Lust, Caution
So, we went to see Lust, Caution on Friday, and the movie was long, but surprisingly captivating from beginning to end. A complex story, it is set in WWII China, mostly Shanghai, but with its beginning happening in Hong Kong. Some scenes were shot at Hong Kong University, and I feel like there was some confusion in the translation, as I did not notice once the mention of HK's most renowned university (they talked about a Lingnan University), but it may've referred to another plot information). Roland Soong's blog reposts a SCMP article about himself, and this HKU connection with the movie.
I knew the ending, from reading Soong's blog, but then, you could not have thought otherwise. People overemphasize the sex scenes, but neither of them looked gratuitous. One review that I read pointed out that they fittingly showed the audience the level of involvement of each participant in their dramatic relation. Perhaps the more sensible point for sensors would be the gray areas between patriotism and nationality. The characters may all be Chinese, but some of them collaborated with the enemy, and this is maybe not something that can/would be shown in China. And the ending, well, it totally throws off Hollywood and patriots alike.
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