Ikuko Kitagawa / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
John Woo's blockbuster Red Cliff series brings together a cast, crew and financiers from throughout Asia. The historical action flick features actors who are Chinese, Mongolian, Japanese and Taiwanese, and who communicate off-screen through a combination of Mandarin, Cantonese and Fujian.
"I spoke to Tony [Leung] and [Takeshi] Kaneshiro in Cantonese, while our meetings were held in Mandarin. The dialogue in the movie is Mandarin," explains Chang Chen, who plays Sun Quan, the young king of Wu Kingdom.
Three of the main roles are filled by actors from Taiwan: Kaneshiro--a Japanese raised in Taiwan--as military advisor Zhuge Liang; Chiling Lin as Xiao Qiao, the wife of the viceroy of Wu, who is key in the second-round battle against the 800,000-strong army led by Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi); and Chen. Is it a coincidence?
"Asian countries are so close that each one can relate to the other. That makes it easy to work flexibly, even with Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. This is true for not only Taiwanese actors, but any Asian actor," Chen says.
Making his debut in 1991 with Taiwanese director Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day (Japan title: Kurinche Shonen Satsujin Jiken), Chen has featured in movies by well-known Asian directors, including Ang Lee's 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Japan title: Green Destiny)--in which Chen played the lover of the film's heroine, portrayed by Zhang Ziyi--Wong Kar Wai's 1997 movie Happy Together (Japan title: Buenos Aires) and 2004's 2046. In the recent Japanese-language movie Go Seigen (The Go Master), Chen played a legendary Chinese go player Wu Qingyuan and spoke entirely in Japanese.
"Very few international films get made in Taiwan, so Taiwanese actors have no choice but to go overseas to find work. If we do nothing but domestic stuff, we'll go broke," he says. "That said, a director chooses his actors based on what his film needs, as well as personality and name recognition."
Chen says he got his role in Red Cliff eight months before shooting began. Although he didn't ask Woo why he was chosen, the director told him to find a similarity between himself and the gentle Sun Quan, who is under pressure from his father and older brother, both famed warriors. "I was told to express my character through my eyes," says Chen, whose character has few lines.
Chen says working with well-known actors and directors has improved not only his acting skills, but also his ability to work as part of a massive group.
"It was truly hard to work with a cast and crew that numbered in the thousands, but I watched John Woo succeed by getting along with everyone," Chen says. "That was an important lesson--not only as an actor, but as a person."
"Red Cliff Part II," in Mandarin, is currently playing.
(Apr. 17, 2009)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20090417TDY14003.htm