Fresh ground for leading actress in eccentric role

Even with a reputation as one of the four leading actresses in China, Zhou Xun discovers some roles can still be difficult to play.

For Zhou, that challenge came with Baober in Love, the opening movie of the 28th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which ends on April 21.

The 27-year-old star of films such as Fruit Chan's Hollywood, Hong Kong, Suzhou River and The Little Chinese Seamstress says the eccentric and obsessed Baober proved to be one of the most challenging parts in a career that stretches back to 1991's Inside an Old Grave.

'She goes through emotional mood swings. In most other roles, you're able to grasp what the character is like but Baober has no fixed personality,' says the Zhejiang native, in Hong Kong to attend the festival's opening ceremony last Tuesday.

'She's erratic and frenetic. It's all very mental and emotional and sometimes you just don't know how to pick up where the previous scene left off.'

Baober in Love, directed by Li Shaohong, is one of the more adventurous productions to come from a new generation of mainland directors. The story centres on Baober, who becomes obsessed with Liu Chi, played by Huang Jue, enough to break up his marriage.

She eventually gets her man after some manipulation. Liu, who initially finds Baober strange, ends up entranced by her quirky outlook on life.