Ang Lee has had his fair share of attention over the last few years. Not only did he become hugely popular after the stunning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (one of the few subtitled films to play in my town’s cinema), but last year’s Oscars were saturated with nominations for Brokeback Mountain, a film charting a passionate affair between two cowboys (my cinema wasn’t so interested in that one). And now Lee is back, this time a return to China, with Lust, Caution. He loves those commas, that Lee.

I can’t find much info online about it, meaning this trailer is my main source of storyline. It seems to be set in World War II, where a young woman infiltrates her way to a powerful political figure in order to murder him. But of course, by seducing him and capturing his heart, she gets emotionally involved and faces a moral dilemma.

While I’m always excited at the prospect of an Ang Lee movie, for he always delivers on solid drama, this movie has left me with not much lust, but very cautious. Sure, I am glad to see Tony Luang, an excellent actor who has done nothing but impress since In the Mood for Love, but the plot feels very dull. It just sounds very unoriginal. I’d even go as far and accuse Lee of making a very heterosexual film (note the trailer’s excessive use of flesh, including the final frame) in order to balance against the most popular gay film in history, perhaps in an effort to cater for everyone. Yes, that’s very cynical, but I can’t understand what has drawn Lee to the story. I can only hope that I am very wrong and that this film is yet another moving drama in the director’s career.

Lust, Caution is released in the US on September 28.