Lust, Caution, Men, and Women
In my recent post about Lust, Caution, I didn't do much discussion of the film, but there was one scene there that I thought I'd mention. It sort of fits in with a discussion I've been hosting at my new blog, the idea of the male gaze, with the female as the object of said gaze. This particular shot in the film was when Kuang was standing on the stage, with Wang looking at him from behind the curtains. Suddenly the light came on, and Kuang's profile was beautifully illuminated. Perhaps Wang was not the only one who became just a little breathless at the sight.
This is one of the things that Ang Lee does so well in all of his films. He manipulates visual images so masterfully. I loved the way this film was shot. There were several moments like this one, where a momentary shot seemed to say so much. The actors did an excellent job to pull it off, but I do think that most of the credit has to go to Ang Lee. The man has a very good eye for images that have this sort of effect.
