The story begins in Shanghai as it is being seized and occupied by Japan in 1940. The male lead is a collaborator with the Japanese, and the female lead is a patriotic drama student who is a friend of his wife. The students decide to use her access to the hated traitor, to assassinate him and it takes three years of caution and planning to fulfill. The production values were extravagant with beautiful cinematography, 1940s sets, music and costumes for that period, and well cast actors.<br /><br />As an old timer I enjoyed seeing the 1940s atmosphere and the political intrigue. I thought of Hitchock's Notorious during a couple of the scenes. I believe the script could have been nicely topped off if the final line was: C'est la guerre! <br /><br />Ang Lee's films are diverse and well executed. I've seen The Ice Storm, Hulk, Tiger/Dragon, Brokeback Mountain,and now Lust/Caution.<br /><br />A plus was seeing Joan Chen in a small role as Mrs. Yee.