Ageless star power

Isabelle Huppert shares with Chinese fans her passion for acting and reading during her recent tour of the country. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

French actress Isabelle Huppert charms Chinese audiences in a return visit to three mainland cities. Chen Nan reports.

With more than 100 films to her credit since her debut in 1971, Isabelle Huppert is known as one of the best actresses in the world.

When she made her recent trip to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing, the 64-year-old French star received long-standing ovations from the audiences during her three live performances.

Her readings of French author Marguerite Duras' L'Amant (The Lover) were part of Croisements Festival 2017, one of the biggest foreign cultural events in China since its launch in 2006.

The novel was published in 1984 and was adapted into a film in 1992, which stars Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka-fai and British actress Jane March.

"Marguerite Duras was a great writer. The novel L'Amant has been translated into many languages and is celebrated globally. I chose to read this novel also because the story is about a young woman's love affair with a Chinese man," says Huppert, who wrapped up her reading performances in China on Wednesday at Tianqiao Performing Arts Center in Beijing.

In her reading, Huppert didn't cover all the content from the novel but focused on the love story.

"Like acting, reading is also my interpretation of the roles," she says.