Life and Leisure

Vivian Hsu celebrates her films at Hawaii fest

By Zheng Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-23 07:31

Taiwan singer/actress Vivian Hsu says she wants to focus mainly on movies in the future. Provided to China Daily

After 20 successful years in showbiz, Vivian Hsu has proved she is more than just a pretty face.

The 35-year-old singer, actress, lyricist, TV host and author never fails to impress, and her appearance at the 30th Hawaiian International Film Festival (HIFF) was no exception.

A frequent visitor to the islands, along with her family, Hsu says she wants to buy an apartment with an ocean view.

"The ocean here always relieves me of stress and anxiety, and turns down the volume of life," Hsu says.

Even so, this is her first appearance at HIFF.

"It's different from the other film festivals I've attended," she says. "It's more 'Hawaiian', casual and relaxing. Interviews and press conferences are just like casual chitchats with old friends. I'm half aboriginal from Taiwan, and I love things casual. HIFF is simply my type of event."

Despite her experience, Hsu still looks on herself as a budding film actress.

"In the past 20 years I've been distracted with too much stuff, like singing, hosting TV shows, writing lyrics, designing clothes and writing books and didn't really concentrate on movies," Hsu says.

"It was not until The Knot in 2006 that I began to realize what it meant to be an actress and how to interpret a character," Hsu says. "I really want to focus mainly on movies in the future and I think I'm ready for that now."

Among her three films showing at HIFF - Fire of Conscience, The Star and The Sea and Hot Summer Days - Hsu says The Star and The Sea has been the most challenging.

The movie is about Chinese composer Xian Xinghai's impoverished childhood in a fishing family in Macao, at the turn of the century, and his mother's struggles to bring him despite all the hardships.

"It's challenging for a single woman to interpret the character of a mother, especially 100 years ago," Hsu says.

To understand that period better, Hsu reviewed piles of old films. She also spent more time with her own mom and tried to grasp what it means to be a mother.

"I love challenging myself with different roles. It makes me grow," she says.

During the past year, four films starring Hsu have been released.

"My motto is to work until I faint," Hsu says. "I love filming, and it's never tiring to communicate and exchange ideas with movie masters. Sometimes it's tiring yet the sense of accomplishment is worth all the effort."

With the sense of accomplishment she gets from work and "great spiritual support from family members whenever and wherever", marriage is not on Hsu's schedule.

"I now tend to be more rational and reasonable when dealing with romance," she says. "Unlike Wasabi in Hot Summer Days, I won't push myself too hard in a relationship Marriage is all about destiny and can't be forced."

Hsu says that interpreting a character requires thorough understanding and sincere devotion. "Were my life story to be staged one day in the future, I hope it could be interpreted as a life of devotion," she says.

China Daily