[Source: The Bund Pictorial, November 21, 2007. Byline: Zhang Yan] 
[Editor's note: In "Li Chun," Jiang Wenli plays a music teacher in a grimy North China industrial city, a woman whose considerable music talent will probably never be recognized, but who still dreams of being discovered by a foreign philharmonic orchestra, then traveling throughout the world performing. "Li Chun" went into national release in China April 10, 2008; international release dates are unknown at the time of this writing.]
Director Gu Changwei 顾长卫 and actress Jiang Wenli 蒋文丽 met while making Chen Kaige’s “Farewell to my Concubine,” on which Gu was the cinematographer and Jiang had a small role at the beginning as a desperate young prostitute delivering her small son to a Peking opera training school. They were married a year later. Now, 15 years later, Gu Changwei has directed his wife Jiang Wenli in In "Li Chun” 立春 (And the Spring Comes), for which her performance gained her the Best Actress award at the Rome Film Fest in October.
Despite gaining over 30 lbs. for the role and wearing makeup and false dental work that gave her an unattractive, bucktooth appearance, the Italian judges still recognized Jiang Wenli’s elegance, and just as in “Farewell,” her striking good looks still shone through. Jiang Wenli’s performance in the dubbed musical scenes was also ideal, never compromising with reality.
After returning from Rome, “And the Spring Comes” was exhibited for the first time in China on the evening of November 5 at the the China Motion Picture Museum, at a special showing for an audience of filmmakers and invited media, and received a good audience reaction. One of those praising Jiang Wenli's performance was noted film director Zhang Yang, who said “her image of an ordinary person in pursuit of a dream was touching and delicate, and yet splendid, so much so that I completely forgot I was watching a movie.”
In the following dialogue, "B" indicates The Bund Pictorial, and "J" indicates Jiang Wenli
"Of All My Previous Experiences in Life, Now is the Best”
B: "And the Spring Comes" was created especially for you, and filming completed at the beginning of last year. Hasn’t it been a long time since completion?
J: "Spring" went through more than 3 years of various stages of production, with the last stage alone taking 9 months. This movie takes in nearly every facet of human life, and every person portrayed in it is struggling to survive. The script itself took a very long time to write. At the end of “Peacock” [Gu Changwei’s first directing effort], the little brother says “When Papa goes away, spring is not far off,” and this becomes a postscript for “And the Spring Comes.” Starting out, the script for “Spring” was not completely set. It was not until “Peacock” won the Silver Bear for Best Film at Berlin that scenarist Li Qiang started working on it again, and finished the final draft this year before we had completed filming, so the whole project dragged out for four years. Also, the director didn’t want to rush it.
B: In their commentary, the Rome Film Fest’s critical panel said of you that that [she] “showed an ordinary person’s hardships, while still displaying her own grace.”
J: Wang Cailing [her character in the film] is a vocal music teacher. Her ideals and her reality are far apart. But she doesn’t give up, striving constantly to achieve her ideals. The Rome Fest understood the role of Wang Cailing like this: in extraordinary circumstances, in an environment that is pent up and stifling, she will not allow herself to be engulfed by that environment and take some other road. I thought this was a very thoughtful understanding, as they saw her personal courage and unwillingness to compromise.
B: Although both are strong female roles, Wang Cailing is different from the older sister in “Peacock.”
J: That’s right. You could say that this story unfolds against a background of change, since the plot of “Spring” takes place over a decade, from the late 1980s until the late 1990s. The time from the late 90s to today have seen the most changes in China’s era of reform and opening up. But “Peacock” is set against the background of the 1970s, during the time of the planned economy, when everyone’s work and life was highly planned out. Since reform and opening up began at the end of the 80s, the social background has changed, with people now having so many opportunities, but also meeting so many attacks and newly emerging things. The state-run factory system has changed, and now everyone can choose what work they want to do, choose where they want to live. “And the Spring Comes” takes place during the time of greatest change.
B: What about Wang Cailing’s personal destiny?
J: Her appearance is ordinary, one might even say ugly, but she has a good voice, and her heart and soul are set on going to Italy to sing opera, appearing on stage at the greatest opera houses. There is so much distance between this ideal and her reality. We see a lot of people like that in life. And it might be hard for the rest of us to see that so ordinary a person may still see themself as a a genius. For example, we often see people like this hanging around the entrance to an opera house or a film studio. Before, when I’d see such a person, I would feel they were simply ridiculous, it would be impossible for them to ever cross that artistic threshold. Wang Cailing is that sort of person.
“So Fat Even My Son Wouldn’t Go Anywhere With Me”
B: Earlier reports said that you gained 30 pounds for this role, quite a sacrifice. How do you see this?
J: I believe that it’s great for any actress if she can find a role for which she has to change herself completely. For me, this role was too important and too special. So I prepared myself before filming began, discarding everything external to that role, living in my character’s body, living her actual life. I got so fat, even my own son didn’t want to go anywhere with me. It was a great challenge, and I paid the price, for which the Best Actress award was an unexpected but pleasant surprise.
B: Many of the scenes were filmed in Baotou [Inner Mongolia] in winter; weren’t the conditions very harsh?
J: Yes, and Baotou was especially cold that year. One scene left a very deep impression on me: I was shut up in a railway car with a bunch of sheep. My nostrils were full of dust, and the makeup artist kept putting more on my face. There was another scene we were filming in a public square, and as it happened, a sand storm blew up just as we started, and the skies would be clear for a minute, then the next minute yellow dust would be covering us in sheets. Baotou sandstorms are the kind that blot out the sky and totally cover the land, and most people when they saw one coming would take cover indoors. I couldn’t move or act at all when that happened. It was really a sight to see.
B: If you and director Gu Changwei had a different understanding about your role in some way, could you argue that with him?
J: Oh, as far understanding the role, there were many things we disagreed on while we were filming. But I could discuss my views and opinions with the director, and we’d resolve it mutually, without an argument. The director had his own opinions, and in the end I’d listen to what he said.
[Directing-acting power couple Gu Changwei and Jiang Wenli]
B: In both [the TV miniseries] “Jin Hun” 金婚 (Golden Wedding), and now in “And the Spring Comes,” you play ordinary people. Have you passed this stage, and now want to meet the challenges of other types of parts?
J: Actors are always very passive, always hoping to be lucky. The standard I go by in selecting a role is what places in the script I find attractive and what places I don't. But there aren't many good scripts out there right now. I’ve always wanted to play a doctor, but haven’t found a script yet.
B: What role have you found most satisfying?
J: I can say that Wang Cailing is the most satisfying role I’ve had as long as I’ve been acting, as well as the one I’ve put the most effort into. Having reached this age, and had the life experiences I’ve had, I can say that this is the best time of all. I hope I can do more powerful roles.
