Ang Lee directs Tang Wei, Tony Leung and Joan Chen in this erotic spy thriller where a drama student joins a group of radicals and takes on the fake life of a glamorous businessman’s wife to infiltrate a handsome traitor’s home.

People playing parts they cannot escape. Beautiful tactile fashions. The slow crank building to big sexual release. The folly of youth and idealism. Most boys are useless, men are corrupt. A lightning bolt debut by Tang Wei. Tony Leung being cool as fuck, even as an utter bastard. Perfectly orchestrated set pieces like the slow, pointless escape through a busy street. The Orwellian inevitability of the final moments. Ang Lee’s last great one? I hope not.

9

Perfect Double Bill: The Age of Shadows (2016)

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