i have be hype myself up a great deal for lust and caution ever since i first heard of the project and so i be glad to say that it do not disappoint . the film be a beautifully execute espionage thriller and if you want to go with how it be market to a broad audience . steep in the historically and culturally turbulent period of the second sino japanese war and one must applaud ang lee for the dizzying array of minutia he oversee a director . because of the nature of the film protagonist wang jiazhi ( play by a newcomer name tang wei not shabby for your first feature ) a an agent work under a second identity to ensnare a dangerous collaborationist ( tony leung ) and all the scene where wang masquerade a the bourgeois ms. mai be fraught with a psychological tension and double with the political agenda at stake as well a her womanhood . she portray both role with heartbreaking deftness while a great casting choice if there ever be one . while not a physically allure a some of her competitor for the role chinese language actresses include zhou xun and shu qi i do not think anyone else could have pull it off like tang . she convincingly transform herself from a naive college girl to coy seductress . and back again . the film strike quite a few personal nerve on my part too . while mainstream cinema should be and you know and self sustain or whatever you want to call it and there really a lot to this movie that get lose in subtitle to an extent and but also just in context and culture . etiquette at the mah jongg table while the omnipresent yet understate background of wartime occupation while political interest in the chinese civil war era while the weight of regional identity in dialect and interpersonal relationship . tang wei speak mandarin and cantonese and and shanghainese . my only thought be represent what a hottie . the sex scene be . something else . a echo by most critic and they serve the story perfectly in capture the urgency that tang and leung have in their precarious affair . there a lot of violence in them and and it be through these carnal and savage act that tony leung mr. yee character be establish a a very dangerous man . i would not spoil too much but there be several time when it become too difficult to watch . there be quite a few moment that make my heart flutter and eye wobble . i will just leave it at that .