In 2007, Ang Lee made an espionage thriller based on the short story "Lust, Caution" by Eileen Chang, China s most famous female author of the twentieth century. The release of the film became a trigger for heated debates on issues of national identity and political loyalty, and brought unexpectedly harsh criticism from China, where Ang Lee was labelled a traitor in scathing internet critiques, whilst the film's leading actress Tang Wei was banned from appearing on screen for two years.

This book analyses Ang Lee s art of film adaptation through the lens of modern literary and film...