Career comeback after ban
In 2006, Tang Wei landed the kind of breakout role most actresses would envy: the female lead in Ang Lee’s epic romance “Lust, Caution.” Then she didn’t work again for three years.
The film’s steamy love scenes led to a state-imposed hiatus, and Tang struggled to find her way back to the screen before emerging as Asia’s A-list romantic heroine. Understandably, the roles she’s picked since have often been characterized by extreme duress and resilience.
Tang received acclaim for “Lust, Caution,” and her breathtaking transformation from prudish girl-next-door to voluptuous
won a newcomer prize at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards.
However, not only was the movie banned in China but that country’s film bureau also pressured the industry into ostracizing Tang. So she went to London to learn English. She also obtained Hong Kong citizenship, which enabled her to work in a relatively censorship-free market.
In 2009, Bill Kong, head of Edko Films and executive producer of “Lust, Caution,” helped Tang relaunch herself with the romantic comedy “Crossing Hennessy,” directed by screenwriter Ivy Ho. In her performance, she expresses a blend of brittleness and self-sufficiency that has become a trademark.
In the same year, she developed a South Korean fan base with “Late Autumn,” in which she gave a sympathetic portrayal of a fugitive on the run in Seattle for killing her abusive husband. The film was the biggest commercial hit for director Kim Tae-yong, who married his muse in 2014.
Female directors have offered her the most well-rounded roles. Ann Hui’s “The Golden Era” (2014) is a biopic on Xiao Hong, a leftist writer active during World War II who stood her ground against patriarchal values while enduring poverty, abusive relationships and traumatic births.
Hui said she didn’t choose Tang for her 1930s look: “Tang Wei is very modern in her views about freedom of choice, dignity of an individual … these are values of Xiao Hong.”
In “A Tale of Three Cities,” directed by Mabel Cheung, Tang again plays a widow (loosely based on Jackie Chan’s mother) trying to survive in a war-torn milieu. During the making of the film, Tang was hospitalized for a strained lung after insisting on carrying a heavy load for three days to ensure authenticity. “For each film, I think she burns up a part of herself,” Cheung said.