Ang Lee begins his stories with characters. Se, jie (Lust/Caution), Lee’s recent release, is a film about a young Chinese woman, Wang Jiazhi, who seduces a Japanese leader, Mr. Yee, during World War II Japanese occupation of China. Despite her lack of formal training, Wang and a group of her Chinese college friends, plot to assassinate Mr. Yee. Ang Lee weaves the history of China with taboo sexualities to breathe story into an environment that has been cruelly suffocated in the past.
While not directly part of the Chinese 5th Generation filmmakers, Ang Lee is one of a select few filmmakers telling stories about China, with an international audience, since the fall of Mao. The Fifth Generation filmmakers were schooled in China in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and were the first filmmakers to release uncensored art after the fall of Mao. The 5th Generation filmmakers have continued in the tradition within Chinese history of adapting the story of Pu Yi, Chinese’s last emperor. Film adaptations of the story of Pu Yi are varied; consider The Last Emperor or Hero. Lust/Caution, a film that addresses the pain around loving a powerful, abusive leader, falls into this re-telling of Chinese history. While Ang Lee graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 he seamlessly pays homage to this motif of Chinese storytelling.
Ang Lee does not shy away from the horrors of war. Unlike Casablanca, a watered down version of the cruelties of World War II, Ang Lee delivers a heart-wrenching story of love and loss. Wang’s relationship with the Mr. Yee begins with Yee brutally tying Wang down with his belt and raping her. Wang knows Mr. Yee’s wife. Wang is a part of Mr. Yee’s life. It is clear Mr. Yee abuses Wang because of his self-loathing. But the film takes an unexpected turn when Wang begins to fall in love with Mr. Yee. Yet as a spy, Wang continues to report to her group. Wang, although committed to her mission, begins to lose interest in her romance with her college peers. Mr. Yee’s power, although sadistic, heightens her attraction to Wang. Loving Lee gives her a sense of control in a world of chaos.
Wang is a powerful female character: she accomplishes what her male counterparts are incapable of doing. Worried that the sex between Mr. Lee and herself will be bad as a virgin, she opts to have sex with a drunk, disgusting member of the group. Also, Wang earns Mr. Yee’s trust – showing her ability to win over her enemies. Wang’s control over her emotions and performance is so exact it makes her sacrifices enumerated in comparison to her male counterpart’s pathetic and incompetent actions.
While Lust/Caution is not explicitly a story of same sex love, it does address the complexities of a Queer sadomasochistic love affair, including bondage and emotional manipulation. Lee forces the audience to question what happens when lines blur and one’s choice to participate in the sexual or romantic act is eliminated? The power of sexuality is omnipotent in Lust/Caution: its complexities are delightful and profoundly alarming. What Ang Lee points out is the dangers of this sort of love affair, but also how intoxicating the struggle for power can be – nothing compares to the lust and danger of these relationships. However painful it is to watch scenes of Wang and Lee having sex, one questions what is at the heart of their relationship: abuse, love, passion, temptation, longing, pain, horror… Ang Lee, with his depiction of power, shows that all of these are possible. Ultimately, the characters are at war with themselves. And this destruction impacts everything they do and everyone they love.
– Reviewed by T. Nova
Lust/Caution (Se, jie)
directed by Ang Lee
Ang Lee begins his stories with characters. Se, jie (Lust/Caution), Lee’s recent release, is a film about a young Chinese woman, Wang Jiazhi, who seduces a Japanese leader, Mr. Yee, during World War II Japanese occupation of China. Despite her lack of formal training, Wang and a group of her Chinese college friends, plot to assassinate Mr. Yee. Ang Lee weaves the history of China with taboo sexualities to breathe story into an environment that has been cruelly suffocated in the past.
While not directly part of the Chinese 5th Generation filmmakers, Ang Lee is one of a select few filmmakers telling stories about China, with an international audience, since the fall of Mao. The Fifth Generation filmmakers were schooled in China in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and were the first filmmakers to release uncensored art after the fall of Mao. The 5th Generation filmmakers have continued in the tradition within Chinese history of adapting the story of Pu Yi, Chinese’s last emperor. Film adaptations of the story of Pu Yi are varied; consider The Last Emperor or Hero. Lust/Caution, a film that addresses the pain around loving a powerful, abusive leader, falls into this re-telling of Chinese history. While Ang Lee graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 he seamlessly pays homage to this motif of Chinese storytelling.
Ang Lee does not shy away from the horrors of war. Unlike Casablanca, a watered down version of the cruelties of World War II, Ang Lee delivers a heart-wrenching story of love and loss. Wang’s relationship with the Mr. Yee begins with Yee brutally tying Wang down with his belt and raping her. Wang knows Mr. Yee’s wife. Wang is a part of Mr. Yee’s life. It is clear Mr. Yee abuses Wang because of his self-loathing. But the film takes an unexpected turn when Wang begins to fall in love with Mr. Yee. Yet as a spy, Wang continues to report to her group. Wang, although committed to her mission, begins to lose interest in her romance with her college peers. Mr. Yee’s power, although sadistic, heightens her attraction to Wang. Loving Lee gives her a sense of control in a world of chaos.
Wang is a powerful female character: she accomplishes what her male counterparts are incapable of doing. Worried that the sex between Mr. Lee and herself will be bad as a virgin, she opts to have sex with a drunk, disgusting member of the group. Also, Wang earns Mr. Yee’s trust – showing her ability to win over her enemies. Wang’s control over her emotions and performance is so exact it makes her sacrifices enumerated in comparison to her male counterpart’s pathetic and incompetent actions.
While Lust/Caution is not explicitly a story of same sex love, it does address the complexities of a Queer sadomasochistic love affair, including bondage and emotional manipulation. Lee forces the audience to question what happens when lines blur and one’s choice to participate in the sexual or romantic act is eliminated? The power of sexuality is omnipotent in Lust/Caution: its complexities are delightful and profoundly alarming. What Ang Lee points out is the dangers of this sort of love affair, but also how intoxicating the struggle for power can be – nothing compares to the lust and danger of these relationships. However painful it is to watch scenes of Wang and Lee having sex, one questions what is at the heart of their relationship: abuse, love, passion, temptation, longing, pain, horror… Ang Lee, with his depiction of power, shows that all of these are possible. Ultimately, the characters are at war with themselves. And this destruction impacts everything they do and everyone they love.
– Reviewed by T. Nova