Lust Caution in Japan

[Eri]

The film is on for more than 10 days now in Japan.
Generally very well received.

Some magazines emphasized on those love scenes in advance but most of people who actually watched the film found that the story and the actors' expressions of feelings without saying words were the most impressive part of this film.

A lot of people say that it is amazing to explain the very complicated feelings of the characters just by facial expression or even one glance.
All the actors were praised but of course specially you TONY.

And also because the film leaves you very deep feelings and you need to concentrate on watching all the time during the film to understand fully, people want to return to watch it again to clarify something which was not quite understandable at the first time.

I hope this film is going to continue to be shown for longer than usual 2 weeks.

[Yuka]

I went to see Lust, Caution again . All seats were still sold out.
I’m not sure if it’s same for theaters in a suburban area.
I hope this will be a long run, too . Personally, I prefer smaller theater
(i.e. theater with small capacity) than big cinema-complex to see this film.
Because it's intimate. (Please allow me if my choice of English is inadequate.)
This is a kind of movie (although running time is long)
you can't just leave the seat until the end roll finishes.

My parents watched the film last weekend. I didn’t tell them to
watch! (My dad lived in Beijing when he was small ,so he prefers
to watch Asian related movies.) He told me Ang Lee’s choice of
time setting is unique and liked the delicate way of expressing
each character’s emotions.
And… my mother .. she’d seen only In the Mood for Love,
screamed at me, “Yuka, oh my God ! Is that same Tony as in
….??? Oh my God!!! ”
( Tony, I think my mom needs to be cured as well )

Yuka
PS: Happy Valentine’s Day!
In Japan, ladies won’t get presents. It’s popular to give chocolates to
boy friends and colleagues etc.

[Eri]

Hello Yuka,

It's nice to know that your parents went to see Lust Caution, and your father liked the film. (was it shocking for your mother ?)

Although my mother in England really wants to see Lust Caution (I recommended her), hasn't seen it yet, because she is too embarrassed to ask her friends to go with her but also not brave enough to go by herself.
She said "she is planning to watch DVD when it is released".

Happy Valentine's Day ! Tony and Everyone here.

[Yuka]

Hello Eri,

She wasn’t informed of the film in advance,
so some parts of the film were shocking for her.
I think she will get over if she’s given a
big pink diamond ring by Cartier.
(Is it ? I think I saw the name at the end title roll, but may be not.)

This morning, I had to carry tons of chocolates to my office.
Heavy Valentine’s Day for me, but
Happy Valentine’s Day to Tony and Tony’s fans around the world !

[Eri]

Yuka, I think that pink diamond ring was by Cartier and I've read somewhere that was actually made around that time (1940's).
I am sure that ring must have some history in the past.

Also it is interesting, this diamond was called "Goose's Egg" in Chinese and English (because of the pink colour ?) but in Japanese subtitles it was "Pigeon's Egg". Perhaps because Japanese have better impression for pigeon than goose ? or just because more common bird in Japan ?

[Marie]

Eri,

In English a really big diamond is called a "goose egg" because of its size. No other meaning attached to the term.

Marie

[Eri]

[Hong]

Hi everyone. In the English-subtitled version I saw, the diamond was called a "quail egg", which I thought was a pretty elegant translation, given that 1) quails, a small bird, are historically considered a gastronomic delicacy in old European cuisine, 2) a quail can also be taken to mean a girl or even a prostitute. Peace...
_________________
Pour l'essentiel, l'homme est ce qu'il cache - André Malraux

[Yuka]

Hello, Eri, Marie and Hong,

Thank you for your information!
When I saw Japanese subtitle, “pigeon’s egg,” I felt little bit odd ,
because I couldn’t imagine the size and figure of the stone right away.
I thought quail is much better when describing the size in Japanese.
But quail's egg is not romantic at all in Japanese.
May be just a matter of preference, though..

Yuka

[Eri]

[Eri]

Hi Yuka,

Yes, for most of Japanese "quail egg" is something you can find in a lunch box, so it might make Japanese people laugh if same word was used in Japanese subtitles, so changed to "Pigeon's Egg" because we don't eat them and we don't know what they look like.

[Yuka]

Hello Eri,

I can see now that Ms. Matsuura, subtitle translator, is
doing a fine job !

[Eri]

Hi everyone,

Now, I understood why I thought it was "Goose's egg".

I watched DVD again and found out that the pink diamond was called "quail egg" [¦X³¾]¤l³J in Chinese and pronounced like ¡¨Goo see dan¡¨.

I already knew "dan" was egg so I was mixed up by the sound and thought it was "Goose egg", but actually it was "quail egg" in Chinese.

It also reminded me it was "quail egg" in English subtitles when I watched the film at the cinema in HK.

As you can see in the film, "quail egg" (pink diamond) seems to be the most unusual and precious diamond then, and probably even now.

[Raphael]

a few infos about Cartier setting here :

http://www.goldarths.com/Current_Affairs/post/2008/01/Cartier-ring-in-Lust-Caution-on-display-in-Singapore.aspx

and there :

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=474855

[Eri]

Thank you Raphael for more information.

Although I am not interested in diamonds, I am interested in the story behind it.
According to this, the ring was specially made for this film by Cartier with ¡¥colonial-style¡¦ design.

I thought the ring was made in 1940's and unexpectedly found by someone looking for the right ring for this film, because Ang Lee said in one of the interviews, "I was surprised when the ring fitted Tang Wei's finger perfectly, and felt it was made for her."

Maybe the ring was ordered before the leading actress was chosen ?