Se, jie (2007)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Eileen Chang (story)
James Schamus (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 September 2007 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

Tagline:

To kill the enemy, she would have to capture his heart....and break her own.

Plot:

An espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, in which a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.

Plot Keywords:

Student | WWII | Game | Resistance | China

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 15 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Mr. Yee
Wei Tang	...	Wong Chia Chi / Mak Tai Tai
Joan Chen	...	Yee Tai Tai
Lee-Hom Wang	...	Kuang Yu Min
Chung Hua Tou	...	Old Wu
Chih-ying Chu	...	Lai Shu Jin
Ying-hsien Kao	...	Huang Lei
Yue-Lin Ko	...	Liang Jun Sheng
Johnson Yuen	...	Auyang Ling Wen / Mr. Mak
Kar Lok Chin	...	Tsao
Su Yan	...	Ma Tai Tai
Saifei He	...	Hsiao Tai Tai
Ruhui Song	...	Wang's Aunt
Anupam Kher	...	Khalid Saiduddin
Liu Jie	...	Leung Tai Tai

Also Known As:

Lust, Caution (USA)
Se jie (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for some explicit sexuality; Rated R for strong sexual content and a scene of brutal violence (edited version).

Runtime:

157 min | 148 min (edited version)

Country:

USA | China | Taiwan | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Japanese | English | Hindi | Shanghainese | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:NC-17 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Taiwan:R-18 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | South Korea:18 | Germany:16 | UK:18 | Australia:R | Philippines:R-18 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba) | Norway:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Finland:K-15 | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/18 | France:-12 | Japan:R-18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (heavily cut version) | Singapore:R21 (re-release) (uncut) | Argentina:18 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) (uncut version) | New Zealand:R18 | Peru:18

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Hai Sheng Film Production Company

Trivia:

The song that Wang Jiazhi sings to Mr Yee is entitled "A Singing Girl At The Edge of the World" and was the theme song of a popular film, "Malu Tianshi" (Street Angel) released four years before the events of the film took place. It is still considered an evergreen standard in Chinese pop music and has been covered by many other artists since.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening scenes in Shanghai, Wong is driven in Mrs Yee's Buick, which must be a 1942 model. A "gunsight" hood ornament is clearly seen. That ornament was not used until 1948. Also, the grille of the car changes from one with bars overlapping the front bumper to one with the bars entirely enclosed. The 1942 Buick did not have bars that overlapped the bumper.

Movie Connections:

Features Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939)

This is essentially an Asian Film

I resent that this movie is marketed as an "espionage thriller", or that it's a thematic follow- up to Brokeback Mountain, or that it got an R rating for its graphic sex scenes. It is much more than that. It is a film set in Asia, by an Asian filmmaker, with a special resonance for Asian moviegoers.

I think this is a very personal film for Ang Lee - betraying his private thoughts on his homeland, on sexuality, on truth, on love.

Here in Asia, one shared event in our history binds us all - the Japanese occupation during WWII and all the horrors that came with it.

To retell the anguish of that time through a torrid affair between a collaborator (traitor) and a spy is a brave commentary on how we Asians respond to traumas both personal and collective.

Mr Lee raises unearths some complex emotions towards identity and truth, as revealed in only the most intimate moments between illicit lovers in times of extreme duress.

That Lee chose to make such a film after his phenomenal success in Hollywood, and during this period of phenomenal progress for modern China, gives Lust Caution a heightened sense of relevance and urgency, a film that can potentially invite questions on what it deeply means to be Chinese, to be Asian.

Lee is a master, Tony Leung is divine, Tang Wei is a slow-burning revelation. I highly recommend this film to Asians and non-Asians alike.