History Film / LustCaution

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: As the show is set in China in 1942, the Japanese are shown as violent and boorish invaders who have set up a system to oppress and exploit China. The negative effect of their presence is shown through several scenes, for instance when a piece of Japanese propaganda interrupts a movie Wong Chia Chi was invested in, or when a drunk Japanese officer harasses her.

''Lust, Caution'' (色、戒) was originally a short story by Chinese writer Eileen Chang. It was made into a movie by Creator/AngLee in 2007, starring Tang Wei and Creator/TonyLeung.

* {{Downer Ending}}: And how.

* GorgeousPeriodDress: Wong Chia-chi, Mrs. Yee and her friends, Mr. Yee himself wear a gorgeous ensemble of traditional Chinese silk cheongsam and haute couture from The40s.

* IGaveMyWord: Chia Chi’s aunt dismissively mentions that she sold the house Chia Chi’s father left her but that she allowed Chia Chi to keep student because she gave her word, as if it compensated for the grievance she’s caused.

* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Yee gets particularly excited after mentioning all the horrible deeds he’s caused he is shown fondling Chia Chi as he lists what’s he done on the day.

* HowWeGotHere: The story begins as the assassination plot is nearing completion, only to jump back to four years earlier.
* LonelyAtTheTop: Yee feels very isolated as he neither trusts the men around him nor loves his wife. He even laments that he only sees fear in the eyes of the people he interacts with since he is a powerful collaborator to the Japanese. Thus, he is even more attracted to Chia Chi as she’s the only person that doesn’t fear him. When he learns about her true role, Yee is shaken by the betrayal.

* LoveTriangle: There are two in the movie. The first is the one where both Chia Chi and Lai are attracted to Kuang, who himself prefers Chia Chi. The second is the one between Chia Chi, Kuang and then Mr. Yee. Chia Chi is attracted to both men, and while Kuang doesn’t affirm his love until he is too late, Yee seduces and has sex with her, forming a relationship that results in Chia Chi loving Yee too much to allow his assassination.

* NippleAndDimed: The sex scenes are very explicit, showing both Tang Wei and Tony Leungs body except the crotch so the audience can see their nipples.
* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization

* TheGruntingOrgasm: During the sex scenes, some of the shots are dedicated to showing Mr. Yee taking extreme pleasure and climaxing with Chia Chi.

* HairyGirl: Played partially straght, as during one of Chia-chi & Yee's sex scenes, her underarm hair is clearly visible, though her legs are shaved smooth.

* HoneyTrap: Basically the entire plot.

* ProperlyParanoid: Mr. Yee considers everyone a potential enemy, and he's right.

* TrainingMontage: Wong Chia-chi's training in the basics of spycraft.

* YourCheatingHeart: Mr. Yee is cheating on his wife with Wong. According to her cover, Wong is supposed to be cheating on her husband too.

* GorgeousPeriodDress: Wong Chia-chi, Mrs. Yee and her friends, Mr. Yee himself wear a gorgeous ensemble of traditional Chinese silk cheongsam and haute couture from TheFourties.

* AdaptationExpansion: The original short story picks up just before Wong's last meeting with Yee. The HowWeGotHere narrative is considerably more fleshed out in the film.

* {{Downer Ending}}

* MirrorScare: Chia-chi closes a window, and she spots the reflection of Mr. Yee in it--he had been sitting in a corner of the room all along, but she hadn't seen him.

The story is set during the Japanese occupation of China in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Mrs. Mak is ostensibly an idle housewife who enjoys {{Mahjong}} and shopping. In fact, her name is Wong Chia-chi and she's a member of a Chinese Nationalist resistance cell who has infiltrated the household of Mr. Yee, a high-ranking member of the pro-Japanese puppet regime, in order to become his mistress and draw him into a trap. But Mr. Yee is a terminally paranoid man and stays on his guard at all times.

* KickTheDog: When we first see Mr. Yee, he orders an underling to finish off a prisoner he has just finished interrogating, on the grounds that the Japanese didn't specify they wanted him alive.
** It's a bit more subtle than that. Yee says "give him a quick one" implying that by killing the man now they are saving him from more torture at the hands of the Japanese, who would eventually kill him themselves. This film doesn't have KickTheDog style moral clarity.

* LesCollaborateurs: Mr. Yee and the rest of the pro-Japanese puppet regime.

The story is set during the Japanese occupation of China in WorldWarII. Mrs. Mak is ostensibly an idle housewife who enjoys {{Mahjong}} and shopping. In fact, her name is Wong Chia-chi and she's a member of a Chinese Nationalist resistance cell who has infiltrated the household of Mr. Yee, a high-ranking member of the pro-Japanese puppet regime, in order to become his mistress and draw him into a trap. But Mr. Yee is a terminally paranoid man and stays on his guard at all times.

* PlayingAgainstType: Tony Leung portrays someone completely opposite of his [[NiceGuy usual]] [[TheHero characters]].

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: the main difference between LaResistance and the Japanese oppressors seems to be that the Japanese are in power. TruthInTelevision supports it.

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: the main difference between LaResistance and the Japanese oppressors seems to be that the Japanese are in power.

''Lust, Caution'' (色、戒) was originally a short story by Chinese writer Eileen Chang. It was made into a movie by Creator/AngLee in 2007, starring Tang Wei and TonyLeung.

* [[spoiler: ShootTheShaggyDog]]: [[spoiler: The plot is given away at the last moment by Wong Chia-chi, leading to the execution of her and pretty much the whole of La Resistance outside of the cold-blooded leader. All to protect the life of the rapist thug bastard she fell in love with and who, given the state of Japan's military fortunes by the end of the movie, is living on borrowed time anyway.]]

''Lust, Caution'' (色、戒) was originally a short story by Chinese writer Eileen Chang. It was made into a movie by Ang Lee in 2007, starring Tang Wei and TonyLeung.

* AdaptationExpansion: The original short story picks up just before Wong's last meeting with Yee.

The story is set during the Japanese occupation of China in WorldWarII. Mrs. Mak is ostensibly an idle housewife who enjoys {{Mahjong}} and shopping. In fact, her name is Wong Chia-chi and she's a member of a Chinese Nationalist resistance cell who has infiltrated the household of Mr. Yi, a high-ranking member of the pro-Japanese puppet regime, in order to become his mistress and draw him into a trap. But Mr. Yee is a terminally paranoid man and stays on his guard at all times.