Xu Jinglei's new directing credit
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-29 09:47

Letter from an Unknown Woman, the second film directed by Xu Jinglei, a popular Chinese movie actress famous for playing genteel and cultivated ladies, has been officially approved and will compete in the 52nd San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain this September.

Xu Jinglei plays against veteran actor Jiang Wen in her second self-directing works "Letter from an Unknown Woman." [file photo]

Adapted from an Austrian romance novel, the movie is the second by Xu, whose transformation from an A-list movie star to a director garnered great press interest last year when she was directing My Father and I, which turned out to be a critical success.

Xu said Letter from an Unknown Woman was an even bigger breakthrough for her: "I have made a big change in directing this new film, and it can be called the maiden work for me as a director in a real sense."

When directing My Father and I, Xu encountered many editing difficulties which she said had greatly delayed her direction work. This time, she overcame those and could fully utilize her directing skills.

More notably, Xu also plays the heroine — the "unknown woman" in the film. She relives the 30-year life experience of that woman, and sometimes even has to play a prostitute wearing sexy clothes and flirting with men, which is a great change from the fair lady she used to play.

Xu stars opposite Jiang Wen, a leading actor in China, in the movie.

Xu was once hailed as the most talented actress in China. However, Xu said she was not satisfied to act only: "To be a director is not what I wanted to do at the very beginning of my career, but as I acted more, I found acting can no longer satisfy me."

Letter will be shown in China on Valentine's Day 2005.

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