LONDON, England (CNN) -- Masks beneath masks, the click-clack of Mahjong tiles and the sheen of silk cheongsams: Taiwanese director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; "Brokeback Mountain") brings an intoxicating tale of lies, deceit and corruption to the screen with his latest film, "Lust, Caution". Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Tang Wei star in Ang Lee's latest film, "Lust, Caution" Japanese-occupied Shanghai, 1942. Mrs Mak, an impeccably coiffed Chinese lady, makes a telephone call from a cafe, then sits and waits. Cue a flashback to 1938, where her story begins. Mrs Mak is not the sophisticate she appears -- just a few years earlier, she was shy drama student Wong Chia Chi.
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Ang Lee's latest film, "Lust, Caution" is a film-noir spy tale set in Shanghai
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"Lust, Caution" is the follow-up to 2005's Oscar-winning "Brokeback Mountain"
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Asian cinema icon Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and newcomer Wei Tang star
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Too perfect in parts, with OTT sex scenes, the film is still a killer thriller
Newcomer @placeholder gives a startlingly assured and subtle performance.