Lust Caution - A sad little love story

I was rather intrigued by friend Ganji's mentions of copious amounts of sex in the film Lust Caution by director Ang Lee (of Brokeback Mountain fame). He'd also said it's a 'very nice' film, by the way. I thought I'd go check it out. Junk food purchased, I waited for the action to begin, smugness firmly in place. What unfolded, instead, over a running time of 157 minutes, was a sad, bitter-(barely)sweet love story with a tragic end. Kinda reminded me of Raj Kapoor, remarking on Satyam Shivam Sundaram: something along the lines of "people will come in to see Zeenat's t***, but what they will remember, is a love story..."

A Chinese woman, working for an anti-government outfit, seeks to seduce a Minister, so the renegade boys can get at him.

What really moved me, apart from the delicious cinematography, was Lee's treatment of the relationship between the two. The seduction is spot on: tantalizing, yet working just when you're dejected it hasn't snared the wily minister. She succeeds where other seductresses have failed, but then, you realize to your heartbreak: it's because she has begun to love him. And while you're still feeling bad about that, you discover the minister is in it not just for the sex. The lovers are definitely not of the star cross'd variety; they know of necessary social boundaries - and so you know this one's not gonna end the way Stardust did.

I couldn't help noticing a parallel with Brokeback. Two people begin a relationship - a relationship that had no reason to be born, was not supposed to linger, and is not meant to last. But one that is love, nonetheless.
The second, eerily similar, if a bit tenuous link I find, is with Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi, which is also a tale of revolutionary ideals, sacrifices, and people pointing their love-rays in the wrong direction.

The other emotionally brilliant, honest episode in this film is when the young renegade group takes their first human life. Barely-out-of-college kids try and murder a man (who's found them out, and will squeal, or worse), with what looks like a kitchen knife. Stabbing looks easy enough in your usual film. Here, however, you see failed first stabs, determined (because now its a one way street) second stabs, and (when a normal hefty man refuses to die with some blood loss, and internal tissue injury) final kill-or-die stabs. When even this fails to finish the victim, the leader makes the leap to the point of no return - he finishes the job. Now he is truly initiated. He is a soldier.

Net, Ang Lee is a master of his craft, unafraid to explore raw emotions, that often lead to tragic (read human) conclusions. Recommended as chicken soup for the pining heart.