Se, jie (2007)

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Eileen Chang (story)
James Schamus (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

24 September 2007 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

Tagline:

To kill the enemy, she would have to capture his heart....and break her own.

Plot:

An espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, in which a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Hong Kong | Resistance | WWII | Game

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 15 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Mr. Yee
Wei Tang	...	Wong Chia Chi / Mak Tai Tai
Joan Chen	...	Yee Tai Tai
Lee-Hom Wang	...	Kuang Yu Min
Chung Hua Tou	...	Old Wu
Chih-ying Chu	...	Lai Shu Jin
Ying-hsien Kao	...	Huang Lei
Yue-Lin Ko	...	Liang Jun Sheng
Johnson Yuen	...	Auyang Ling Wen / Mr. Mak
Kar Lok Chin	...	Tsao
Yan Su	...	Ma Tai Tai
Saifei He	...	Hsiao Tai Tai
Ruhui Song	...	Wang's Aunt
Anupam Kher	...	Khalid Saiduddin
Jie Liu	...	Leung Tai Tai
Hui-Ling Wang	...	Liao Tai Tai
Akiko Takeshita	...	Japanese Tavern Boss Lady
Hayato Fujiki	...	Japanese Colonel Sato
Seto Masumi	...	Geisha in Japanese Tavern
Noriko Kohyama	...	Musician in Japanese Tavern (as Koyama Noriko)
Shayam Pathak	...	Jewelry Shopkeeper
Gu Zhang-Ping	...	Hong Kong Tailor
Gao Bo-Wen	...	Male Ping-Tan Singer
Yu Qun	...	Female Ping-Tan Singer
Yat-Tung Lau	...	HKU Theater Audience (as Lau Yat Tung)
Yu Lai Cheng	...	HKU Theater Audience (female)
Yuji Kojima	...	Japanese Commander Taicho
Mizogomi Yoko	...	Japanese Teacher
Minamikata Fumika	...	Japanese Tavern Waitress
Anys Fatnassi	...	New Kiessling Cafe Waiter
Tang Ya Jun	...	Tricycle Cab Waiter
Shi Hong	...	Woman at Police Line
Deng Wei	...	Prostitute in Brothel
Li Dou	...	Old Man at Bookstore
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lisa Lu	...	Mahjong partner of Aunt
Jacob J Ziacan	...	Western student (uncredited)

Directed by
Ang Lee

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eileen Chang		story
James Schamus		screenplay
Hui-Ling Wang		screenplay

Produced by
Lloyd Chao	....	associate producer
William Kong	....	producer
Ang Lee	....	producer
David Lee	....	co-producer
Er-Dong Liu	....	line producer
Zhong-lun Ren	....	executive producer
James Schamus	....	executive producer
Darren Shaw	....	executive producer
Dai Song	....	executive producer
Doris Tse	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Rodrigo Prieto

Film Editing by
Tim Squyres

Casting by
Rosanna Ng

Production Design by
Lai Pan

Art Direction by
Kwok-wing Chong		(as Joel Chong)
Eric Lam
Sai-Wan Lau
Bill Lui
Alex Mok
Synderella Peng

Costume Design by
Lai Pan

Production Management
Gerry Robert Byrne	....	post-production supervisor
Eric Fong	....	production manager
Chiu Wah Lee	....	production manager
Chi On Leung	....	assistant production manager
Yindy Leung	....	assistant production manager
Mei Fun Mok	....	assistant production manager
Shun Choi Ngai	....	assistant production manager
Wai Luen Pang	....	production manager
Connie Tam	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tze Hung Lam	....	second assistant director
Rosanna Ng	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Sai Kit Wong	....	property master

Sound Department
Leslie Bloom	....	foley artist
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Chris Fielder	....	assistant sound editor
Mark Filip	....	sound effects editor
Eugene Gearty	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eugene Gearty	....	supervising sound editor
Frank Kern	....	supervising foley editor
Drew Kunin	....	sound mixer
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Jane McCulley	....	adr editor
Katherine Gordon Miller	....	assistant sound editor
Branka Mrkic	....	dialogue editor (as Branka Mrkic-Tana)
Jessica Parks	....	apprentice sound editor
Reuben Simon	....	sound editor
Wyatt Sprague	....	sound effects editor
Reilly Steele	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip Stockton	....	supervising sound editor
Betty P. Teng	....	associate adr editor
Steven Visscher	....	foley editor

Visual Effects by
Sarah Barber	....	visual effects coordinator: Mr. X Inc.
Aaron Barclay	....	compositing lead
Michael Becki	....	digital compositor
Barb Benoit	....	digital compositor
Dennis Berardi	....	senior visual effects producer: MR. X Inc.
Kristy Blackwell	....	digital compositor
Jeff Briant	....	visual effects production assistant: Mr X Inc.
Dan Carnegie	....	visual effects animator: Mr. X Inc.
Cyril Frederick Chu	....	digital artist
Ovidiu Cinazan	....	digital compositor
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Rob Del Ciancio	....	digital compositor
Jeremy Dineen	....	visual effects animator
Anand Dorairaj	....	digital compositor
Jason Edwardh	....	tracking lead
David Fix	....	senior systems administrator: Mr. X Inc
Zachary J. Gans	....	visual effects production assistant: Mr. X Inc.
Matt Glover	....	visual effects production assistant
Omar Gudjonsson	....	digital compositor
Annu Gulati	....	digital compositor
Timo Huber	....	digital compositor
Dushyant Kashyap	....	digital effects artist
Miklos Kozary	....	digital compositor: Mr X. Inc.
Ken Lam	....	digital compositor
Mai-Ling Lee	....	digital artist
Shun Sing Edward Lee	....	senior digital compositor
Elliot Mallon	....	modeller
Jim Maxwell	....	matte painter: Mr. X Inc
Sarah McMurdo	....	visual effects producer: Mr. X Inc
Jaideep Mohan	....	digital compositor
Jesh Murthy	....	visual effects
Kevin Quatman	....	compositing lead: Mr. X Inc
Matt Ralph	....	digital effects artist
Dominic Remane	....	lighting lead
Chris Ross	....	digital effects scanning
Matt Schofield	....	matte painter: Mr. X Inc
Carolyn Shelby	....	digital effects artist
Ben Simons	....	senior technical supervisor
Danita Slaughter	....	digital opticals editor
Brendan Taylor	....	visual effects supervisor: Mr. X Inc
David Thompson	....	digital compositor
Jean Phillipe Traore	....	Flame artist
Michael Turoff	....	visual effects
Lisa Tutunjian	....	digital intermediate editor
Armando Velazquez	....	digital compositor
Brianne Wells	....	preliminary visual effects coordinator: Mr. X Inc
Fiona Campbell Westgate	....	senior visual effects producer: Mr. X Inc
Kyle Yoneda	....	effects animator
Wojciech Zielinski	....	CG supervisor: Mr.X Inc
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)
Mitch Paulson	....	digital colorist assist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Edmond Chan	....	first assistant camera
Perry Ho	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Louis Jong	....	key grip
Tsoi Kubbie	....	assistant camera
Kenny Lam	....	first assistant camera
Man-Ching Ng	....	gaffer

Casting Department
David H. Kramer	....	adr voice casting
Ronnie Shum	....	casting coordinator

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
George Chavez	....	color timer
Lee Engelmann	....	color timer
Tom Engleman	....	color timer (as Tom Englemann)
Chris Hinton	....	color timer
Gary Levy	....	first assistant editor
Yvan Lucas	....	colorist: Efilm
Tom Mayclim	....	negative cutter
Christian Prejza	....	digital intermediate producer
Tom Reiser	....	colorist assist: Efilm
Lisa Tutunjian	....	digital intermediate editor
Caleb Wisdorf	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Jean-Pascal Beintus	....	orchestrator
Christine Bergren	....	music legal and clearance
Andrew Dudman	....	score mixer
Andrew Dudman	....	score recording engineer
Dan Lieberstein	....	music consultant
Jen Pray	....	music clearance

Other crew
Cheung Cheuk	....	production assistant
Tsz Cheung Cheung	....	making-of
Joyce Hsieh	....	production accountant
Wing Tai Lau	....	production assistant
Sherrie Liu	....	script supervisor
Heidi Ng	....	production assistant
Synderella Peng	....	title designer
Chow Hin Yeung Roy	....	assistant: director
Chow Hin Yeung Roy	....	researcher
Ronnie Shum	....	production assistant

Thanks
Rebecca Pan	....	special thanks: artistic contribution
Gustavo Santaolalla	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Hai Sheng Film Production Company (co-production)
• Focus Features
• Haishang Films
• Mr. Yee Productions
• River Road Entertainment
• Sil-Metropole Organisation (in association with)

Distributors

• Buena Vista International (2007) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• EDKO Film (2007) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Focus Features (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• TOBIS Film (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007-2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• CJ Entertainment (2007) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• U.G.C. PH (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Wise Policy (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• D Productions (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• Discovery Film & Video Distribution (2008) (Croatia) (all media)
• Europa Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (all media)
• Mars Entertainment (2007) (South Korea) (all media)
• Paradise Group (2007) (Russia) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (all media)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Special Effects

• Mr. X

Other Companies

• C5  post-production sound facility
• Cinerent  equipment provided by
• Decca Records  soundtrack
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Exact Cut  negative cutting
• Pivotal Post  editing equipment
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Sound One Corporation  post-production sound mixing
• Studio Davout  music recorded and mixed at
• Tai Fung (Tsu's) Co. Ltd.  film supplied by
• yU+Co.  main and end titles designed by

Also Known As:

Lust, Caution (USA)
Se jie (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for some explicit sexuality; Rated R for strong sexual content and a scene of brutal violence (edited version).

Runtime:

157 min | 148 min (edited version)

Country:

USA | China | Taiwan | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Japanese | English | Hindi | Shanghainese | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:NC-17 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Taiwan:R-18 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | South Korea:18 | Germany:16 | UK:18 | Australia:R | Philippines:R-18 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba) | Norway:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Finland:K-15 | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/18 | France:-12 | Japan:R-18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (heavily cut version) | Singapore:R21 (re-release) (uncut) | Argentina:18 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) (uncut version) | New Zealand:R18 | Peru:18 | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Hai Sheng Film Production Company

Trivia:

Mr. Yee's gait is based upon the Director's father.

Goofs:

Continuity: The story ends with Mr. Yee and Wong picking up the ring just after the mahjong game from the opening scene. During this game one of the ladies mentions a ring with a gemstone as large as an egg. While choosing the gem for the ring earlier in the story Wong refers to this remark which clearly takes place later on in the story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tiles of Deception, Lurid Affections: The Making of 'Lust, Caution' (2008) (V)

Poignant depiction of turbulent wartime politics

I had been hyping myself up a great deal for Lust, Caution ever since I first heard of the project, so I'm glad to say that it did not disappoint. The film was a beautifully executed "espionage thriller," if you want to go with how it's being marketed to a broad audience. Steeped in the historically and culturally turbulent period of the second Sino-Japanese War, one must applaud Ang Lee for the dizzying array of minutiae he oversaw as director.

Because of the nature of the film's protagonist Wang Jiazhi (played by a newcomer named Tang Wei - not shabby for your first feature) as an agent working under a second identity to ensnare a dangerous collaborationist (Tony Leung), all the scenes where Wang masquerades as the bourgeois Ms. Mai are fraught with a psychological tension, doubling with the political agenda at stake as well as her womanhood. She portrays both roles with heartbreaking deftness; a great casting choice if there ever was one. While not as physically alluring as some of her competitors for the role - Chinese language actresses including Zhou Xun and Shu Qi - I don't think anyone else could have pulled it off like Tang. She convincingly transforms herself from a naive college girl to coy seductress...and back again.

The film struck quite a few personal nerves on my part too. While mainstream cinema should be, you know, self-sustaining or whatever you want to call it, there's really a lot to this movie that gets lost in subtitling to an extent, but also just in context and culture. Etiquette at the mah-jongg table; the omnipresent yet understated background of wartime occupation; political interests in the Chinese Civil War era; the weight of regional identity in dialects and interpersonal relationships. Tang Wei spoke Mandarin, Cantonese, and Shanghainese. My only thought is: What a hottie.

The sex scenes are...something else. As echoed by most critics, they serve the story perfectly in capturing the urgency that Tang and Leung have in their precarious affair. There's a lot of violence in them, and it is through these carnal and savage acts that Tony Leung's Mr. Yee character is established as a very dangerous man. I won't spoil too much but there were several times when it became too difficult to watch.

There were quite a few moments that made my heart flutter and eyes wobble. I'll just leave it at that.