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Title: Lust, Caution
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There is a point in everyone’s life when they are young, naive, and stupid. They are kids turning into adults, ready to change the world, not caring what gets in their way. So is the way of a group of young college students in “Lust, Caution.” In the film these students are living in Shanghai during the brink of World War II. They are an idealistic group of six, four men and two women, putting on plays to show their support for the Chinese government. In the play, the young woman Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) is the star of the play, inspiring all the audience members in the theater to get out of their seats and start chanting “Long live China.” It is this knack for acting that inspires the leader of the group, Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom), to use Chi as the key player in the groups next big plan: Assassinating Mr Lee (Tony Leung), a military man who has been collaborating with the Japanese and turned traitor against China.
The plan is simple: Find a way to get Mr. Lee alone and kill him. This plan is not as easy as originally planned though, as Mr. Lee is a cautious man. So cautious in fact, that he doesn’t go anywhere that is dark. He doesn’t even go to the movies anymore (poor sap). But he does take a liking to Chi, now under the alias of Mrs. Mak Tai Tai. As you might expect, the two start a passionate affair, where both have much to risk. Mr. Lee risks his safety as he becomes less and less cautious around Chi. Chi risks her heart though, as she starts to fall more and more in love with Mr. Lee. During their love making the camera is wise to show us the scenes in full, giving us a visual glimpse of the conflict that is buried within both characters. The more conflicted the characters are, the rougher the sex.
After one conflicted night with Mr. Lee, Chi spends the morning contemplating how involved she’s gotten in his life. Mr. Lee was being less cautious then usual that night. So much so he left the gun on the table next to the bed. How easy it would have been for her to grab the gun and kill this man. So why didn’t she? Was she caught up in lust, or was she caught up in love. Once again we are reminded that while sex can be used as a weapon, it is also your own worst enemy when used in something it has no business being used in. “Lust, Caution” was directed by Ang Lee, the Academy Award winning director who brought us last years critically acclaimed (though in my eyes wildly overrated) film “Brokeback Mountain,” another movie about forbidden love and dangerous affairs.
Lee has also directed the Academy Award winning films “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Sense & Sensibility,” along with mainstream fair like “Hulk.” To view his resume is to appreciate what a diverse director he is, and know that “Lust, Caution” is in good hands from being just another espionage thriller. But all these films have one common theme Lee is good at making: The movie about characters who want out of the situations their in, but can’t get out because deep down they love the situations their in. Likewise, this movie has a young woman who hates the situation she’s in, hates it the more she has to deal with it, yet can’t find a way out of it as she comes to love it too much the more she’s in it.
Aside from the great acting and stunning visuals, “Lust, Caution” is a movie that causes you to feel. Feel what? That I leave for you to decide, because I think the answer to complicated and to open ended to truly answer. It’s important for a movie to make you think about the movie, but it’s more important for the movie make you feel strongly about it, which “Lush, Caution” certainly does. The ending of this film may be the most daring ending I’ve seen all year, and part of me saw it saw it coming. “Lush, Caution” is a film that, regardless what people say, is a movie that is bound to leave with conflicted feelings about the events in the film. But that’s okay, because we all think to much about movies anyway. It’s how you feel about them that’s important.
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -
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