Ang Lee hopes to film a comedy

[summertime]

Artist: Lee, Ang


Ang Lee hopes to film a comedy

By KEVIN WILLIAMSON - Sun Media






Ang Lee wishes he knew how to quit them.

Tragic tales of forbidden, thwarted love, we mean.

His latest -- following in the saddle sores of Brokeback Mountain -- is Lust, Caution, an espionage thriller set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II.

Tang Wei portrays a gorgeous Chinese spy for the U.S.-backed resistance who seduces a high-ranking government official (Tony Leung) in order to orchestrate his assassination. Suspense and heartbreak ensue when she becomes emotionally attached to -- and sexually excited by -- her target.

"There's a similarity," Lee says of the disparate dramas. "Both are dealing with taboo subjects -- gay cowboys and a woman's sexuality against the backdrop of patriotic war ... You always have to find new ways to tell love stories."

As with Brokeback and the bulk of Lee's films (The Ice Storm, even The Hulk), the characters in Lust, Caution are undone by their inability to express pent-up desires -- or reconcile them with their actions.

"For Brokeback, because it's a western, they don't talk much. You have to use body language and eyes and tempo and pace. For this one, because they're Chinese, they don't say much. But I like that. Even when they're talking, there's always subtext -- what they're saying and then what they're really saying."

Nor is it a coincidence, he believes, that both films are based on short stories penned by female authors.

"They're more daring. Our social structure is patriarchal -- the man makes the rules for his convenience. When a woman is not conforming, it can be inspiring and deconstructive ... They come from different angle. When they're gutsy, there's nothing like them. A man would never dare to write like that. No man could never be that brutal. Both men and women can be honest -- it's not a gender thing. But I think somehow they come from a different angle that's against social convention. It can be scary to us."

Tang, a Beijing drama student marking her feature-film debut, was chosen after an estimated 10,000 contenders were auditioned.

"It's her first real job," Lee says. "When I first met her, I couldn't make the decision, but I had a hunch it was her. She has a classic disposition, a look -- you feel like the story belongs to her."

Yet, Lust, Caution, which won the top prize at the Venice filmfest, has generated its share of controversy as well, thanks to graphic sex scenes between Tang and Leung.

Tang, who has been promoting the movie since it premiered at Venice, admits via a translator that, "At first everybody talks about the love scenes because it's very different from other love scenes. Later, they will think of the theme and the story because there is a lot of emotion in the film that is so special."

In the meantime, she's just trying to get used to watching herself on-screen.

"The first time I saw the film, I said, 'Oh my God, it's so different than what I imagined.' Every detail is magnified ... I'm not used to seeing myself on the big screen."

As for Lee, he is contemplating what he might direct next. Turns out it may, for once, not involve a tragic romance.

"I hope to do a comedy," he reveals with a smile.

"A carefree comedy."


http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/L/Lee_Ang/2007/10/05/4552121-sun.html

[light]

Tony needs a comedy more.

[summertime]

I agree - Tony is due for a comedy - I'm due for a Tony comedy