hankyoreh

Lim Jong-uhp, Senior Staff Writer

“My Korean is poor, but I get a lot of pleasure out of being understood. The Korean language has begun to sound beautiful to me, too. I would like to really learn it well and have conversations while looking into people’s eyes.”

During an interview with the Hankyoreh at a hotel in Seoul’s Jangchung neighborhood Friday, Tang Wei showed a strong curiosity about language.

“At first, I was afraid I would not be able to communicate well with the director. The English we spoke was different, but over time we began to communicate well enough that we could understand 100 percent of each other’s meaning. It was an amazing experience of learning that you can get meaning across even if you cannot express it in language. Later on, our own language emerged, and the interpreter could not understand what we were saying.”

Director Kim Tae-yong praised Tang’s powers of concentration.

“During the reading and rehearsal process, she feel deep into character, and she even wept,” he said.

The new film “Late Autumn” tells the story of a prisoner who is given three days’ furlough after seven years in jail so that she can bury her mother. She cries like a locust and loves like a locust before returning once again to the living death of prison. Kim’s version is the fourth remake of the story. Unfortunately, it is impossible to see the original version, which has been praised by some as the best work in Korean film history, but the fact that it is second only to the tale of Chunhyang in terms of the number of times it has been remade gives some sense of its quality. The latest version is an international production, with the Chinese Tang co-starring with Hyun Bin.

Tang’s process of immersing herself in the character of Anna and her society was similar to Anna’s process in the film of going beyond babbling conversation and approaching the character of Hoon (starred by Hyun Bin). Thanks to the consideration of the production company, Tang was able to travel to Seattle beforehand and, with the help of a manager from there, learned all about overseas Chinese society and culture, while studying Seattle-style English in the process. This was a new experience for her, she said, as she was used to the clipped London style of pronunciation from her drama classes at the University of Reading. Tang, who grew up in the city of Hangzhou in China’s Zhejiang Province, went through a similar process mastering the Beijing and Guangdong styles of Chinese in her theater and film work.

“Over many years in prison, Anna lived without hope and even forgot words. When Hoon comes to her, he is like an angel. Their meeting is like ice entering a pit of fire. The sound of the door opening while she is waiting for him at the restaurant after getting out of prison felt like flying in the heavens.”

Tang recalls that a long kissing scene was not in the original script, but that when it came time to shoot a funeral scene, the director came to her and explained that this kind of scene was necessary. She agreed, and at that point her heart started pounding with anticipation, she remembered.

“Film is the realest fantasy world. It is fiction, but it is the most realistic. The me in the film is fictional, but the work of acting makes me realistic. Typically, people do not think deeply about themselves, so they do not really know what they should do or who they are. It is different for an actor. You think about the role, and you develop reality.”

Tang’s expressions are worth beholding as she subtly changes from “a well of melancholy” to “love floating over melancholy” and finally “transcendent love,” from her fingers to her toes and even with the gestures that seem calculated.

When asked about her future plans, Tang said that she never makes plans. She became known to the world for passionate love scenes in the 2006 film “Lust, Caution,” but the fact that she remained resilient even while facing a broadcasting ban and the cancellation of numerous television commercials seems linked with her unaffected attitude. With “Late Autumn,” she takes another step forward in the international film world.

“Late Autumn” is now an international work, with the U.S. version coming on the heels of a Japanese version. At last year’s Pusan International Film Festival, tickets sold out on the Internet within five seconds, and the film also entered the Forum section at the Berlin International Film Festival. “Late Autumn” opens Feb. 17.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]