PUBLISHED ONDecember 06, 2023 12:00 PMByYeo Shu HuiChinese superstar Fan Bingbing's experiences prove that there's always light at the end of the tunnel.
When her almost career-ending tax evasion scandal happened in 2018, the 42-year-old actress was slapped with an enormous fine of US$130 million (S$178 million) and had to go on a long hiatus.
However, it was not all bad, as she had learnt to focus more on herself.
"I am busy with a lot of things actually," Bingbing told AsiaOne in a recent interview while in town for the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF).
She shared that she used to have a packed schedule and was always rushing to places.
Bingbing said: "I filmed nine movies and two television dramas a year... There was actually no way to stop and contemplate the life that I wanted to have. But when I was on hiatus for these two years, I feel that taking a pause is actually not a bad thing.
"If you compare this to the time you have in your entire life, just like how everyone says that life is short, life is long too. I think I benefitted quite a lot from the past two years. I have travelled to many places and brought my mum along. I feel that there is finally time where I can accompany her. I also did a lot of things that I never had the time to do in the past."
She added that she also launched her beauty brand Fan Beauty during the period and it was a success.
"The changes in life made me very happy because you have to change eventually. I think that is something meaningful for me," she added.
'In the next stage of my life, I think I should live more for myself'
Bingbing also shared that she contemplated about how she wants to live in the next phase of her life.
She said: "The first half of my life was used to contribute to my acting career. I think about 99 per cent of my effort was spent on that. In the next stage of my life, I think I should live more for myself, as Fan Bingbing, to take care of myself, to live and to experience for myself. I think that is very important for me.
"As for accepting roles, acting is always something that I am passionate about… I am always willing to try out, but it is not the most important thing in my life."
When asked about her life goals, she shared that she wants to "live without restraints", but admits that it is something that is "difficult to accomplish".
She said: "Because in society, we are not actually individual beings, we have relationships and connections with our family, career and societal norms. For a person to be able to live without restraints, it is actually something very difficult, we are too tied down by boundaries and societal norms in life and have to follow them."
'This is quite similar to how I was feeling at that point in time'
In addition, Bingbing had also harnessed the emotions that she felt during the period for her portrayal of Chinese immigrant Jin Xia in her new movie Green Night, directed by Han Shuai and which premiered in Singapore at the SGIFF.
"In life, there are always ups and downs, happy moments, difficult and unhappy moments and moments where you feel that you are struggling. Whenever I feel unhappy or when I am struggling, I would always jump out of the mood," she said.
"There would be an inner voice that tells me that I should remember the emotions that I am feeling now, so that when there is a character like this one day that requires me to portray these emotions, I must know how to bring out these emotions."
In Green Night, Bingbing's character Jin Xia works as an airport security staff in South Korea. When she catches a spunky, green-haired drug smuggler (Lee Joo-young) on the job, Jin Xia is unexpectedly beguiled by the wayward girl. Seeking freedom from the abusive men in their lives, the duo embark on an arduous night in Seoul's drug underworld.
In portraying the oppressed Jin Xia, Bingbing shared: "She is someone trying to survive in difficult times. This is quite similar to how I was feeling at that point in time. I was also at a low point in my life and had a lot of struggles about humanity, my life and career, so my condition at the time was quite fitting to the portrayal of my character in Green Night.
"So I think coincidentally, there is a story like this and a change in the usual characters I played, so I decided to give it a try."
The film also featured an intimate scene between the two female characters. When asked about it, Bingbing shared that the scene is not "magnified", but a "beautiful emotion" that naturally happened between the two characters as their story develops.
"Actually, this is not strictly a LGBT film... This story talks about the understanding between two women and how they redeem each other. I think that is a slight hint of a romantic relationship between them but it is not the main point of this film," she added.
'I have always wanted to try a character like these since 10 years ago'
Bingbing also shared that while the role was challenging, it fulfilled her dream of trying out different things.
She said: "I have always wanted to try a character like these since 10 years ago. I don't like playing characters I have played before. I want to be always changing… Coincidentally, this film was filmed in South Korea and is a cross-border production, so I felt that there is a lot of space for me to fulfil the dream that I had."
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Having expanded her career internationally, Bingbing revealed that she previously thought that Chinese films had made their mark in the Asian entertainment industry, but realised that there is still a lot to work on.
She said: "I realised the influence of South Korean productions is extraordinary, including Parasite at the Oscars and Squid Game. The main focus of Asian culture and entertainment relies largely on trends from South Korea. I think there is still a lot for us to work on and we must continue to have attractive themes, quality and content to convey to the world.
"I think Asian films have a broad theme. In the European and American film industries, they are still very curious about Asian culture. In Singapore, there are also very good directors such as Anthony Chen, and there are also some good Malaysian directors who are also doing very well."
As for her own career, Bingbing, who was awarded the Cinema Icon Award at SGIFF this year, said that she felt responsible for spreading Asian culture through her projects to communicate with the world.
"I am not willing to build boundaries. The world is a big place, we should all go out to have a walk," she added.
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