Directed by Peter MacDonald, the film is based on a well-loved 16th-century Chinese literature classic titled Journey to the West by Cheng-En Wu and it’s topbilled by Russell Wong (The Joy Luck Club, Romeo Must Die, etc.) in the title role; Thomas Gibson (Eyes Wide Shut, Far and Away, etc.) as the disillusioned China scholar Nick Orton, a reluctant hero who eventually embraces his destiny as the "Scholar From Above;" and Bai Ling as Kwan Ying, a goddess who helps Orton understand that, without his intervention, Journey to the West will be lost forever and the world will revert to a more authoritarian state.
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
Personally, I’m looking forward to watching The Monkey King because of Bai Ling, the Chinese actress who defied the Communist Chinese Government in the name of art, in her dedication and devotion to her craft, when she appeared as Richard Gere’s leading lady in the anti-Communist movie Red Corner, playing the court-appointed lawyer of Gere’s character accused of a brutal murder during a business trip to China.
Never mind if her performance was cited for being "mesmerizing," "powerful" and "luminous," Bai Ling was branded a "traitor" by the Communist Chinese Government. When I read about it, I started dreaming of the day when I would meet Bai Ling in the flesh and personally ask her how she felt about the whole thing, and the big chance came in December, 1999, when I had a one-on-one with her in L.A. (along with co-stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat in separate interviews) during the press junket for Anna and the King (where Bai Ling played Tuptim, with Foster and Chow in the title roles). I admired the petite actress for taking a big risk and standing up against a powerful government.
I asked Bai Ling, "How did you feel being branded a traitor?"
Smiling, she answered, "The newspapers in China did call me a traitor after I did Red Corner. I felt a bit sad and at the same time I was worried about my family back in China. Both my parents are university professors. My mother asked me, ‘Why are you doing that?’ I told her, ‘When you see the movie, you’ll like it.’ The newspapers said that I sold my country to get this (Hollywood) glory."
Does that make her a "rebel with a cause"?
Smiling even more widely, Bai Ling said, "Of course, of course! I don’t like the rules. There was a period in China during the ‘spiritual (cultural) revolution’ when all the songs from Hong Kong, all the tapes, had to be surrendered to the government to be destroyed. Wasn’t that silly?"
Born in the Szechwan province, 29-year-old Bai Ling had her first exposure to acting at age 14 when she served a three-year stint in the Chinese Army as part of a performance troop entertaining soldiers in Tibet. She then joined the Szechwan Theater Company where she came to the attention of both traditional and progressive Chinese directors. Soon, she was cast in a variety of roles, from a naive peasant girl to a pop singer to the mentally-ill young woman in the critically-acclaimed contemporary Chinese drama Arc Light
Despite her being a member of the Chinese Army, however, Bai Ling joined the anti-government protest at Tiananmen Square in the early ’90s. She said (during that L.A. interview), "But I do think positively about things. I think China has changed a lot; I’m still very optimistic. The people and the government officials are undergoing a lot of sacrifices for the changes."
Just like what she’s doing as an actress – making "sacrifices," that is.
Her appearance in Red Corner was as much a sacrifice as her willingness to part with her long-treasured locks in Anna and the King.
"I was pretty terrified," recalled Bai Ling last week during a phone chat from Hong Kong where she was promoting The Monkey King. "You see, I’d been wearing long hair all my life. When I was in China, I never cut it. But for Tuptim, I had to. When I read the script, I was moved by the story. I knew my instincts told me that I had to do this movie. Instincts are always right. My manager told me, ‘You’re shaving your hair, not your talent.’ She’s right," adding that the cut portions have been made into a wig now displayed in her room.
Since relocating to the US as a visiting scholar at New York University’s Film School, Bai Ling has transformed herself from a traditional Asian beauty to a contemporary American girl. While trying to learn the English language, she worked with such prestigious filmmakers as Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet), Oliver Stone (Nixon), Terence Malick (in the play Sansho The Bailiff) and the PBS American Playhouse production of Nobody’s Girl.
Now she’s excited about working with Russell Wong with whom she appeared in a few episodes for the acclaimed US TV series Touched By An Angel.
"It’s always a pleasure to work with Russell," admitted Bai Ling.
Her role in The Monkey King is a physically demanding one, which required her to make more "sacrifices" which Bai Ling refused to elaborate on, simply saying, "Watch the film and you’ll know what I mean."
She said she was happy to be back in Hong Kong but wasn’t sure if she was visiting her family in China where she grew up in the care of her grandmother.
"What was my childhood like in China? Well, what I remember is that my parents had some problems with the government; they were in trouble and they couldn’t take care of me. So they sent me to my grandmother and I was thankful to them for that because my grandmother lived in a house with a courtyard and I had fun playing there everyday, chasing the sheep and the dogs. I remember my grandmother always made me wear bright green and red clothes, very colorful, and she even hand-made my shoes.
"I told her, ‘I don’t like to wear them!’ But she would insist, ‘Colorful! It’s okay. You must wear them.’ I would run around and hide under the table while she waited holding the clothes and the shoes. Sometimes, I hid under the bed. So funny! When I grew up, I had to apologize to my grandmother for not wearing those clothes and those shoes. I thought she was right. Very colorful clothes attract people."
The last time she visited her grandmother, according to Bai Ling, was two years ago when, after doing Wild, Wild West (with Will Smith) and, earlier, The Crow (with the late Brandon Lee), she got on the plane to China incognito.
"Everyday," said Bai Ling, "I cooked for her. We talked and exchanged stories. Sometimes, I just held her hand and said nothing. As I’ve said, China is changing tremendously. It’s like an old man just waking up, already taking one step out of the door, walking toward the sunrise."
Now an American citizen, Bai Ling hasn’t stayed put in America; she’s constantly moving, forever working, describing herself as a free spirit. "I feel like an air, just going on, just wondering. I go where the shooting is. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in America or in China or anywhere else. I am an actress and I have a job to do."
As I did in L.A., I again asked Bai Ling which woman in Chinese history would she want to portray and she gave the same answer – Madame Chiang.
"She’s a very complex person, much more so than the role I’m playing in The Monkey King," said Bai Ling before we both hung up. "But I guess it would be difficult to shoot a movie about her in China; I doubt if we could do it."