The film revisits a harrowing and crucial event in recent Asian history - the Japanese occupation during WWII and all the horrors that came with it.
In this match between the reserved collaborationist chief of police and the innocent student turned brave spy for the Chinese resistance, complex emotions, such as patriotism, courage, honour, loneliness, hate, love and betrayal, are quietly and provocatively depicted.
It is in the (few) sex scenes that the film's emotions become so powerful and character-defining. The story's chief male character expresses himself mainly through those sex scenes, at first violently, as if angry against himself. The young heroine, in turn, learns the art of seduction confidently in order to help kill a traitor, but her patriotic duty soon becomes intolerable, as expressed by her tears in the aftermath of passionate love-making. It is in one later scene, at a Japanese brothel, that lust is finally seen as developing into mutual love.
Direction, acting, score, cinematography and costumes are all first class in this compelling wartime thriller.
The film also pays tribute to film noir masterworks, such as "Casablanca" and "Suspicion", as well as other classics such as "Last Tango in Paris".
Oscar worthy (even if strangely neglected).
In this match between the reserved collaborationist chief of police and the innocent student turned brave spy for the Chinese resistance, complex emotions, such as patriotism, courage, honour, loneliness, hate, love and betrayal, are quietly and provocatively depicted.
It is in the (few) sex scenes that the film's emotions become so powerful and character-defining. The story's chief male character expresses himself mainly through those sex scenes, at first violently, as if angry against himself. The young heroine, in turn, learns the art of seduction confidently in order to help kill a traitor, but her patriotic duty soon becomes intolerable, as expressed by her tears in the aftermath of passionate love-making. It is in one later scene, at a Japanese brothel, that lust is finally seen as developing into mutual love.
Direction, acting, score, cinematography and costumes are all first class in this compelling wartime thriller.
The film also pays tribute to film noir masterworks, such as "Casablanca" and "Suspicion", as well as other classics such as "Last Tango in Paris".
Oscar worthy (even if strangely neglected).