As I sit here, having just returned from the movies, I'm finding it a little difficult to churn out a decent review of Ang Lee's latest tale of Erotic Espionage, adapted from a novella by Eileen Chang.
Mesmerized by the beauty of Lee's textured story-telling, the romantic views of late 1930s Shanghai, and his very, very sensuous leading lady, Tang Wei, I still have random, recurring images of the seductive story in my mind, making the task of weaving the visual tapestry together into coherent sentences quite impossible.
But try I must.
Like a subjective work of art, Lust, Caution has received mixed reviews from critics the world over. Some of whom are still pretty hung up on Lee's 2006 Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain. Unfortunately, the movie has generated alot of buzz simply because of its supposedly gratuitous sex scenes. Something my fellow Asian audiences would be disappointed to know, is severely lacking in the cut meant for local consumption. Indeed I was told that Lee personally made the snips to appease the Conservative Bigwigs, so that the version I saw today was really, technically speaking, 98% Caution and 2% Lust. And no, you do not get to see Tony Leung's butt-cheeks or Tang Wei's tits.
So with the Sex out of the way, lets get down to the crux of the story.
Set in WWII Shanghai, Lust, Caution is really about finding one's true Self. The underground Chinese resistance against Japanese Occupation just serves as a poignant backdrop for a tale of 2 people finally coming to terms with who they really are and their sexuality. Those tumultous days, ironically, made it easier for inner feelings to be exposed and hidden desires, manifested. If you were with the right person that is.
Tang Wei plays Wong, an anonymous Chinese undergraduate who unexpectedly finds herself recruited into a clandestine student uprising against fellow countrymen who have become collaborators with the enemy. The most powerful of the new Japanese lackeys is Yee, played by the increasingly gaunt Tong Leung. The man is not a classic pretty boy
per se but one helluva good actor. Wong soon transforms, from relative student obscurity, to a mahjong-playing, high-class Shanghainese
tai-tai, and manages to penetrate the fortress that the extremely cautious and wary Yee, now head of the Secret Police, has built around himself. And also where he routinely brings his fellow countrymen for torture, interrogation and almost certain death. The plan was to seduce Yee into bringing his guard down, long enough for the Resistance to kill him.
Through a heady cocktail of clever seduction, believable innocence and a killer bod in stylish
Cheongsams even Vera Wang would be proud of, Wong manages to trap Yee into her web of patriotic deceit. She plays the role of the
tai-tai only too well and soon finds herself invariably caught up in the euphoria of acceptance and romantic recognition when Yee can't enough of her. In his eyes, she is a somebody, spy-actress or otherwise. And this somehow gives Wong new meaning in life. Yee, on the other hand, finds in her, a release from his latent guilt as Consummate Betrayer and uses the torrid sex he has with the young, comely
tai-tai to remind himself of his fast eroding humanity. Their love-making is very passionate and intense, even sadomasochistic, perhaps reflecting the flames of war that surrounds them. And would eventually engulf them.
Joan Chen and Lee Hom put in credible performances as Yee's Mahjong-addicted wife and Resistance Leader respectively but the true accolades must surely go to newcomer Tang Wei who at once, keeps us spell-bound with both her girlish vulnerability and chic-conniving ability. Its hard to describe, the peaceful gravitas she exudes onscreen with those almond-shaped eyes, porcelain skin and perfect poise. But one thing's for sure, this 20-something will go far.
However, more emphasis on the oppression during the time and the resistance movement created to fight it could have been better explored and woven into the plot. Surely a movie spanning nearly two and a half hours could indulge us in this little piece of ugly history.
But at the end of the day, excellent stuff. And highly reccomended if you're in the mood for love, not lust.
8/10
Labels: Movies