A troupe of drama students in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II conspire to assassinate Mr. Yee, a local Japanese-backed official. Wong Chia Chi (Wei Tang) fronts the troupe’s plot by befriending their Yee’s wife by pretending to be the young bride of a rich businessman. Wong Chia Chi is forced to give up her innocence in order to get close to Yee. Directed by Ang Lee, this movie holds up to the quality of his other works (Eat Drink Man Woman, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm). Like his other films, this story careful unfolds as the characters are slowly drawn into dark, internal conflicts. Lee has a talent for pulling out understated performances from his actors. Here Wei Tang and Tony Leung Chiu Wai, as Mr. Yee, give quiet but powerful performances supported by a dialog rich text written by James Schamus (Ride with the Devil) and Hui-Ling Wang (Tortilla Soup). The dialog, particularly between Wong Chia Chi and Mrs. Yee and her friends is riveting even though the women are simply socializing and presumptively discussing frivolous topics. The undertones of their words combined with the careful direction from Lee makes even these quiet scenes something worth seeing.

Lee’s sense for theatrics is one of the more attractive parts of this production and his ability to weave complex character studies is plainly seen in this film. While some audience members may be thrown off by the sensual content of the film, if you’re not sensitive to adult topics, this movie is a great watch. I highly recommend it.


Related Reviews:
Ang Lee movies
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Ride with the Devil (1999)


Other Critic's Reviews:
A Nutshell Review
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Labels: Ang Lee, film, foreign film, movie review