{"id":258890,"date":"2025-11-03T13:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/258890\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T13:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:49:13","slug":"fan-bingbing-on-mother-bhumi-working-again-in-china-after-tax-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/258890\/","title":{"rendered":"Fan Bingbing On Mother Bhumi, Working Again in China After Tax Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tReturning to Tokyo International<\/a> Film Festival 15 years after she won best actress for Buddha Mountain in 2010, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing<\/a> is winning plaudits for her distinctly unglamorous turn in competition entry Mother Bhumi.<\/p>\n

\n\tBorderline unrecognizable as a single-mother-cum-farmer-cum-spiritual healer in an ethnic and religious melting pot of a rural Malaysian village, Fan carries<\/a> the probably overambitious picture. Chong Keat Aun<\/a> weaves the film in and out of colonial legacy, ethnic tensions, land rights, politics, misogyny, family drama, spirituality and the supernatural. Holding it together is some stunning cinematography from Leung Ming-kai making full use of the Bujang Valley setting, and Fan.<\/p>\n

\n\tOnce China<\/a>\u2019s highest-paid actress, and one of the highest-earning globally, Fan appeared in a succession of hits including I Am Not Madame Bovary, The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom and One Night Surprise. And she was introduced to worldwide audiences with appearances in Hollywood productions such as Iron Man 3, X-Men: Days of Future Past and The 355. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFan Bingbing<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTokyo International Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Fan\u2019s world came crashing down in the late 2010s amidst tax evasion allegations <\/a>that culminated in fines and retroactive tax bills reportedly in the region of $100 million. She then disappeared completely from screens for around five years, before beginning to reappear in projects overseas in 2022. Her mesmerizing turn in Mother Bhumi, which translates as mother earth, suggests a renaissance that is exploring new depths to her acting.<\/p>\n

\n\tFan sat down with The Hollywood Reporter during the festival in Tokyo to talk about her demanding role, what she learned during her five-year hiatus, the state of Chinese arthouse cinema and whether she will ever make another film in her homeland.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Mother Bhumi\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Tokyo Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tI understand you approached the director about this film, what drew you to the story?<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore meeting the director, I had already seen two of his films\u2014Snow In Midsummer (2023) and The Story Of Southern Islet (2021)\u2014and I thought his cinematic language was very distinctive. When we finally met, there wasn\u2019t even a finished script yet, but when he told me the story, I was deeply moved. A woman who\u2019s a farmer by day and a spirit-medium by night: it\u2019s such a fascinating, complex character.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you prepare for the role?<\/p>\n

\n\tThis character was actually quite difficult for me. First, her life is very far from my own, and second, she\u2019s very different from any roles I\u2019ve played before. I spent a long time preparing together with the director. It\u2019s a story he knows intimately \u2014 something he experienced growing up \u2014 so his own memories and feelings built a very good bridge for me to reach the character.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe hardest part was the language. They were totally different from my mother tongue. I couldn\u2019t understand a word at first. It was like learning English from scratch when you only know Chinese. I had to speak five or six different dialects in the film, so starting three or four months before shooting, I practiced every day using recordings the director made for me. Every couple of days we\u2019d have a video session together where he\u2019d check my progress. By the time filming began four months later, I didn\u2019t even need to carry a script, every line was already deep in my head. It was key for me to make sure the language didn\u2019t become a barrier during the shoot.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the farming scenes in Kedah, Malaysia, since the character works as a farmer by day, I also went there a few months early and lived with local farmers. Every day I learned how to transplant rice, herd buffaloes, and do real farm work. That way, when filming started, it didn\u2019t feel unfamiliar. The most difficult thing was working in the flooded rice paddies. There were snakes, blood-sucking insects, and swarms of mosquitoes; I\u2019d often end the day covered in bites. But I told myself this was part of the process, because that\u2019s the reality of how local people live.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Mother Bhumi\u2019 director Chong Keat Aun and Fan Bingbing. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTokyo International Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you study the healing rituals?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe director\u2019s father is a very famous healer in that region. When something strange happens or people feel unwell, they go to him for help. The shamanic elements of the character were modeled directly on the director\u2019s father: his way of performing rituals, his expressions, everything. I videoed him and then studied from the video \u2014 his speech, his chants, his breathing, even the emotions when he was \u201cpossessed\u201d by spirits. I learned it all by mimicking him.<\/p>\n

\n\tWere there things you learned from this role that you will use in the future?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a very special experience. In China it\u2019s extremely rare to get a role like this. The character is powerful, she helps everyone around her, but despite being seen by her village as someone with great powers, she still has her own confusion, pain, and pressures she can\u2019t resolve. Even though others see her as almost divine, she remains human, with all the helplessness that entails. It made me think deeply: what really is \u201cpower,\u201d and what does it mean to simply be human? The character is rich and multilayered\u2014a very weighty role. The story itself is also about conflict over land, and about defending your rights to the land you live on.<\/p>\n

\n\tThrough this role, I felt again that even when life is difficult, we need confidence to face tomorrow. That strength is something I took from this character.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFan Bingbing in Feng Xiaogang\u2019s \u2018I Am Not Madame Bovary.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of TIFF<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve now worked with filmmakers from China, across Asia<\/a>, in Hollywood, what differences have you felt in the way they work?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think film people form a borderless community; there aren\u2019t real boundaries between nations. At film festivals, as a jury member, I\u2019ve watched 20 or 30 films from many countries. Even if you don\u2019t understand the language or political background, good acting can still move you deeply. So, I absorb positive energy from creators everywhere.<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, there are differences. Hollywood studio productions are extremely strict about schedules \u2014 everything runs precisely on time. In Malaysia, filming was calmer and more organic. It felt like living together, communicating naturally, without the pressure of rigid timetables. It\u2019s a bit like why people go to Southeast Asia to relax (laughs).<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFan Bingbing in Li Yu\u2019s \u2018Buddha Mountain\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLaurel Films<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve shot a film in Japan<\/a> starring Lily Franky and Gabriel Byrne. How was that experience?<\/p>\n

\n\tI just wrapped a film in Japan with director Wang Ying and Lily Franky. It\u2019s based on a novel by Jun\u2019ichir\u014d Tanizaki, a strange and beautiful story about an old man and a young woman. Director Wang used his unique film language to reinterpret it through a modern lens.<\/p>\n

\n\tI had many scenes with Lily Franky: he\u2019s truly an extraordinary actor, a national treasure of Japan. Acting with him doesn\u2019t feel like acting at all; it feels like simply living inside the story. I hope audiences will have a chance to see this very special, almost magical film. About 80 percent of my dialogue was in Japanese, so I learned another new language!<\/p>\n

\n\tYou were out of the film business for about five years. Did it change the way you think about acting and cinema?<\/p>\n

\n\tI was away from Chinese cinema for a while, but it opened a new window for me. I got to encounter subjects and collaborators I\u2019d never have met otherwise, and discovered new creative impulses. For me, that was actually a gift. Those five years became a time to pause and absorb. Being an actor means constantly outputting \u2014 expressing \u2014 but rarely having time to take in new experiences. This was a period of reflection and learning. I came to understand life more deeply \u2014 the difficulties and things that are hard to attain. Some people, when faced with hardship, give up. But the brave ones grow stronger and want to express more. I think I\u2019m that brave girl (laughs).<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a Chinese saying: \u201cTo rebound, you must first hit the bottom.\u201d If you only fall halfway, you can\u2019t spring back. Hitting the lowest point gave me resistance, courage, and new emotional depth \u2014 anger, helplessness, pain \u2014 all of which become fuel for an actor. Without such emotions, you can\u2019t truly play new roles. I\u2019m still drawn to stories about women\u2019s lives and struggles, and I\u2019d like to keep doing more arthouse films.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis might be a difficult question but would you like to make films in China again?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s not a difficult question. The problem is that Chinese cinema today lacks diversity. This year\u2019s National Day box office<\/a> in October was lower than in 2014, which is worrying. Audiences now prefer short online dramas: one-minute episodes they can binge while on the toilet! People no longer have the patience to sit quietly in a dark cinema and dream. It\u2019s a great loss, not just in China but worldwide. If I make another Chinese film, I want it to be one where I truly feel something for the character.<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course there are still people making art-house films in China, but it\u2019s getting harder. The economy around it is tough, and ticket sales rarely cover the costs. There are directors like Jia Zhangke and Zhang Lu, and the many younger sixth- and seventh-generation filmmakers need real support.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn Europe, there are dedicated funds and theaters for art films, giving them a chance to survive. In China, if an art film doesn\u2019t do well on its first day, screenings are cut by day two or three, so no one gets to see it. Back when I was making art films in China, there was a healthy audience base, and some even earned a billion yuan ($140 million) at the box office. That environment has almost disappeared now.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinally, I thought your performance in Mother Bhumi was exceptional, but I have to say that you looked uncomfortable smoking. Were you ever a smoker?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve never been a smoker. The cigarettes I smoked in the film were hand-rolled, an old-fashioned kind that was like pipe tobacco. They\u2019re so much stronger than regular, modern ones \u2014 so I\u2019m a better performer than you think I am (laughs).<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Fan Bingbing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAustin Hargrave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Returning to Tokyo International Film Festival 15 years after she won best actress for Buddha Mountain in 2010,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[5806,6471,49,48,361,95,75,120184,77,2454,3079,120185,118766,117375,70597],"class_list":["post-258890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-asia","tag-box-office","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-celebrities","tag-china","tag-entertainment","tag-fan-bingbing","tag-international","tag-japan","tag-marvel-cinematic-universe","tag-thr-news","tag-tokyo-film-festival","tag-tokyo-film-festival-2025","tag-tokyo-international-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}