Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Sè, jiè (Lust, Caution)
2007
****
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Tang Wei, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Joan Chen, Leehorn Wang, Tou Chung-Hua, Chin Kar-lok, Chu Chih-Ying

It's 1938 in Hong Kong, and a group of patriotic students devise a plan to assassinate a police chief who collaborates with the occupying Japanese. Young Chia Chi is to seduce and lead Mr. Yee into a trap, but when she gets close to him, her allegiances start to blur. This sounds like a rather obvious set-up for a romantic spy drama, but Ang Lee is the master of unspoken emotions (even if the film is most famous for the graphic sex scenes). The courtship is subtle and restrained, and when the lust finally kicks in, the true emotions remain in the dark. The period is beautifully captured, but we never fully understand what the occupying forces and the collaborators are up to. This personal and historical ambiguity keeps you intrigued but leaves you slightly frustrated. Nevertheless, Tang Wei and Tony Leung are excellent as the two ambivalent lovers. Based on Eileen Chang's novella.