BY GLENN WHIPP

>FILM WRITER

Ang Lee's NC-17-rated wartime drama "Lust, Caution" opened in New York last week to great business, mixed reviews and more than a few people wondering if the actors in the film's highly charged sex scenes were really having at it.

"Torsos glisten, limbs intertwine as if they belong to double-jointed acrobats, and at one point there's a shot of intercourse that, unless Lee is using some effects that George Lucas never thought of concocting, makes it look a LOT like the two actors are truly doing it," wrote Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly.

To which Lee responds: "Well, the part about it looking like they're really doing it is a compliment. The other part seems a little exaggerated to me. I don't like it when people say it's `acrobatic.' It's not Cirque du Soleil."

Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II, the Chinese-language "Lust, Caution" tells the story of a young woman, Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei), recruited to befriend, seduce and ultimately help murder a high-level government collaborator named Mr. Yee (Tony Leung).

The two characters have three sexual encounters, scenes Lee calls "the anchor of the movie because they reveal so much about the characters."

We spoke to Lee, 28-year-old Tang Wei (making her film debut here) and co-writer James Schamus (who also happens to run the movie's distributor, Focus Features) about the three sex scenes, just in case you miss the meaning behind all that sexy, sweaty, pretzel-limbed coupling.

SEX SCENE NO. 1

The scenario: Wong returns to Shanghai after a three-year absence and resumes her mission of bringing down Mr. Yee. They meet in a bedroom where Wong initially - and obviously - plays the role of the seductress. Mr. Yee responds by getting rough.

Lee: "When they met three years earlier, she was just beginning to play temptress. There was something sexy and naïve about her.

"And for him, he still had hope he could do something right for his country.

"Now he's like the devil, public enemy No. 1, and she's a tramp. And he's pissed."

Tang Wei: "It's a competitive situation. They are trying to conquer each other. It establishes their twisted relationship."

Schamus: "You feel like he has won. Then, at the end of the scene, she looks at him and flashes that little smile. It's like, `Gotcha.' "

Lee: "That look freaks him out. It's all about who's in control. That scene nails the psychology of the relationship."

SEX SCENE NO. 2

The scenario: The competitive dynamic set, the couple's next meeting ups the emotional stakes.

Lee: "She has to do the ultimate performance to withstand the scrutiny of the interrogator. He won't let her kiss or hug him to fool him. He wants to see her eyes at all times. And the way she is on him ... that is, I admit, an acrobatic position. I put her in the fetal position often because she so lacks fatherly love."

Tang Wei: "She is very sensitive. She gave her virginity to another man and found no sense of belonging. Now she has met a man who likes to control her. That man's control makes her feel safe. She's in a cage in a controllable environment."

Schamus: "Women are the primary audience for this movie. And they're responding because of the places Tang Wei goes. The delicacy and discernment of character ... those things have never been in an NC-17 movie before."

SEX SCENE NO. 3

The scenario: Against their better judgment, both characters have lost themselves, neither able to make the distinction between predator and prey.

Lee: "They've gone from contorting their bodies to squeeze the truth out and now they're in hell. That last moment in that scene, I don't know where the actors go. I was deeply touched by what they gave me, but I was afraid for them. I was hoping I didn't damage them."

Tang Wei: "I didn't feel damaged. I didn't want to stop. When we were nearly done with the movie, I would ask Ang, `Can we shoot for another 10, another 20 years?' "

Schamus: "That scene is difficult to watch. It's so intense."

Lee: "We're fooled by our own desire. That's what `Lust, Caution' really means. You need caution to watch over your desires, to wise up. But who has caution? That's why we're fools for love."

Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672

glenn.whipp@dailynews.com