**How far are you willing to go for the cause? even at the cost of one's identity?
**
This film has so much complexities with it's characters and moral values, but one stood out. Tang wei just carried so much of this film that it cannot be ignored.
Tang wei's character just held so much complexity as a character she went beyond the metaphors and messages. Her character shows us the horrendous amount of abuse and manipulation women get, especially at times of war.
Wong Chia Chi a young actress tasked to be a spy to seduce and lure Mr. Yee for her peers to complete the assassination. And so for the whole film we see Wong put up this performance as Mrs. Mak and acts as Mr. Yee's mistress where she had to undure so much, only for the resistance to take so long to do its job and take down Mr. Yee. For the whole film we just the various masks and acts Wong puts to perform her duty and contribute to the cause—we barely see her true self, that I assume is now gone from the moment she agreed to join her friends.
In the end many might think that she was a traitor who betrayed the cause just for a man that gave her a ring. But I believe it's deeper than that. Wong has been in act for so much for too long, that her very own identity was lost. Wong was killed in the end along with her friends, but the real Wong has long died even before her heart stopped beating. Why label her as the traitor when she herself was betrayed by the world, she was promised that keeping Mr. Yee trapped they'll be able to get it done, and yet still nothing. She sacrificed herself, her body and identity for a cause that barely knew her. And even Mr. Yee betrayed her, there was no love, passion or intimacy only lust.
Wong was quite literally objectified by both the resistance/her friends and Mr. Yee, she was nothing but a toy, an object for both sides to execute their desires. Which shows us the very horror of war, especially for women such as Wong.
There was no romance, passion, or love, just the horrors of war continuing to haunt innocence lives.
The film shows us the moral complexities of war, where no one is safe. Where even a revolutionary group for resistance can be as evil as the oppressor.
There was no right nor wrong just violence and terror.
**How far are you willing to go for the cause? even at the cost of one's identity?
**
This film has so much complexities with it's characters and moral values, but one stood out. Tang wei just carried so much of this film that it cannot be ignored.
Tang wei's character just held so much complexity as a character she went beyond the metaphors and messages. Her character shows us the horrendous amount of abuse and manipulation women get, especially at times of war.
Wong Chia Chi a young actress tasked to be a spy to seduce and lure Mr. Yee for her peers to complete the assassination. And so for the whole film we see Wong put up this performance as Mrs. Mak and acts as Mr. Yee's mistress where she had to undure so much, only for the resistance to take so long to do its job and take down Mr. Yee. For the whole film we just the various masks and acts Wong puts to perform her duty and contribute to the cause—we barely see her true self, that I assume is now gone from the moment she agreed to join her friends.
In the end many might think that she was a traitor who betrayed the cause just for a man that gave her a ring. But I believe it's deeper than that. Wong has been in act for so much for too long, that her very own identity was lost. Wong was killed in the end along with her friends, but the real Wong has long died even before her heart stopped beating. Why label her as the traitor when she herself was betrayed by the world, she was promised that keeping Mr. Yee trapped they'll be able to get it done, and yet still nothing. She sacrificed herself, her body and identity for a cause that barely knew her. And even Mr. Yee betrayed her, there was no love, passion or intimacy only lust.
Wong was quite literally objectified by both the resistance/her friends and Mr. Yee, she was nothing but a toy, an object for both sides to execute their desires. Which shows us the very horror of war, especially for women such as Wong.
There was no romance, passion, or love, just the horrors of war continuing to haunt innocence lives.
The film shows us the moral complexities of war, where no one is safe. Where even a revolutionary group for resistance can be as evil as the oppressor.
There was no right nor wrong just violence and terror.
