EXCLUSIVE | 'Tigertail' actress Kunjue Li relates to how Zhen Zhen felt, says she knows 'how it feels to be unseen'
When Kunjue Li first received the script for Alan Yang's 'Tigertail', she marvelled at the story. 'Finally a well-written script about an Asian immigrant family,' she remembers thinking.
"I liked the script from the start and thought it has so much potential to be an amazing film," she told MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) in an exclusive chat.
'Tigertail', which released earlier this year on Netflix, is a poignant, multi-generational drama that follows Tzi Ma's Pin-Jui aka Grover as a once free-spirited yet impoverished young Taiwanese factory worker who moves to the US in search of better opportunities. It follows years of monotonous work and an arranged marriage devoid of love or compassion to ZhenZhen (Kunjue Li).
They get married early in life and the struggles of surviving in a foreign land take a toll on their relationship. Soon, the two realize that they have nothing in common with each other except the monotonous life they share.
With intense depth, 'Tigertail' displays ZhenZhen's isolation in a strange land. As her husband works hard day and night, she doesn't have a lot to do but clean around the house and sit by the window reminiscing of life and family back home. That is until she meets her friend Peijing (Cindera Che) and begins to consider her own independence and self-worth. The character tells the story of many women who sacrifice a lot over their lives - from their family back home to their dreams - all in the pursuit of building a new life in a new country.
"I think Zhen Zhen had dreams of her own, but like most women from that generation, they were told they are the foundation of a family, their purpose is to take care of everyone else in the family so that their men can work and provide," the actress tells us.
Kunjue, who is known for her role on 'Berlin, I Love You', thinks of her character in the same generations as her mother. "A generation of people going to America chasing the American dream. A generation of people sacrificed themselves for their kids and family, but it was also a generation of people awakening, a generation of change and rebirth," she said.
The story has received not only praise from critics but is also special to many people. 'Tigertail' is also special to the creators. For director Alan Yang, it is a fictionalized version of his parents' journey to America. For Kunjue, it offered a sense of determination that she now draws from.
"How invisible Zhen Zhen felt, that really impacted me personally. I know how it feels to be unheard, unseen. But her courage for asking a divorce, her courage for chasing her dream, I adored that and it gave me courage to continue my journey as an ethnic actor in Hollywood, as an immigrant working in America."
The actress is currently filming the titular role on 'Simone', which is directed by Betty Kaplan. Starring alongside Esai Morales, Simone is a "mysterious and haunting love story between a Professor at Puerto Rico’s leading university and an aspiring artist from the immigrant Chinese community".