Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Actress Tue Minh, widely known for her roles in Vietnamese classic movies of Revolutionary Cinema from the 1950-1960, passed away on her 80th birthday in Ha Noi.
Her funeral was held this morning at Cau Giay Funeral Parlour. In attendance were many cinema and theatre artists. "Actress Tue Minh was among the first generation of cinema artists of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema," said script writer Hong Ngat.
"She represented the beauty and charm of a silver screen star despite the very difficult life during war time and the subsidy period later. She was among the first actresses making contributions to portraying typical figures in life to fight for national independence and the development of the country. Many of them have passed away and others are very old. I love them very much."
Born in 1938 to a Ha Noi family, she studied at the College of Theatre and Cinema, which opened in 1959. There, she was known for her expressive voice which helped her to become popular voice-over artist for many movies. She was also a contributor for Voice of Viet Nam’s Night Stories.
"Tue Minh is very enthusiastic," said actress Chieu Xuan. "In my memory she was always excited with different roles and she paid strong attention to voice acting, which all artists have to learn".
Actress Tue Minh was known in Vo Chong Anh Luc (Story of Luc and His Wife), Vi Tuyen 17 Ngay Va Dem (The 17th Parallel Day and Night), Ngay Le Thanh (The Holy Day) and Mot Ngay Dau Thu (The First Day of Fall) which are recognised as canonical works of Vietnamese Revolutionary Cinema.
"I was very sad when the actress’s daughter informed me about her mother’s death," said People’s Artist Tra Giang. "The First Day of Fall movie was the first movie Tue Minh and I worked on together. Her daughter portrayed my daughter in the movie.
"We have many memories. To me Tue Minh was very talented. I remember forever a close-up in Nguyen Van Troi which features Tue Minh’s eyes. I was obsessed by them," said actress Tra Giang.
Vi Tuyen 17 Ngay Va Dem competed at the Moscow Film Festival in 1973 and earned the best actress award for Tra Giang.
Script editor Trinh Thanh Nha praised Tue Minh’s acting skill displayed in The Holy Day and thinks that her talent lay in bringing leading-star power and subtlety to supporting roles. "In The Holy Day, just by looking up actress Tue Minh expressed the faithfulness of a believer. Her eyes’ acting is very special. I think that her acting and that of the leading actress in the movie are equal," said Nha.
The First Day of Fall was directed by Huy Van, who is Tue Minh’s husband.
"I still remember that Tue Minh is very beautiful with elegant style," said independent filmmaker Phan Dang Di. "All actresses from the first generation of College of Theatre and Cinema have cinematic beauty which I rarely find in the younger generations".
The role of Phuong in the drama Cach Mang (The Revolution) made her reputation on stage. Tue Minh combined psychological acting and her expressionistic acting style to create an image of a young Saigonese girl, according to theatre critic Nguyen Thi Minh Thai.
The actress was granted title People’s Artist, which is the highest recognition for an artist by the Ministry of Culture in 2016. She had two daughters with the first husband. She remarried to the famous writer Nguyen Dinh Thi. — VNS