Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" Gets an NC-17

From Variety:

The MPAA has given Ang Lee's Toronto-bound "Lust, Caution" an NC-17 rating and Focus Features has accepted it.

The erotic espionage thriller, co-written by Focus CEO James Schamus and Wang Hui Ling, will bow in Gotham on Sept. 28, as skedded, and expand to additional markets Oct. 5.

Based on Eileen Change's short story about a shy Chinese drama student drawn into an assassination plot against a Japanese collaborator during WWII, the Chinese-language pic stars Tony Leung and newcomer Tang Wei.

Schamus said the specialty label accepts the rating without protest.

"As with so many of his previous films, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee has crafted a masterpiece about and for grown-ups, Schamus said.

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I didn't expect Lee's follow-up to Brokeback Mountain to break the bank at the box office, unlike his last foreign language film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did back in 2000. But the NC-17 really puts a damper on its marketability, since many theaters refuse to show films with that rating, and many newspapers and magazines will not run their ads.

However, credit must be given to Focus for not bowing to convention and having Lee cut his film to get an R rating.

It seems as if there is still some artistic integrity in this world after all.

Here's the trailer: