Before watching, this film appeared to have everything going for it. A great cast, an eve of WW2 setting, an exotic location and an old fashioned thriller. After the first hour I dropped off to sleep, but at least I had put the DVD on pause, so two hours later I woke up to finish it. By the end I was baffled as to what it was all about, so I watched it a second time being more refreshed by my nap. The plot still escaped me. John Cusack in a white tuxedo in a casino where he spots a beautiful mysterious woman in distress who has a husband and who manages to keep out hero guessing with various cryptic hints of what? Cigarettes proffered from gold cases, sundry Asians popping in and out, lots of shootings and bombings, lots of blood, pouring rain, dark wet streets, more killings - in other words a by the numbers confusing parody of film noir which could have been much better.All I gleaned from the story was that John Cusak had been assigned to Shanghai and as soon as he got there, his friend was murdered while he was with a woman, who was somehow involved with a Japanese officer and addicted to opium. A couple of characters needed to be smuggled out of Shanghai, I know not why, and no one could catch a train or boat without struggling through hordes of extras. I only barely figured out why John Cusack, Ken Wantanabe, Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat were in the story, but the rest went over my head. I never did work out who was working for whom or which side they were on.

I've written before about the tendency in film to couple a love story with some radical political turmoil. The reason is simply that love is not inherently cinematic. Sex is and female attractiveness can be, but I'm talking here about the dimensions of love and in particular that dangerous love that swallows all else, bringing certain ruin.We have many examples of this, including Ang Lee's amazing 'Lust, Caution.' I mention that film because it worked; it drew me in, made me re-experience my own love and terrified me. This is one thing a film can do, entangle experiences. When one is in control of a master storyteller, but out of control of the viewer, and the personal engagements of the viewer are also out of control, you get a mix of reliving a part of your life knowing *someone* is in control.I also mention is because it is much the same story as in this film, involving the same events. But Lust works. This doesn't. Part of the problem is the director of course. We know the story works; it is based on a well understood cinematic dynamic. We've seen these actors be effective before. In this comment, I would like to focus on one error. It isn't the only one; the main problem is that the director is meek. The thing of interest to me is the attempt to build on noir.Noir is simple: a random guy is manipulated by forces beyond his control, and those forces, by a few conventions, are merged with our identities as viewers. It has some indicators. It starts with the hero in a very bad spot, then establishes itself as a narrated story, with the hero as narrator. There are a few cinematic ticks as well and we get these early enough to get the message.The basic problem, I think, is that these two cinematic traditions do not naturally mix. They grew over 60 - 70 years, each of them. Each has shortcuts to an implied contract between viewer and filmmaker.What Lust did was place the viewer in the story. We suffer as the characters do, carrying angst against the unknown. What noir does is place the viewer outside the story as manipulator of fate, together with the filmmaker. Both can disturb, engage, reward but the machinery is different.

This is a mesmerising film. The camera shots and directing are truly beautiful. From its opening shots on the Shangai waterfront the film sets will captivate you and make you yearn for the days of Bogart and Raft. It is more like watching a colour version of a forties film noire than a modern movie, all the better for it. I think I noticed one swear word in the whole movie, otherwise I could have stepped back in time to the days of the studio system and old more stars than in heaven. John Cusack has always been a favourite of mine,Yun-Fat Chow, Ken Watanabe are excellent and Li Gong steals your heart and never gives it back. Her performance is a true femme fatale of the old school.If you are a fan of old Hollywood movies then I strongly recommend this film.

This movie captures that period of 30's Shanghai quite well. Well I wouldn't be the best person to judge considering I know little about that time, but from what I had seen in this film, it was very intriguing.This espionage/war film gets your attention. The plot is not too complicated, has a nice pace, good performances and an international cast. John Cusack is decent in this role, Gong Li is gorgeous as ever and her English seems to have improved. She captures the screen with her grace and beauty, but also a believable performance. Chow Yun Fat is equally as good. Ken Watanabe - a good performance though he really needs to work more on making his accent understandable as I still have a little trouble with him, but nevertheless makes a good icy character.The last act creates the suspense very well, though I'll have to admit, though I found the ending dramatic and decent, it might have been more interesting if they actually filmed what happened instead of doing the voice-over, but hey I guess budget constraints and time can get in the way, so I'm alright with it I suppose.This is a visual feast. It is good to see many actors of different nationalities blend in for what is a cross country story. Japan/China/Germany. Franka Potente has a role here too, which I enjoyed as well.The only problem with the film, though it wasn't it's fault, was that the version I watched did not have English subtitles when they were talking in Chinese. At first, I thought that this was part of the movie, as you weren't meant to understand it, but there are important scenes near the end where I had no clue what they were saying. It didn't mean I didn't get the rest of the plot or what was happening, but that could have given me a bit more to work with and more juice as well. Oh well, it's not their fault.This is an enjoyable movie, and it captures that sense of mystery, mistrust, betrayal and fear that you experience during an espionage/war film. Though this isn't essentially a war film in that it's main focus is about blowing up people etc, it is about the struggle of invasion and the effects of it. Recommended.I hope it gets a wider release in the US and here in Australia because it is a good film.