Despite its popularity among viewers around the world and its success at the Venice Film Festival, Ang Lee's spy thriller Lust, Caution has suffered two setbacks. First, it was rejected by organisers of the Oscars as Taiwan's entry for best foreign film because it did not have enough Taiwanese working on the movie. Then it was rejected by the Hong Kong Film Awards - for having too few Hongkongers.
Lee's misfortune tells a story. It suggests that film directors, movie stars and corporations investing in filmmaking have long surpassed national boundaries, while bureaucrats around the world still hopelessly operate within narrowly defined localities. Lee's setback merely exemplifies the clash between the increasingly globalised entertainment industry and outdated government bureaus and film associations operating under old rules.
The international aspect of the film was at the crux of Lee's problem: it is a joint venture between two United States and two Taiwanese film companies.
Adding to the identity issue, the film stars Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai and mainland actress Tang Wei. Other supporting roles are performed by actors from Taiwan, the mainland, Hong Kong and the US. Lee himself is from Taiwan but spends the bulk of his time in the US. The scriptwriter is Taiwanese, the music composer French and the cinematographer Mexican.
The unfortunate Lee is a pawn in the hands of film associations which continue to seek protection behind regional boundaries.
The internationalisation of the film industry is a rapidly developing and increasingly irreversible trend. Brothers is a recent release featuring mostly Hong Kong actors, but it also enlists the support of Wang Zhiwen, a renowned mainland artist. Another upcoming showing, The Sun Also Rises, was financed by Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures and stars Joan Chen, an American-Chinese, Zhou Yun and Kong Wei, both mainland actresses, along with award-winning Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang. The film was directed by Jiang Wen, an actor-turned-director, also from the mainland.