[Above - FRESH FACE: Taiwan actress Guey Lun-mei stars in Taipei Exchanges, which opens on Thursday.]

BY YONG SHU HOONG

THANKS to Taiwanese film Taipei Exchanges, Guey Lun-mei can now take on barista duties at a cafe without skipping a heartbeat.

While playing the film's lead role of Doris - a woman who owns and operates a cafe in Taipei with help from her sister, Josie (Zaizai Lin) - Guey had to tinker with a coffee machine and brew cappuccinos or lattes onscreen.

"While preparing for the role, I actually learnt how to make coffee, and bake cakes and pastries," the 26-year-old told my paper over the phone from Taipei. "Every morning of the shoot, I would make many cups of coffee for the film crew as a form of practice."

The film's writer-director, Hsiao Ya-chuan, had considered building the set in a studio, but later decided to rent a shop near his office in Taipei. He then transformed it into an actual cafe to serve as the film's setting.

"The cafe is still in operation and, because of the film's popularity, it has become a tourist attraction," said Guey.

In the film, customers could exchange their unwanted items for other objects on display.

These exchanges soon included intangibles, such as the stories told by a well-travelled male customer (Chang Han), who captures Doris' heart and help stirs her wanderlust.

Guey agreed that the film doesn't contain great upheavals or the emotional entanglements one might expect from romantic flicks, but she felt that its strength lies in its subtlety, as the theme of yearning for what money cannot buy requires more time to ferment.

"Many people have seen the film several times because they find the issues raised by the story thought-provoking," she said. "It gives them strength to live out their dreams."

Born in Taipei, Guey shot to fame with her 2002 debut film, Blue Gate Crossing. Best known for acting opposite Jay Chou in Secret (2007), she also co-stars with Jet Li in the new film, Ocean Heaven, and with Nicholas Tse in the upcoming The Stool Pigeon.

Guey is also in the news for being romantically linked to Leon Dai, the Golden Horsewinning writer-director of Not Without You (2009). The two met as actors on The Passage (2004).

"I understand that journalists have a duty to report on topics of interest," said Guey, when asked about her reactions to the media attention.

"But I have a principle too: I keep my personal life separate from my work."

She dismissed talk that she may act in Dai's next film, I Love You So Much, saying that nothing has yet been confirmed.

"Leon is a good actor and director, so everyone is keen to work with him, and I'm no exception. But I'll need to ensure that the script is suitable for me," she explained.

"And if he does invite me to play a role in his film, it will be very clear that we are entering an actor-director collaboration, so I won't feel awkward about working with him at all."

Taipei Exchanges opens at the Picturehouse on Thursday.

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