Ang Lee certainly is a versatile film maker. From Hulk to Brokeback Mountain and everything in between. This time he's created a great historical piece, romance and espionage thriller, with the depth and breadth of an epic. Incredible the film manages to work on all these levels, not at least thanks to an amazing cast - the well-established Tony Leung (stars in everything from Woo's early Hong Kong action flicks to Wong Kar-Wai's art house films), debutante Wei Tang, who does an incredible job, and Joan Chen (aka Josie Packard) who actually speaks Chinese.
Set in China during the Japanese occupation during the second world war, it revolves around a Chinese collaborator (Leung), and the plot to murder him by a small resistance group. Tang's character goes undercover to get close to him, and becomes his mistress. A function she at first despises, but since grows to enjoy.
As a historical piece, it's beautifully done. Big Shangai street scenes, with bustling traffic of rickshaw's zipping to and fro take your breath away, and costumes, hair and so forth all looks completely authentic. As a thriller, it's very exciting and unpredictable, and finally the romantic aspect of it, might just be the most gripping. The relationship between Leung and Tang is an odd one. At first you are repulsed by it, but since then it becomes beautiful and tender - and of course tragic. The sex scenes between the two, are extremely explicit (not for the weak of heart - you actually see Tony Leung's hairy balls) and frequent - perfectly illustrating the direction their relationship is undergoing, from brutal rape-like sex to tender and affectionate love-making.
It's a great film Lee has composed, and should hold an interest to a wide aspect of a mature audience.
You see this girl naked, repeatedly
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