Lust, Caution (Widescreen, NC-17- Rated Edition)

This movie was almost too painful emotionally and physically to watch! A young Japanese girl subjects herself to torture of the body and soul in an attempt to help assassinate an evil man. She's young and in a dangerous game, but her passionate, willful spirit is driven to accomplish her goal. Will her heart betray her in the end. Powerful movie!

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

I wasn't sure what to expect, I've heard about the controversy of this movie, I don't even know if it ever hit the Big Screen. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It's different from all other movies I've seen (including other Ang Lee movies).

Ang Lee is incredibly skilled at creating sexy/passionate scenes that are full of emotion, but never dirty or tawdry. It applied in this movie as well, even in the one violent sex scene. However, it does contain explicit sex scenes, so it's rated R or above.

The acting was superb, especially by Wong (the female lead). You could see how she was falling in love despite her commitment to the cause she supported. If you have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it.

Last Novermber I drove more than 90 miles to see this movie in theater. It is a well-made movie.

The story and film itself was beautiful. Be aware of some very acrobatic sex scenese that are almost difficult to watch and you'll be fine.

I expected much more out of this film given Ang Lee and an all-star Asian cast led by Tony Leung, but sad to say this film falls short. The story is compelling enough, set during WWII, with plenty of tensions. However, it feels more like a cautionary tale than it does a probing look into the complex set of relationships that underscore this revolutionary group of theatrical students.

It starts out with a group students trying to defy the system only for its protaganist, Wong Chia Chi (played by the lovely Tang Wei), to fall in love with a Japanese collaborator she was supposedly trying to seduce into an ill-fated move. Mr. Yee soon gets the upper hand in the relationship, and Ms. Wong is left pretty much powerless.

It is beautifully filmed, as one would expect from Ang Lee, but the characters never seem to move beyond cardboard creations, and the movie plods to its obvious conclusion, with a few S&M scenes along the way to spice things up.

Lee still hasn't matched his early efforts on film, such as Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, despite the increasingly more serious topics he explores.