LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Masks beneath masks , the click-clack of Mahjong tiles and the sheen of silk cheongsams : Taiwanese director Ang Lee ( `` Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon '' ; `` Brokeback Mountain '' ) brings an intoxicating tale of lies , deceit and corruption to the screen with his latest film , `` Lust , Caution '' . Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Tang Wei star in Ang Lee 's latest film , `` Lust , Caution '' Japanese-occupied Shanghai , 1942 . Mrs Mak , an impeccably coiffed Chinese lady , makes a telephone call from a cafe , then sits and waits . Cue a flashback to 1938 , where her story begins . Mrs Mak is not the sophisticate she appears -- just a few years earlier , she was shy drama student Wong Chia Chi . Ang Lee 's adaptation of Eileen Chang 's short story tells the tale of a girl caught up in the winds of change of World War II . The fast-paced erotic thriller tracks Wong Chia Chi 's transformation from bookish student to collaborator bait . The film has already received wide acclaim , winning Lee his second Golden Lion at Venice with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film already in the bag . `` Lust , Caution '' cleaned up at Taiwan 's Golden Horse awards , scooping seven trophies including Best Film , Best Director , Best Actor , which went to Tony Leung Chiu Wai , and Best Newcomer , for Wei Tang . Wei Tang plays Wong Chia Chi , a student in Hong Kong whose fate is set when she meets Kuang Yu Min ( Lee-hom Wang ) , a handsome fellow student who wants to use drama to provoke his compatriots to rebel against the Japanese . As Kuang 's leading lady , Wong Chia Chi blossoms , but when Kuang urges his fellow players to move from inspiration to action , she finds herself at the center of a plot to ensnare and murder Japanese collaborator Mr Yee ( Tony Leung Chiu Wai ) . Dressed in cheongsams and primped and curled to perfection , Wong Chia Chi sets out on the biggest role of her life . As Mrs Mak , she gains Lee 's trust through his wife , and the plot progresses as planned until an unexpectedly fatal twist spurs her to flee . Cut to Shanghai three years later : Wong Chia Chi is caught in a listless existence when Kuang unexpectedly re-enters her life . He lures her back into the unfinished sting operation , and before long she and Mr Lee , now head of the collaborationist secret service , are engaged in a torrid affair that pushes her soul and her loyalty to the limit . Newcomer Wei Tang gives a startlingly assured and subtle performance . At times , she seems to mirror Wong Chia Chi 's transformation into Mrs Mak from dowdy student to rouged mistress , but she rises to the challenge and ably carries the film on her slender shoulders . As she is thrust into the spotlight by Kuang , stripped mechanically of her virginity in readiness for her role as temptress , and placed alongside Mr Lee , Wei Tang , with serene stillness , lets Wong Chia Chi be swept along to her final destiny . Every diamond demands the right setting to sparkle , and Tony Leung Chiu Wai 's generous performance as the enigmatic Mr Lee lets his co-star shine . Leung is pitch-perfect , and shows his quality as he lets Lee 's beautifully impassive mask shift and slip , revealing a tightly-wound coil of repressed emotion beneath . Leung is remarkable : a highly skilled actor capable of expressing a world of emotion in the smallest muscle movement . The audience is left to imagine the horrors he unleashes during his interrogations of Chinese resistance fighters . The already-infamous sex scenes can appear a little clumsy and contorted at times , less intimate than acrobatic ; it 's when Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Wei Tang sit in silence that they most project how intimate and electric their connection really is . The lead characters are ably supported by a stirling cast , most notably a splendidly nuanced performance from Joan Chen as Mrs Lee , forced to turn a blind eye to her husband 's affairs , both in business and of the heart , while Asian pop superstar Wang Leehom gives a convincing and impassioned performance as romantic , ruthless Kuang . As for the ambience , Ang Lee is known for his attention to detail , and at times the 30s luxe and glamour is perhaps a little too perfect , a little too glossy , with a depth of style usually reserved for more placid period pieces . ( Note for fashionistas : while `` Atonement '' might inspire a 2008 trend for bias-cut 30s dresses , `` Lust , Caution '' will add perfectly formed cloche hats and cocktail rings to the mix . ) But this chilling , thrilling film-noir-inspired tale is both poised and elegant , bloody and erotic ; if not quite a diamond the size of a quail 's egg , `` Lust , Caution '' is certainly a precious pearl of a movie . E-mail to a friend .
Ang Lee 's latest film , `` Lust , Caution '' is a film-noir spy tale set in Shanghai . `` Lust , Caution '' is the follow-up to 2005 's Oscar-winning `` Brokeback Mountain '' Asian cinema icon Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and newcomer Wei Tang star . Too perfect in parts , with OTT sex scenes , the film is still a killer thriller .