Lust Caution review

 Number 699 on the top 1000 films of all time is Ang Lee's erotic, period-war drama 'Lust Caution.'

During the second Sino-Japanese war, Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) is a naive Shanghainese student going to study in Hong Kong which is currently being occupied by Japan in 1938. There she joins the patriotic drama club led by Kuang Yumin (Wang Leehorn,) but soon they decide to make a more meaningful contribution to the war by proposing to assassinate collaborator and puppet leader Mr Yee. Wang (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is drawn into a world of lies and conspiracies, as she is at the centre of a honey trap to catch and kill Mr Yee.

Lust, Caution begins in 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese war before continuing to 1942 Shanghai where part of China were under Japanese occupation. It was very interesting seeing another side of the Second World War. Naturally, many WW2 films in the West focus on WW2 in the West. But there was a whole other war going on in the east. And that isn't something that is really talked about enough. It made a refreshing change to all the Nazi Germany/holocaust films I've watched.

In some ways, this film reminded me of the Dutch film Black Book. Lust, Caution also had morally grey characters conflicted by their own emotions. This created a great dramatic tension that progressed the film nicely. You are wondering when Kuang's plan is going to go wrong. But guessing where and how is what kept me hooked. The production was brilliant as well. From the costume to the set design, I really felt like I was in 1930's Hong Kong/1940's Shanghai.

But, of course, we have to talk about what the film is famous for and that's the sex scenes. It is an erotica after all. Unlike virtually all other sex scenes in films, these actually served the plot and weren't there for pure titillation. To get close enough to the ultra-careful Mr Yee to actually kill him, wang agrees to become his mistress. Initially, she is a virgin, but one of her comrades takes her virginity in an awkward encounter, very befitting of the context. It is the later scenes with Mr Yee that become passionate and steamy. So steamy that the actors themselves were asked if the sex was unsimulated.

The initial sex scene demonstrated Wang's nervousness, but she grows in confidence, as she becomes more committed to her cause. In may ways, it's a theme of female empowerment. In the initial scene, she has her power taken from her, as was China's when Japan invaded, but she slowly takes it back in the later scenes.

This was a very good film. It focussed on a lesser-known part of history with a great parody element. It's probably just best not to watch this with your parents.