Fans of Asian-American cinema, by this point, have heard the name Joan Chen. The legendary actress needs no introductions as she has starred in critically acclaimed films such as Saving Face and Dìdi. Now, she takes on her first-ever Canadian production: Xiaodan He‘s remarkable sophomore feature, Montreal, My Beautiful (Montréal, ma belle).
The Asian Cut had the opportunity to speak with Chen to discuss her latest role, falling in love, motherhood, and supporting the Asian diaspora film community.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
The Asian Cut: When were you first approached to do this film? What made you want to take on this role in particular?
Joan Chen: It’s definitely a character that I had never played before, but also a character I seem to know well. As an immigrant myself from about the same era in China, I understand the immigrant part of the story very well.
The other reason I wanted to do it is because the film deals with a repressed desire. For a lot of the “mother” characters that I’ve played in recent years, people seem to forget about longing and desire. Films don’t deal with it much when you get to a certain age, especially for women. People almost deem it distasteful if you deal with sex or sexual desire in any movies on-screen. It’s rare.
There is an eternal longing in everyone to feel that love, to feel that spark, that awareness, that wonder of someone else suddenly making you [feel] alive, suddenly quickening your heartbeat. That is a very important reason I wanted to portray her.
This is your first acting performance that requires you to speak in French. How was that experience for you?
I found it extremely challenging. I only had four months, and I really had zero foundation for the French language. During those four months, I studied really hard. I repeated my lines hundreds of times, if not thousands of times. That is also part of the reason why I wanted to play the part: I want to be challenged.
Your chemistry with Charlotte Aubin is absolutely remarkable, and we truly care whenever you two are on-screen together. What do you hope for the audience to take away from the relationship between your characters?
I hope the film will remind people to never disregard a moment [or] the beauty in life — especially for my character, who’s never had the opportunity to be herself. To feel so liberated, knowing the price she must pay.
[The feeling] when you finally meet someone that makes your world more vibrant in colours and makes you notice all the beauty around you, and you finally feel someone could be with you and make you be yourself.
Somehow, when she is with Charlotte, even though it’s very complex and conflicted, it’s also so simple. It’s just two pairs of eyes meeting, and your heart rejoices. That’s what I remind people, no matter how old you are, you deserve it.
As you mentioned, the film also deals with motherhood. Is there a particular source of inspiration, whether it’s from real life or fiction, you draw from when it comes to playing an onscreen mom?
Of all the characters that I’ve ever played — in real life and in films — motherhood has certainly been the most important part.
For this particular character, to put her responsibilities for her family second during that particular summer in Montreal, the guilt she feels alongside the absolute joy is something I understand and I was interested in exploring.
From your characters, you also learn something about yourself.
A question I like to ask Asians and those who identify as part of the Asian diaspora: do you have any personal tips or advice on what we can do to continue supporting the Asian diaspora film scene?
For people who are creative, maybe your parents are not supporting you, just keep creating. For people who are looking to be expressed [and] they feel they’re not seen, they feel somehow they’re left out of the mainstream narratives, then support it. Go buy a ticket and see it. Support the projects.
But most importantly, I really encourage all the creative souls to be brave, to be courageous — it’s not an easy path, it’s very difficult.
