"Lust, Caution", Ang Lee's second Golden Lion winner at Venice Film Festival, was premiered here at Pittsburgh tonight, about one month after its scheduled U.S. release on September 28. It was a surprise for me because the movie had been released only in selected cities, and I had no idea whether it would be released at Pittsburgh. Fortunately, Manor Theatre, following its traditional taste, decided to cater this limited-release art film.

It was probably less a surprise to see that most of my fellow audience were Chinese, as Ang Lee told a forum for young directors in Hong Kong: "Its pace, its film language — it's all very Chinese. I also used Western film noir. It's a new start for me. It's not very audience-friendly for a market like the U.S. It's not their subject matter."

My brain was totally empty of thoughts while I was stepping out of the theater and walking down the street to catch a bus home. The film certainly had an impact on me, but I couldn't describe what it was. I decided to watch the movie again next week. Hopefully, I would figure out the answer.

See also an interview with Ang Lee at CNN, and another interview at indieWIRE.