NOW ON DVD

LUST, CAUTION

Rated NC-17

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Wang Lee Hom, Anupam Kher

Brian’s Rating   

Some folks can sit through a movie for two hours and forty minutes, and some can’t. Some will watch a movie in Chinese with subtitles, and others won’t.

Bold movie lovers will ignore an NC-17 rating, take the graphic sex scenes in stride, and look for the art and magic of the work. And others will run for the hills.

Fans of Ang Lee’s work in Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, and Brokeback Mountain, will find plenty to like in Lust, Caution, now on DVD, a tale of love, betrayal and espionage during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in World War II.

The movie has a strong story, several standout performances, and captivating cinematography that effectively conveys the historical framework as well as the talented director’s vision. But I fear that most moviegoers will not be able to get beyond the film’s previously mentioned “afflictions” and Lust, Caution will be overlooked as a rental choice.