#lust caution

Lust Caution / Se, jie (2007)

director : Ang Lee

after the novel by Eileen Chang :

"...cynical old fox like him would not delude himself that a pretty young woman would attach herself to a squat fifty-year-old merely for the beauty of his soul; a failure to express her material interest in the affair would seem suspicious. Ladies, in any case, are always partial to jewelry. She had, supposedly, traveled to Shanghai to trade in feminine luxuries. That she should try to generate a little extra profit along the way was entirely to be expected. As he was in the espionage business himself, he probably suspected conspiracies even where they didn't exist, where no cause for doubt had been given. Her priority was to win his trust, to appear credible. So far they had met in locations of his choosing; today she had to persuade him to follow her lead."

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Synopsis :

Se, jie raconte comment une jeune et belle étudiante nommée Wang Jiazhi 王佳芝, membre d’un groupe d’activistes patriotes, sous couvert d’une fausse identité (Mme Mai 麥太太, épouse d’un commerçant) séduit un certain Monsieur Yi 易先生, responsable de la sécurité et des renseignements au service de Wang Jingwei 汪精卫 (1883 – 1944), chef du gouvernement collaborateur de Nankin durant la seconde guerre sino-japonaise. Son but est de le faire tomber dans un guet-apens en vue de l’assassiner. Finalement, après deux ans de relation, en 1942, alors que l’attaque va avoir lieu, l’espionne prend conscience des sentiments profonds qu’elle éprouve pour sa cible – et des sentiments que sa cible éprouve peut-être pour elle – et lui sauve la vie en lui conseillant de s’enfuir. Ce geste d’amour lui sera fatal, puisque Monsieur Yi la fera arrêter elle et ses complices et qu’ils seront fusillés. C’est cette journée fatidique qui est racontée dans le récit.

Lust, Caution

A group of Chinese students form a resistance group during World War II and plan to assassinate an official from the Japanese-controlled collaborator government in Shanghai.

Stars Tang Wei as Wong Chia Chi who seduces Mr Yee to lure him into a trap.

Ang Lee is unquestionably a great movie director, with many critically acclaimed, award winning titles in his filmography. This one is no exception, but is one of his more controversial works, and has been censored in several countries for including very explicit sex scenes. Trigger warning for a rape scene as well.

It is beautifully shot. Tang Wei delivers a masterful nuanced performance.