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Published on November 6, 2007

She was a beauty in "Dream of the Red Chamber", the film that made her a star 30 years ago, and Sylvia Chang still turns heads at age 54.

The soft-spoken, Taiwan-born actress was in Thailand last week when the World Film Festival of Bangkok paid tribute to her acting and directing career.

She greeted the audience at screenings of her films "20:30:40" and "Tempting Heart" and then - for the first time - had the chance to watch her cinematic debut in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

"I was lucky," she said afterwards, "because actresses don't have the opportunity to make films like this anymore."

Having launched her career in Taiwan, Chang moved to Hong Kong in the 1980s and found fresh success in the action-comedy franchise "Aces Go Places". At the same time she began writing her own life script, by making the professional decisions that gave her longevity in an industry that's rarely kind to ageing actors.

Chang remains one of a few actresses from the 1970s who still shine onscreen. And she and Ann Hui are the only female directors in Hong Kong's male-dominated film industry, where plots typically turn on gangsters and martial arts.

Most of Chang's movies have women as the protagonists and share what they're thinking with a subtle touch. No triad pretties for her.

"I want to bring back more human stories," she said. "It's a pity that the world is changing so fast nowadays - we lose a lot of things. In the movies today, we tend to see more special effects and futuristic stuff. None of them are subtle - they're all about disasters.

"I believe directors should stay true to their own attitudes and character. The kind of story I want to make is the answer to the question, 'Who influences you the most'. For me, who I am influences my films the most."

She was asked whether the women in her movies are feminists.

"Definitely not! I like men, even though some of them are arrogant," Chang laughed.

"But I believe in equality and keeping things fair. I believe that if the sexes don't respect each other, they lose their balance. I'm not a feminist, but I would hope that men see women differently after watching my films."

Chang said she'd learned a great deal from her male colleagues, and she's written scripts for directors including Peter Chan and Johnny To. They in turn have shown her how to depict male characters more accurately.

"Sometimes when I write about men I still don't know how to depict them the right way - how they talk, how they really think."  

Chang is currently in post-production on her latest title, "Run Papa Run", in which Luis Koo portrays a triad member struggling to cope with the three women in his life: his mother, his wife and his daughter.

"Young actors have a greater burden these days," she said in reference to Koo. "They have to handle a different kind of lifestyle, lots of paparazzi and publicity. And the business is way more competitive than it was in my day, so they're under more stress."

Has Chang finally been forced to pay attention to the ever-popular hit-man theme?

"I had to study up on the gangsters," she said, "but actually, the more I studied them, the more I felt it's nothing I'm really interested in. The famous loyalty and brotherhood doesn't exist anymore. In the past they regarded themselves as a 'community', but now they call it a 'company', so you can tell that the whole meaning of triads has changed. And few have the ambition to be a triad these days because, once you join, the police keep a watch on you."

"Run Papa Run" may have its gangsters, but it's still about women, she said, as insistent as ever that stereotypes must be avoided.

"The only way to make sure the portrayal is honest, she said, is to "just tell the truth about the woman. You have to let people see the other side of women."

Parinyaporn Pajee

 The Nation