A must-see: LUST, CAUTION

PLOT:
1942 Japanese - occupied Shanghai. A group of wealthy women, wives of officials in the collaborationist government, play mahjong and gossip, while outside their villa plainclothes security man pace in the cold. One young woman, a friend of Mrs. Yee, the hostess, begs her apologies, and leaves the game early for an appointment. She makes her way to seedy café, pick up the phone, and dials. At the other end of the line a young man picks up. They chatter idly for a moment. Hanging up, he turns to the group of men gathered around him: "It's now" They holster their guns, hide small axes in their sleeves, and move out. In the café, the young woman pays her bill and leaves. She hails a tricycle cab on the busy street, and rides away... toward a destiny that, in the single moment, will weave together the threads of passion, truth betrayal, violence, and sacrifice that have led her to this final, fateful winter evening of her life.

REVIEW:
I wasn't prepared to see an award-winning film but a film starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, my favourite local actor. Without much expectation, you could always get surprise.
Tong is definitely the star in the film, having known that she's an almost inexperienced actress on silver screen. The innocence of a college student, the passion of a patriot, the sophistication of a veteran - she has them all. Her role is convincing, judging from head to toe or to every inch of her body, or even the little bits of her facial expression and body language. And the most controversial scenes frequently talked about show her opening up herself and devoting to the art.
For Leung, it's an absolute breakthrough. I dare say, I've never seen him going beyond like what I saw in the film. The villain, the violence and the fury added together used to have nothing to do with Leung, now he's the one, hybrid. He's turned himself into someone the audience never thought of or related him to. And now, he has proved himself a real actor - one that can be so all-round.
I don't know how to say much about Ang Lee, but he's a genius. His insight into the deepest parts of any stories has brought juice and bones to his production. He sees something nobody pays attention to and magically turns it to the SENSE.
I highly recommend this film, with my utmost respect to the excellent work of the director, and the leading actor and actress.