色, 戒 (Lust, Caution) (2007)

This Movie Is About a young woman, Wang Jia Zhi (Tang Wei) whose family left her when the war started. As a result, she's all alone in occupied China. She's lucky enough to flee to Hong Kong where she meets her friends and her new family, lead by Kuang Yu Min (Wang Lee Hom). After Jia Zhi stars in a play, Yu Min gets the idea to use her to assassinate a politician, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung) who's collaborating with the Japanese in order to difference. She plays the role of a lonely wife, Mrs. Mak, in order to try to seduce Mr. Yee. So the game begins as the college group realizes that they are in much deeper than they had expected especially for the new Mrs. Mak who has to control her lust and be cautious especially when love and country are involved.

You Should Watch This Movie if you are into Asian pornography. Okay, just kidding. Other than the very vivid sex scenes, this movie has a great story and acting to go along with very deep characters. And when I say deep I mean, there's enough subtext in here to fill a quarry. The roller coster ride of emotion and plot twists are enough to keep your mind spinning and nothing is what it really appears. We're on the trip with Jia Zhi as she pretends to fall in love but only to find love in the most dangerous place and deciding if it's really worth it.

What's Hot: The sex scenes are off the wall. They are insane to do this in Asia and it's clear because this movie's is banned from China. But other than that, the characters themselves are a treat to watch come to life as they deal with their internal struggles. Country or love, that's the quesiton that every character asks themselves. The sides are clearly drawn and it's up to one girl to make her difference and shift the tides of balance of the war. Wang Lee Hom makes his acting debut as he plays the default love interest. But his character is also interesting as he's not what he appears. He's pretty good looking, of course. For the ladies, this film is a treat to watch.


What's Not Hot: What theme and what this story is about is a bit messy. Or it's a lot messy. You don't really know what it's about. This isn't a big deal. It's only a big deal for writers like me who are always looking for that thing that connects the story. But most of you will be so caught up in all the other positives of this movie that you will not even notice. The only thing you might feel is that this movie is really heavy. That's a result of the problem I mentioned above. Because there are so many things going on, it's one layer on top of the other. Also, the film is really slow and really long, although it never feels that it is overly long which is good. These are just minor points but just FYI.

Breaking It Down:
Story: 8.0 (Eileen Chang: novel, James Schamus: screen play)
Direction: 8.5 (Lee Ang)
Acting: 9.0
Cinematography: 8.8
Music/Sound: 7.8

Entertainment Value: 8.0