Friday, January 25, 2008

Lust, Caution - a visual feast



I saw Ang Lee's latest film, "Lust, Caution", recently. Despite the lacklustre reviews I've read, I very much enjoyed the film. But rather than reviewing the film here, I want to talk about the visual feast of fashion and beauty it provides. Set in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the 1940s, the women of the film wear a wonderful mix of traditional Chinese (gorgeous cheongsams in numerous different fabrics):





... and Western styles (classic trenches, chic hats and very covetable oversized clutches):







I wasn't able to locate more detailed pictures of the makeup, but during scenes where the women play gossipy games of mahjong, I was admiring their glossy, berry-tinted lips and perfectly lacquered nails in juicy shades of watermelon and blackberry, while pondering the best type of brush to achieve that subtly-lined eye with the tiny perfect flick.



How advantageous, then, that the languorous pace of the film allowed me to focus on the visual aspects of the film without missing what was going on in the plot!


Images courtesy of Yahoo! Movies

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see it, if only for the costumes! I think it's out here now... maybe I'll drag John to see it this evening...