Veteran Taiwanese filmmaker Sylvia Chang is making a comeback after a seven-year hiatus with "Murmur of the Hearts," which pairs seasoned actors with fresh faces to tell a story about three young people with a broken past struggling with finding compassion in their relationships.
"Everyone make mistakes. Some mistakes, people find them unforgivable but some are forgivable. So how do we find compassions to tolerate them?" Chang said last week, calling her movie a tribute to love.
Chang enlisted familiar faces from her previous projects with new ones — including Malaysian actress Lee Sinje and Taiwanese actor Lawrence Ko, playing a mother and son who become estranged. Isabella Leung from Macau and Golden Horse nominee Joseph Chang play lovers whose relationship is rocked by an unwanted pregnancy.
Chang said she let the cast take the lead on set to project life into their characters. "So I?m always standing on the sideline to watch what they can give me," she said.
Lee Sinje, who was discovered by Chang as a young aspiring actress in Malaysia, said her first experience working with Chang was nerve-wracking. But, they found a "comfortable" way of collaborating, Lee said.
"I was a new actor and it?s my first time working with her. So I had a hard time finding my direction. Also because she gives us a lot of space, so rarely does she directs us to act," she said.
While Ko and Leung embraced Chang's effortless directorial style, Joseph Chang admitted that he felt lost at times.
"When you have this much space, you are scared. In the beginning, even a little helpless. However, in this process, you learn to believe in the character, believe in yourself," he said.
"Murmur of the Hearts" is being released in Taiwan on Friday, mainland China on April 17, and Hong Kong on April 30.
