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Rating of
2.5/4
"Lust, Caution" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 11/15/2012
A patriotic but naive young student volunteers to become a honey trap in a plot to assassinate a collaborator during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Ang Lee's lavish period spy thriller tells the story of an innocent young girl who finds empowerment through her role as sexual bait for Tony Leung's ruthless government spy catcher. The plot punctuates tense scenes of fear of discovery with that of attractive naked bodies, writhing and sweating in suitably "erotic" style but beyond that, there is little to it. All of Leung's suspected activities take place off screen and we learn little of the political situation on a grander stage as the war unfolds. As you'd expect with an Ang Lee project, the performances are immaculate, the visuals beautiful and the direction …
Rating of
3/4
Too Long for Its Own Good
Franz Patrick - wrote on 08/01/2008
Yes, there is no excuse for this movie to be more than two hours long. It dragged on and on but I must admit that I was glued to the screen. I don’t see a lot of Asian cinema so I was automatically interested. Ang Lee made a beautiful picture but I’m afraid it lacks a big emotional wallop. For a thriller about spies, it lacks tension. In fact, this is more an observant picture than anything else. It takes its time to get to the point. And when it finally did, it’s kind of disappointing most of the time. Nonethless, I think all the actors did a great job because I actually believed their characters to exist in the given time period. Not only that, it made me want to learn more about what was going on in that particular era. The infamous sex scenes are the most memorable part of the …
Rating of
1/4
No Lust for "Caution"
Allison - wrote on 10/24/2007
This movie was poor and unenjoyable. No reviews mentioned a terrible rape scene, which was outlandish and complete unexpected. I wish I could have prepared myself mentally for that. I think those can be done well and am generally not opposed to them. But can't Ang Lee do a spy movie where a women has an affair without being brutally raped, and having to pretend she enjoys it? (WTF?!)
Joan Chen was awful while Tony Leung gave one of the best performances of his career. I hope to elaborate shortly.
There were several interesting movie samplings, but like I was telling my friend Lauren, the Casablanca one where Joan Chen is crying totally rips off Godard's Vivre Sa Vie where Anna Karina is crying at a screening of The Passion of Joan of Arc. That is not my favorite Godard moment and …
Rating of
3/4
Wonderfully evocative, but not for everyone
newmans_own - wrote on 10/05/2007
Ang Lee’s newest film, an erotically-charged espionage thriller with more than a few deliberate shades of Hitchcock is definitely not for the casual moviegoer. Not only will its occasionally meandering 2 ½-hour plus running time try the patience of the less easily engrossed, but the intensely graphic sex scenes (the film is rated NC-17, almost exclusively for that reason) will no doubt shock and offend many viewers. But to those that are swept away by the alluring visuals and suspenseful story, LUST, CAUTION will be a rich, wonderfully evocative experience.
The one aspect that will turn away the most viewers is the film’s graphic depictions of sex. Lee does not shy away from the act itself or the frightening, uncomfortable and disturbing emotions connected with it. The film’s …
