ACMI Presents
Lust, Caution
Tickets
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When
Sat 31 Jan – Tue 3 Mar 2026
In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, a student-turned-spy is drawn into a sophisticated contest of duty and desire, in Ang Lee’s elegant, erotic spy thriller.
Set in Hong Kong and Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II, Lust, Caution follows a troupe of student actors that joins the resistance to infiltrate a brutal puppet regime. When a ruthless, paranoid official (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) takes one of the actors (Tang Wei) as his mistress, she’s forced into a dangerous web of intrigue and desire, in director Ang Lee’s immaculate, Golden Lion Award-winning follow-up to Brokeback Mountain.
A slow-burn, Hitchcock-indebted espionage thriller, Lust, Caution stands among director Ang Lee’s most accomplished works – a lavish, painstakingly paced saga that slowly boils towards a shock of explosive eroticism. Though infamous upon release for its sequences of explicit sex, the film’s deeper power lies in its restraint: in the unbelievably haunting performances from Leung and Wei, and in the confidence and control of a legendary filmmaker at the peak of his powers.
"In a film where casting is a vital component in the edgy equation, Leung and Tang make a picturesque and dramatically compelling couple."
Program Passes
See more films in this program for less
3-Session Pass
Full $48, Concession $42, Member $39
6-Session Pass
Full $90, Concession $78, Member $72
Focus on Tony Leung Chiu-wai
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