China Lust, Caution is a China–Hong Kong and Taiwan co-production — one of only a handful of such cross-border film titles indexed here.
Synopsis
色‧戒
“To kill the enemy, she would have to capture his heart… and break her own.”
During World War II, a secret agent must seduce then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man she is assigned to kill.
Audience Engagement
609 audience reviews — more than 92% of China films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 92th percentile among China films.
China × Hong Kong and Taiwan Co-Production
Other China×Hong Kong titles
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★ 6.6 · 2023
The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell
★ 7.0 · 2023
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
★ 5.5 · 2008
Ghost in the Shell
★ 6.1 · 2017
Other China×Taiwan titles
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Lust, Caution. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Action + Drama in China
129 China titles in our catalog blend the Action and Drama genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Lust, Caution itself).
The 2006–2008 China Window
Lust, Caution holds position #12 of 56 China films in the 2006–2008 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 2000s China Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 2000s in China, 142 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Lust, Caution premiered alongside 21 others.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 38m runtime, production spent $95K per minute on screen and earned $425K per minute back.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 21 other China films in 2007.
The 166th China title from China we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1935).
Our China catalog contains 946 titles in total (747 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Lust, Caution, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- lover · 5
- traitor · 4
- sexual obsession · 3
- mahjong · 3
- resistance fighter · 3
- erotic thriller · 3
- insurgence · 2
- occupying power · 2
- in love with enemy · 1
- war on freedom · 1
- insurrection · 1
- shanghai · 26
- extramarital affair · 21
- espionage · 12
- resistance · 11
- older man younger woman relationship · 11
- secret love · 8
- cheating · 7
- china · 127
- china · 127
- love · 123
- hong kong · 73
- 1940s · 35
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #266 of 946 China films indexed here (72nd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.5 points above the China average of 6.7/10.
Among China Action productions specifically: #65 of 319 (top 20%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | China |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | China, United States of America, Hong Kong, Taiwan |
| Original Language | Chinese |
| Spoken Languages | Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Hindi, Japanese |
| Production Companies | River Road Entertainment, Haishang Films, Focus Features, Sil-Metropole Organisation, Shanghai Film Group |
| Runtime | 2h 38m |
| Release Date | September 27, 2007 |
| IMDb | tt0808357 |
| Official Site | www.bvi.com.tw |