Lust, Caution

Photos:

In Japanese-occupied Shanghai in the early 1940s, Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) sacrifices her happiness and her body to seduce political leader Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). The aim is that one of Wong's colleagues in the resistance can kill Yee and eventually release the city from Japanese control.

Big question: Can director Ang Lee achieve the same level of stripped-down heartache as his last film, "Brokeback Mountain"?

Skip it: Surely some more details about the oppression and resistance of the era could have been squeezed into the nearly three-hour running time. Instead, "Lust, Caution" is all talk and little action, supported only by the always-relevant notion that oppressors may think they're bringing pleasure when inferiors feel only pain.

Catch it: To find out the most opportune time to ask for gifts. Wong waits until just after sex to say to Yee, "You should give me an apartment."

Bottom line: The graphic sex scenes are rough and animal, and more revealing than anything that happens when people's clothes are on. Despite the raw boots-knocking and a lot of patience, Ang Lee's awkwardly titled "Lust, Caution" still has less honesty and emotional truth than Lupe Fiasco's "Kick, Push."

Bonus: We love when films try to defend their own unnecessary length, as one character explains, "Movies are for people with time to kill." So if you don't have three hours to waste, don't go!

Add a comment