Lust, Caution | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster
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Traditional | 色,戒 |
Simplified | 色,戒 |
Mandarin | Sè, Jiè |
Cantonese | sik1, gaai3 |
Hokkien | set, kai |
Directed by | Ang Lee |
Produced by | Ang Lee William Kong James Schamus |
Screenplay by | Hui-Ling Wang James Schamus |
Based on | Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang |
Starring | Tony Leung Chiu-Wai Tang Wei Joan Chen Wang Leehom |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
Cinematography | Rodrigo Prieto |
Edited by | Tim Squyres |
Production
company |
River Road Entertainment
Haishang Films Sil-Metropole Organisation |
Distributed by | Focus Features |
Release dates
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Running time
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158 minutes[1] |
Country | United States China Taiwan[2] |
Language | Mandarin[1] Shanghainese Cantonese Japanese English |
Budget | $15 million[3] |
Box office | $67,091,915[3] |
Lust, Caution is a 2007 espionage erotic thriller film directed by Ang Lee, based on the novella of the same name published in 1979 by Chinese author Eileen Chang. The story is mostly set in Hong Kong in 1938 and in Shanghai in 1942, when it was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and ruled by the puppet government led by Wang Jingwei. It depicts a group of Chinese university students from the Lingnan University who plot to assassinate a high-ranking special agent and recruiter of the puppet government using an attractive young woman to lure him into a trap.
With this film, Lee won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival for the second time, the first being with Brokeback Mountain.[4] The film adaptation and the story are loosely based on events that took place during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai. The film's explicit sex scenes resulted in the film being rated NC-17 in the United States.
Contents
Plot
The film takes place in the 1940s, when Shanghai was under Japanese occupation. A young Chinese woman named Mrs Mai is sitting in a luxurious cafe. She makes a phone call, signaling a group of resistance agents to load their weapons.
- Hong Kong 1938
The film flashes back to the events which transformed university student Wang Jiazhi into Mrs Mai, her fake identity for the Chinese resistance movement. During the Japanese invasion, Jiazhi had been left behind by her father. She flees from Shanghai to Hong Kong and attends Lingnan University, where she is invited to join a patriotic drama club by a male student, Kuang Yumin (Wang Leehom).
Yumin urges the group to make a greater contribution to the war against Japan. He comes up with a plan to assassinate Mr Yee, a Chinese man who is collaborating with the Japanese government. Jiazhi is chosen for the fictional role of Mrs Mai, the wife of the owner of a Hong Kong-based trading company. Jiazhi is supposed to seduce Mr Yee while the others kill him, but the plan fails when Mr Yee withdraws at the last minute.
It comes to light that Jiazhi is a virgin. Jiazhi reluctantly agrees to sleep with a male member of the group, so that she can practice her seduction skills. However, Mr Yee suddenly moves back to Shanghai, causing the plan to fail. Shortly after, the group is discovered by Mr Yee's assistant. They are forced to kill the assistant and go into hiding.
- Shanghai, 1942
Three years later, in Shanghai, Jiazhi again encounters Yumin, who is now an undercover agent for the KMT. Jiazhi is hired once again to kill Mr Yee, who has become the head of the secret police. Posing as Mrs Mai, she successfully becomes Mr Yee's mistress, and discovers that he has passionate feelings for her.
Mr Yee takes Jiazhi to the jewelry store to collect an expensive diamond ring which he ordered. As they enter the shop, several resistance agents are waiting to murder Mr Yee. Jiazhi is overcome by emotion and tells Mr Yee "Go, now." Mr Yee realizes the meaning and quickly flees from the shop. Before the day is over, most of the resistance agents are arrested. It is revealed that Mr Yee's deputy already knew of their existence, but hadn't told Mr Yee. Japanese soldiers lead Jiazhi, Yumin, and the others out to a quarry and execute them.
Cast
- Tang Wei as Wong Chia-chi/Mrs. Mai (C: 王佳芝, P: Wáng Jiāzhī/C: 麥太太, P: Mài-tàitai)
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Mr. Yee (C: 易先生, P: Yì-xiānsheng)
- Joan Chen as Mrs. Yee (C: 易太太, P: Yì-tàitai)
- Wang Leehom as Kuang Yumin (T: 鄺裕民, S: 邝裕民, P: Kuàng Yùmín)
- Tou Chung-Hua (T: 庹宗華, C: 庹宗华, P: Tuǒ Zōnghuá) as Old Wu
- Chin Kar-lok as Assistant Officer Tsao
- Chu Chih-Ying (T: 朱芷瑩, S: 朱芷莹, P: Zhū Zhǐyíng) as Lai Xiujin (T: 賴秀金, S: 赖秀金, P: Lài Xiùjīn)
- Kao Ying-hsuan (T: 高英軒, S: 高英轩, P: Gāo Yīngxuān) as Huang Lei (T: 黃 磊, S: 黄 磊, P: Huáng Lěi)
- Lawrence Ko (T: 柯宇綸, S: 柯宇綸, P: Kē Yǔlún) as Liang Junsheng (T: 梁潤生, S: 梁润生, P: Liáng Rùnshēng)
- Johnson Yuen (T: 阮德鏘, S: 阮德锵, P: Ruǎn Déqiāng) as Auyang Lingwen/Mr. Mak (T: 歐陽靈文, S: 欧阳灵文, P: Ōuyáng Língwén/C: 麥先生, P: Mài-xiānsheng)
- Fan Kuang-Yao (C: 樊光耀, P: Fán Guāngyào) as Secretary Chang
- Anupam Kher as Hali Salahuddin
- Shyam Pathak as Jewellery shopkeeper
- Akiko Takeshita (竹下 明子 Takeshita Akiko) as Japanese Tavern Boss Lady
- Hayato Fujiki as Japanese Colonel Sato
Release
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion, the second such award for Ang Lee. It was released in U.S. theaters on September 28, 2007, where it was rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America due to some explicit sex scenes. Lee stated that he would make no changes to attempt to get an R rating.[5] After the movie's premiere, director Ang Lee was displeased that Chinese news media (including those from Taiwan) had greatly emphasized the sex scenes in the movie.[6] The version released in the People's Republic of China was cut by about seven minutes (by the director himself) to make it suitable for younger audiences, since China has no rating system.[7] The version released in Malaysia was approved by the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia without alterations and was rated 18SX—those under 18 are barred from the cinema. His earlier film Brokeback Mountain is banned in Malaysia. It was released on DVD in 2008 with an R-rating since rental outlets and stores do not carry NC-17 titles.
Accolades
Won: 2007 Golden Lion International Venice Film Festival Award
The film swept the 2007 Golden Horse Awards, winning seven including Best Actor, Best Feature Film and Best Director.
44th Golden Horse Awards[8]
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Director (Ang Lee)
- Won: Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai)
- Won: Best New Performer (Tang Wei)
- Won: Best Adapted Screenplay (Hui-Ling Wang and James Schamus)
- Won: Best Makeup & Costume Design (Pan Lai)
- Won: Best Original Film Score (Alexandre Desplat)
- Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year (Ang Lee)
- Nominated: Best Actress (Tang Wei)
- Nominated: Best Art Direction (Lau Sai-Wan, Pan Lai)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto)
- Nominated: Best Editing (Tim Squyres)
- Won: Best Asian Film (Ang Lee)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Film
61st British Academy Film Awards
- Nominated: Best Costume Design (Pan Lai)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Film (Ang Lee, James Schamus, William Kong)
- Nominated: Rising Star Award (Tang Wei)
- Won: Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai)
- Nominated: Best Film
- Nominated: Best Actress (Tang Wei)
- Nominated: Best Composer (Alexandre Desplat)
- Nominated: Best Director (Ang Lee)
- Nominated: Best Screenwriter (Wang Hui-Ling and James Schamus)
The film was nominated for the Best Film in a Foreign Language BAFTA in 2008.
Ang Lee was awarded Freedom of Expression award at the ShoWest convention for his decision to release the film in the United States uncut, rather than editing the film to avoid the MPAA's NC-17 rating.[9]
Controversies
Censorship
In its uncut form, Lust, Caution features three episodes of graphic sex, with full-frontal nudity. The ten minutes of sex scenes were considered by Lee to be critical to the story and reportedly took 100 hours to shoot.[10]
In a number of countries, notably the People's Republic of China and India, many of the sex scenes had to be cut before the film could be released. In Singapore, while the film's producers initially decided to release a cut version there which was given an NC-16 rating, a public outcry stating that the producers of the film were underestimating censorship standards in the country (the film was released uncut in Hong Kong and Taiwan) prompted them to eventually release the uncut version with the higher R21 rating in Singapore. The film is rated R18 and was released uncut in New Zealand.[11]
The following scenes were cut from the mainland China version:
- Wong Chia Chi walking past dead refugees in the street
- Stabbing scene cut to only one knife stab
- Two of the sex scenes featuring the student, and three featuring Mr. Yee
- A nude shot of Wong Chia Chi at window
- Wong Chia Chi in bed after first sex scene with Mr. Yee
- Dialogue modified in diamond ring scene so that Wong Chia Chi did not betray the resistance by warning Mr. Yee.[12]
The film's end credits ends with a 18 U.S.C § 2257 notice.[13]
Country of production
The film was co-produced by the American companies Focus Features and River Road Productions, and Chinese companies Shanghai Film Group Corporation and Haishang Films and the Taiwanese Hai Sheng Film Production Company. The director is Ang Lee, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and the actors/actresses are from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan as well as the United States. It was shot in Shanghai, the neighboring province of Zhejiang, Hong Kong (at Hong Kong University), and some locations in Penang and Ipoh in Malaysia used as 1930s/1940s Hong Kong.
Originally, the film's country was identified as "China-USA" by the organizers of the Venice Film Festival. However, a few days later, the Venice Film Festival changed the film to "USA-China-Taiwan, China" on its official schedule.[14] When the film premiered at the event, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council protested the Venice event's use of "Taiwan, China" to identify films from the island and blamed China for the move.[15][16]
After the film's premiere, Taiwan submitted the film as its Best Foreign Film Oscar entry. However, the Oscars asked Taiwan to withdraw the film because some key crew members were not locals. Oscars spokeswoman Teni Melidonian said in an e-mail organizers refused to accept the film because "an insufficient number of Taiwanese participated in the production of the film," violating a rule that requires foreign countries to certify their locals "exercised artistic control" over their submission.
Defamation
On September 13, 2007, an elderly lady, Zheng Tianru, staged a press conference in Los Angeles, claiming that the movie was about real-life events that happened in World War II, and wrongfully portrayed her older sister, Zheng Pingru, as a promiscuous secret agent who seduced and eventually fell in love with the assassination target Ding Mocun (she alleges that the characters were renamed to Wang Jiazhi and Mr. Yee in the movie).[17] Taiwan's investigation bureau confirmed that Zheng Pingru failed to kill Ding Mocun because her gun jammed, rather than developing a romantic relationship with the assassin's target.[citation needed] Director Ang Lee maintains that Eileen Chang wrote the original short story as fiction.[18]
Critical reception
As of March 31, 2011, on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of critics gave the film positive reviews, the consensus said "Ang Lee's Lust, Caution is a tense, sensual and beautifully-shot espionage film".[19] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 34 reviews.[20]
Jack Mathews of the New York Daily News named it the 5th best film of 2007.[21] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times named it the 6th best film of 2007.[21]
The Chinese press gave generally positive reviews. In analyzing how successful Lee's film was as an adaptation of Eileen Chang's short story, literary critic Leo Ou-fan Lee (李歐梵) wrote in Muse Magazine that he 'found [his] loyalties divided between Eileen Chang and Ang Lee. But after three viewings of the film, I have finally opted for Lee because deep down I believe in film magic which can sometimes displace textual fidelity.'[22] In an earlier issue of Muse however, film critic Perry Lam had criticized Lee's direction: 'in his eagerness to make the movie appealing to a mass audience, Lee seems guilty of sentimentalism.'[23] Sentimental or not, there is certainly a palpable trace of Lee's sympathy for Chang's personal love life, “It was hard for me to live in Eileen Chang’s world...There are days I hated her for it. It’s so sad, so tragic. But you realize there’s a shortage of love in her life: romantic love, family love.” He added, “This is the story of what killed love for her.”[24]
Anachronisms
It has been noted by critics (including Bryan Appleyard[25]) that the Hong Kong sequences in the film set in the late 1930s[26] include "London taxis" of two types (FX3, FX4) that were only manufactured onwards from 1948 and 1958 respectively.[27]
Box office
Lust, Caution was produced on a budget of approximately $15 million.[28]
In Hong Kong, where it played in its entirety, Lust, Caution grossed US$6,249,342 (approximately $48 million HKD) despite being saddled with a restrictive "Category III" rating. It was the territory's biggest-grossing Chinese language film of the year, and third biggest overall (behind only Spider-Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).[29]
The film was also a huge success in China, despite playing only in a heavily edited version. It grossed US$17,109,185, making it the country's sixth highest-grossing film of 2007 and third highest-grossing domestic production.[30]
In North America, the NC-17 rating which Lust, Caution received is traditionally perceived as a box office "kiss-of-death". In its opening weekend in one U.S. theatre, it grossed $63,918.[28] Expanding to seventeen venues the next week, its per-screen average was $21,341, before cooling down to $4,639 at 125 screens.[31] Never playing at more than 143 theatres in its entire U.S. run, it eventually grossed $4,604,982.[31] As of August 15, 2008, it was the fifth highest-grossing NC-17 production in North America.[32] Focus Features was very satisfied with the United States release of this film.[33]
Worldwide, Lust, Caution grossed $67,091,915.[28]
Home media
In the United States, two DVD versions of this film were released: the original NC-17 version and the censored R-rated version.[34]
This film has generated more than $24 million from its DVD sales and rentals in the United States,[28][35] an impressive result for a film that only grossed $4.6 million in limited theatrical release in the United States.[28]
See also
References
- ^ a b "LUST, CAUTION (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
- ^ "LUMIERE : Film: Se, jie". European Audiovisual Observatory.
- ^ a b Lust, Caution at Box Office Mojo
- ^ The awards of the Venice Film Festival on the Festival's site
- ^ Goldstein, Gregg (August 24, 2007). "Focus won't sweat NC-17 for 'Lust'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 9, 2007.[dead link]
- ^ 媒體猛炒性愛 李安痛心 (in Chinese). Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ "Ang Lee celebrates golden success of "Lust, Caution"". CNN. December 21, 2007.
- ^ "Lee film sweeps Taiwan 'Oscars'". BBC News. 8 December 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ Bowles, Scott. "'Lust, Caution': Not just a movie title in NC-17 debate", USA Today, March 13, 2008
- ^ "'Fang' Lee: cruel but true". The Age (Melbourne, Australia). January 11, 2008.
- ^ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10488493
- ^ Lee admits 'political edit' of film
- ^ The notice reads: "18 U.S.C § 2257 records custodian – Joyce Hsieh, custodian of records, Mr. Yee Productions LLC, C/O Schreck Rose Dapello Adams & Hurwitz LLP, 1790 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Date of publication: September 28, 2007.
The performers in this motion picture who are depicted engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and the characters that they portray therein, were all over 18 years of age at the time of photography. The content is inappropriate for minors and appropriate care should be taken to ensure that it is not viewed by anyone under 18 years of age. The records required by 18 U.S.C § 2257 and associated regulations with respect to the motion picture on which this notice appears are kept by the custodian of the records at the office of the manufacturer above."
- ^ "64th Venice Film Festival – In Competition". Retrieved September 9, 2007.
- ^ "Taiwan protests Chinese credit for Ang Lee's movie at Venice festival". Retrieved September 9, 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Venice Film Fest faces faux pas over Taiwan". CBC News. August 28, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
- ^ 色‧戒」影射鄭蘋如?鄭家人不滿 (in Chinese). Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ "湯唯情欲戲被指褻瀆烈士 <色戒>遭原型家人聲討" (in Chinese). Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ "Lust, Caution – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
- ^ "Lust, Caution (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
- ^ a b "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
- ^ Lee, Leo Ou-fan (November 2007). "Lust, Caution: Vision and revision". Muse Magazine (10): 96.
- ^ Lam, Perry (October 2007). "Great expectations". Muse Magazine (9): 103.
- ^ Lim, Dennis (August 26, 2007). "Love as an Illusion: Beautiful to See, Impossible to Hold". The New York Times.
- ^ Appleyard, Bryan (January 21, 2008). "A Protocol Problem and the Lust Caution Taxi". Thought Experiments: The Blog. brianappleyard.com. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ See Lust, Caution (clip) (WMV) (Motion picture). Focus Features. Retrieved August 16, 2008. (5.2 MB)
- ^ "The FX series". LTI Vehicles. 2006. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Lust, Caution". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ^ "Hong Kong Yearly Box Office (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ "China Yearly Box Office (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ a b "Lust, Caution – Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ "Domestic Grosses by MPAA Rating – NC-17". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ Sperling, Nicole (March 19, 2008). "Ang Lee and James Schamus Get Frank". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Foster, Dave (December 30, 2007). "Lust, Caution (R1) in February – Artwork Updated". DVD Times. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
- ^ Hendrix, Grady (April 23, 2008). "Dirty DVD sales". Kaiju Shakedown blog. Variety Asia. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
External links
- Official website
- Lust, Caution at the Internet Movie Database
- Lust, Caution at AllMovie
- Lust, Caution at Box Office Mojo
- Lust, Caution at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lust, Caution at Metacritic
- Proceeding with Caution
- Kamiyama, Masuo (February 20, 2008). "Steamy Shanghai period flick's feisty performers show plenty of lust, not much caution". Mainichi Shimbun. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
- Lust, Caution Reviews – spcnet.tv
- Ang Lee on making Lust, Caution
Awards | ||
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Preceded by After This Our Exile |
Golden Horse Awards for Best Film 2007 |
Succeeded by The Warlords |
Preceded by Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles |
Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Asian Film 2007 |
Succeeded by Assembly |
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