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Two Oriental Filmmakers. Two Mouthwatering Results

Two directors from the “Far East”, known for their visually stunning cinematic delights and two films that mark some what of a turning point in their careers. For Wong Kar-Wai last year was finally a time to test the Hollywood waters with his first English language film “My Blueberry Nights”, and Ang Lee went back to his roots directing the Chinese war period, “Se, Jie” (Lust, Caution). Now, while Wong-Kar-Wai has seldom strayed from his trademark visual style and patented haunting-romantic melodramas, Ang Lee has probably tried his hands in all genres. Fantasies (Crouching Tiger), CG’s (Hulk), taboo relationships (Brokeback Mountain, The Wedding Banquet), literary adaptations (Sense and Sensibility).. you name it and Lee has been there, done that. And so is the case with the directors’ latest works. While Blueberry Nights is just an extension of Wong Kar wai’s earlier works, Ang lee continues to explore unchartered territories.

My Blueberry Nights is essentially a road movie shot on location in New York, Tennessee, Nevada and California. It received a preety lukewarm response (which i find very strange) when it screened at Cannes last year and the movie has lost almost half an hour since then. It’s studded with stars (Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, David Strathairn) and marks the screen debut of Norah Jones. If you like her music, you can’t say the same about her acting. Though she has a good screen presence but she does seem a bit stiff at times. She stars as Lizzie who is in the middle of a break-up and walks into an eatery owned by an Englishman, Jeremy (Jude Law). From here on, it’s classic Wong Kar-Wai. She walks out of love again when it’s just about to get her, travelling to different cities meeting interesting people. All along she keeps in touch with Jeremy through post-cards. And just about when the movie starts to chug along, in comes Natalie Porttman, bringing the screen alive with her chirpy persona. For hardcore Kar Wai fans, the film is a sumptuous treat. It has got all the ingredients that the director is famous for. Lingering voiceovers, broken hearts, road travel, haunting music… even that requisite cop and her lover. For other who are looking for something different it could be deja vu once more.

Here is the trailer of the movie.

And now to Ang Lee. With “Lust Caution” (Se, Jie) Ang Lee has gone back to his Mandarin roots with a story set in World War-II era Shanghai and even before the movie went to the edit table it had become notorious for the graphic sex scenes. Watching “Lust, Caution” you will know why because the director could give any porn fimmaker a run for his money. In fact in an interview when asked whether the actors had real on-camera sex, Ang Lee chose to remain quiet. So my guess is as good as yours. True, there are explicitly filmed long lovemaking sessions but they are very integral to the plot. The movie takes ages to build up but if you are the patient kind , then it’s all worth the wait. It’s based on a short story by Eileen Chang (a reknowned Chinese author) and is set in 1940’s when Shanghai was under the Japanese occupation. The plot in two sentences….Wong Kar Wai’s favourite muse Tony Leung (2046, In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Happy Together) plays a Chinese official working in co-horts with the Japanese. The beautiful newcomer Tang Wei plays a member of a revolutionaly group who want to eliminate Leung and ask Wei to seduce him so as to get closer. However she ends up falling for him and lets go of a brilliant opportunity to assassinate him. In the end, all the young rebels are killed by the firing squad. Moral of the story. Well, even the most noble intentions can be corrupted by love.

Not to take anything from the movies, it does unfold at a very languid pace and the vital parts of the movie come way too late. But beyond that it’s a great watch.

Trailer of “Lust, Caution”

9 Responses to “Two Oriental Filmmakers. Two Mouthwatering Results”

  1. Shashank on July 2nd, 2008 1:11 am

    Well I a great fan of Wong Kar Wai. His films especially In the Mood for Love, Fallen Angels, Chunking Express and 2046 are brilliant. I completely admire his visual sense and style.

  2. PJ on July 2nd, 2008 1:48 am

    @ShashankI got into Wong Kar Wai through his earlier films. “Days of being Wild” and “As Tears go by”. Absolutely brilliant. Moreover you get to see Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung right when they were starting.As for Ang Lee, my first film was Wedding Banquet which sadly not many people have seen. To me that movie laid the foundation for Brokeback Mountain.

  3. sangita gopal on July 2nd, 2008 1:55 am

    thanks pankaj for bringing us these reviews. i am so glad you liked the films — both of which got very lukewarm responses in the US press. i loved them both — lust caution more than my blueberry nights. i felt that the US setting is just not great for Wong’s favorite theme — unfulfilled desire/longing for loss — after all the US is so much about self-gratification that somehow the postponement of satisfaction for the sake of desire just does not seem to translate in the context of America and what it means. thus images that filled us with yearning in his previous feelings — images and sounds inspired by US popular culture — neon signs, femmefatales, jazz, the road — need the displacement in order to produce the desired effect.

    “lust caution” on the other hand, is in my opinion, ang lee’s most accomplished film to date. 2.5 hours of mah jong and 3 visceral sex scenes in the last half hour!! how odd is that for pacing and rhythm!!!!

  4. bossDK on July 2nd, 2008 3:37 am

    When will some one from PFC write about the other greats from the ‘Far East’, namely, Hsiou Hsien Hou and Tsai Ming Liang!

    And Pankaj, you are short charging us, if you chose to call this a review.

    I have seen Lust, Caution. In my opinion you misread and wrongly attribute the honourable intentions, to love. You merely have to check the English title of the film.

  5. PJ on July 2nd, 2008 5:20 am

    @sangita
    totally agree with you

    @boss DK.. never intended it as a review.tagged it wrongly. A post on Oriental filmmakers is coming soon which includes the filmamkers you’ve mentioned. BTW i’m trying to look up the english transcription of Eileen Chang’s story. Will post the link as soon as I find it. You’ll realise whether it was love or lust which proved to be Wei’s undoing in the story after you read it.

  6. Shashank on July 3rd, 2008 12:23 am

    @PJ

    Even Ashes Of Time is a treat to watch out for .

  7. Sanya on July 4th, 2008 9:26 am

    Thanks for the post, Pankaj. Glad to know that My Blueberry Nights is worth a watch. Even from Sangita’s comment. (The reviews have been bad but knowing American, or even popular, tastes, I guess, one should be wary.) I saw the trailer and yes, it was a lot like Chungking in places, especially the ‘guy across the counter’ effect (only, in the reverse somewhat).

    As for Lust, Caution, I agree with bossDK that it isn’t about succumbing to love (or even just lust for that matter), but it’s the complex grid of sexuality that is explored in war-time China. The Chinese young lover doesn’t have the gumption to have his ‘first time’ with Wei (that also reflects his political helplessness) and so loses her (like his country) to the ‘traitor’ who draws out the most hidden aspects of sexuality, the foremost being forbidden desire, into the open (between the two of them). But a woman isn’t a country, only its symbol, and does have her individual feelings as a human being.
    Moreover, how ‘noble’ are those intentions that wish to use an uninitiated young girl for a sexual liaison with a traitor? Who can guarantee that a susceptible girl won’t lose her heart (since she’s losing her only possession — her body) to her first real lover? (Remember, she has no one else in the world who really cares for her, thus her fatalism. Even her ‘comrade’ doesn’t express himself till he seems to be losing his grip on her.)
    The complexity of emotions Leung & Wei portray with such subtlety reveal the director’s acumen. I read that the sex scenes were shot a (gruelling) number of times till they were finalised. And it’s not easy to do scenes that look so natural. That do not reveal how they are stylised and actually don’t have any make-up on them. They appear raw and thus scary. (Not as scary as Realm of the Senses though.)
    Of course, Wei is absolutely delectable throughout the movie. I think I saw the movie again only coz of her. She is just so goddamn beautiful! Also coz my friend said Wei hadn’t been made to portray her inner turmoil that well and I wasn’t sure if that was correct. (And yes, I’ll watch MBN coz of Portman and Jude Law too, besides Norah.) The visuals in Se, Jie are so rich and gorgeous and at the same time, so empty. Especially the mah jong. Quite amazing. (At the end, Leung says, ‘continue playing’.) I loved the amateur murder scene. I was reminded of, “They stab it with their steely knives / But they just can’t kill the beast…”
    In fact I watched Brokeback when I came to know the director’s the same guy. Was a tad disappointed coz the 20 yrs’ time period and their relationship I felt were not brought out that well somehow. (I maybe wrong.) But the visuals again were wonderful.
    I checked out the translation of the title, Se, Jie, and in various places (esp. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49419/) it is said that the pun apparent in Shanghainese is lost in the reductionist English title. ‘Se’ means colour too, therefore the attractive colour of any desire, even patriotism. And ‘Jie’ also means ‘ring’, not just caution. That, I think is the crux. In the reducing of the title’s meaning, one falls into the direct Christian discourse of ‘lust is bad, caution is good’ and narrow the possibilities of understanding the film. Desire, even for one’s country, on the other hand, leads one to put things on the line, even someone else’s sanity or life. So, the caution here isn’t meant only for sexual lust but for blind desire — for anything.

  8. Sanya on July 4th, 2008 9:29 am

    Forgot to add the Japanese brothel scene. God, that was one heartrending moment when Wei sings and dances for Leung!

  9. PJ on July 6th, 2008 5:51 am

    Immensely entertainin and educative comment Sanya.. Thanks..

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