Ageless star power

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.

In 2015, she read from French author Marquis de Sade's novels Justine and Juliette at the Festival d'Avignon, an annual arts festival held in Avignon, France.

"Reading has been threatened by modern life. But I couldn't spend my life without reading," the actress says. "I cannot live in a house without books."

During her short stay in China, besides reading the novel, the actress also shared her thoughts about films. She talked with Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke at Shanghai Culture Square and met her fans at Guangzhou Grand Theater and the China Film Art Research Center in Beijing.

"In China, most actresses who appear on the screen are young and good-looking. Age seems to be a limit for Chinese actresses," says Jia, whose film Still Life won the Golden Lion Award for best film at the 2006 Venice Film Festival.

"One exceptional thing about Huppert is that she is capable of being strong and clever on screen even now."

In her career of more than four decades, Huppert has taken on some challenging female roles, including the best-known in Michael Haneke's 2001 film, The Piano Teacher, which won her the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Her latest, Elle by Paul Verhoeven, won her the Golden Globe Award for best actress and a nomination for the Academy Award for best actress.

"Films enable me to experience the lives of women. Most of them are suffering, struggling and vulnerable, however, they pursue who they are and fight against their destiny," Huppert says.

"Nowadays, women are aware of fighting for their rights. They realize their value and beauty," she adds. "Women's voices also need to be heard more clearly in the film world."

In June 2009, Huppert came to Beijing for the first time to attend the exhibition Isabelle Huppert: Woman of Many Faces, as part of that year's Croisements Festival, which was held at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art.

The photo exhibition, initiated by the Museum of Modern Art/P. S. 1, New York, gathered about 100 photo and video portraits of the French actress created by a multigenerational, international group of leading photographers.

The Chinese show included works by young Chinese artists, including Yang Fudong, Wen Fang and Shi Xiaofan.

As an actress, Huppert says, she never prepares herself, given her passion for the characters.

"I am lazy. I didn't even read the original novel before acting in The Piano Teacher. I enjoy acting in the moment. The sensitivity and freshness are important," she says.

"I am not afraid of aging. Like every one, actors age. It's natural," she adds.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn

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