Se, jie (2007)

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 | China | Game | Resistance

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
Yan Su	...	Ma Tai Tai
Saifei He	...	Hsiao Tai Tai
Ruhui Song	...	Wang's Aunt
Anupam Kher	...	Khalid Saiduddin
Jie Liu	...	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

Colour:

Colour

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | 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 | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Hai Sheng Film Production Company

Trivia:

'Lust, Caution' was submitted as Taiwan's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008), but it was rejected on 17 October 2007 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences because many of the film's personnel were not Taiwanese. Taiwan then substituted Huai-en Chen's Lian xi qu (2006).

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:

References Suspicion (1941)

More incredible film-making from Ang Lee

What a movie. I saw this movie yesterday and I'm still thinking about it. Tony Leung is just awesome. I had seen him in a few movies, I'd already determined that he's a great actor. I have no problem understanding what's going on with him without reading the subtitles because he communicates so much with his eyes. So watching him in this I was curious to see that something else was coming across than you'd normally expect. Here he's playing against type and I thought he did a wonderful job. Definitely Oscar worthy. As is his costar, who I kept trying to rack my brain for a film I'd seen her in but apparently she's a newbie. You'd never know it from her performance. It's a true leading performance since she carries most of the film being in just about every minute of it. She's great. And how great was it to see Josie Packard (Joan Chen) again. :)

Ang Lee is a genius. He's so good at capturing the emotions of his characters and actors. It's like he unfolds them so that everything on the inside is laid bare. From The Ice Storm to Brokeback Mountain to Lust, Caution he shows you real people and how they love and damage and betray each other, and more specifically how it feels. That's true talent. Anyone can point a camera. This is something else entirely.

The film itself is the best espionage film I've ever seen, but that's not all it is. It's very much like a noir and a war film and romance is probably the genre that is represented least. I've read a few reviews mentioning love and falling in it. There is some of that but I think maybe those people might want to give this one another go. They might have missed the point.

Who should see this? Adults. But I'm not saying that because of the sex scenes. I'm 33. I don't know if I would have completely grasped the emotional complexity of this film 10 years ago. I think you need to have been kicked around a bit by life to fully appreciate what's happening here. Anyone who likes old movies, sad movies, good movies. Bogart fans, noir fans, costume design fans should all enjoy it. I sincerely hope it gets some recognition around Oscar time. It's my favorite this year so far.