Lust, Caution (2007, USA/Chinese)

I find it so odd that Ang Lee's Lust, Caution came out in the same year as Paul Verhoeven's Black Book, as the two feature such incredibly similar stories - during the tail end of World War II, a young woman must put her body on the front line of her nation's resistance movement in order to keep both herself and the revolution alive. I'm more partial to Black Book - despite being Lee's most controversial film (even more so than those gay cowboys!), Lust felt somewhat bloodless. It's gorgeously put together, but I could never quite put my finger on what motivates the heroine through the story's many twists. This is no fault of actress Wei Tang's, as she's truly a magnetic presence and a fantastic discovery. But, particularly when compared (perhaps unfairly) with Book's Rachel, it's difficult to understand exactly where Tang's character is coming from, or where she might be going. Is she motivated by patriotism? Familial abandonment? Love for a fellow revolutionary? None of these ideas are ever really explored, to the film's detriment.

As for the much-discussed sexuality on display . . . again, I have to go back to Book, which I felt owned a sense of sensuality and, frankly, smuttiness, that Lust lacks. Lust feels more clinical, despite the sex serving the story well. Verhoeven understood the pulp aspect of his story and played to it, while Lee took a more distanced approach. For a movie with Lust in the title, distance isn't necessarily a good thing. Too much Caution here.