr. Yee and Wong picking up the ring just after the mahjong game from the opening scene. During this game one of the ladies mentions a ring with a gemstone as large as an egg. While choosing the gem for the ring earlier in the story Wong refers to this remark which clearly takes place later on in the story.

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Connections

References Penny Serenade (1941)

User Reviews

My view

Many people already wrote the plots of "Lust, Caution". I don't repeat again, I just have a few words here...

I have read many reviews from the professional film critics. Some are extremely insulting, and those people didn't understand the film at all. I felt sorry for Ang Lee and all people who worked hard for the film.

"Lust, Caution" is a pure Chinese drama with the bloody China-Japan war and the Chinese cultural context of 1940s: slow pace, old Shanghai, mahjong, the traditional song, hatred, love, loneliness, and the souls of students and traitors.

Do not forget the cultural differences: Western people play the card games; Chinese people play the mahjong games. I don't know either, I always see the body languages of the players.

I personally dislike the raw sexual scenes, however, the film is still a masterpiece!