People's Artist Tra Giang has a series of memorable roles in classic films, the most typical of which are "Chi Tu Hau" (director Pham Ky Nam) and "17th Parallel Days and Nights" (director, People's Artist Hai Ninh).
The classic beauty of Ms. Tu Hau
In 1962, People's Artist Tra Giang took on the role of Tu Hau in the film "Chi Tu Hau". This is a classic film of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema directed by Pham Ky Nam.
Director Pham Ky Nam was one of the first generation of directors from the North who received formal training abroad. He started his career with the film “Chung mot dong song” and this was the first work of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema. “Chung mot dong song” was the work that laid the first brick to open a glorious period for revolutionary cinema.
"Chi Tu Hau" is a black and white film that surprises the audience with scenes showing the complex psychological developments of the character Tu Hau.
During the raid, Tu Hau was humiliated by a French officer. The scene where Tu Hau runs along the riverbank to commit suicide is impressively depicted with a series of continuous reversing shots, the sound rushing with each step Tu Hau takes.
Director Pham Ky Nam's psychological shots create a classic quality when depicting the beauty and emotional changes of the character Tu Hau.
In “Sister Tu Hau”, Tra Giang is beautiful in every scene, each scene is a different beauty. The beauty of a simple, everyday mother. The beauty of both the pain and the struggle in the relationship with her husband, the beauty of waiting, the beauty in the emotional turning points, in the changes in perception and action... until the end, the beauty shines through, the strong, courageous beauty when Tu Hau becomes a revolutionary.
More than 60 years have passed, but "Chi Tu Hau" still makes audiences amazed with the director's storytelling, staging, use of music and camera effects, and also amazed with the acting ability of People's Artist Tra Giang.
Each role has its own beauty
With each role, People's Artist Tra Giang creates a symbol of the classic beauty of Vietnamese women during the most difficult and arduous years.
In "Chi Tu Hau", the character Tu Hau is typical of women in wartime who overcame their circumstances, overcame their pain and loss, and the more hardship and suffering they endured, the stronger and more resilient they became, and no enemy could defeat them.
“Sister Tu Hau” won the Silver Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1963 and won the Golden Lotus at the 2nd Vietnam Film Festival in 1973.
In 1972, People's Artist Tra Giang had another classic role in the film "17th Parallel Day and Night" directed by People's Artist Hai Ninh. The film was made in the context of the US escalating bombardment of the North.
The stories about “17th Parallel Day and Night” have become immortal anecdotes of a time when filmmaking was in the midst of bombs and bullets. Above all, each film of “17th Parallel Day and Night” truly recreates the nation’s steadfast war of national defense.
People's Artist Tra Giang plays the role of Diu. After sending her husband off to the North to regroup, Diu stays behind to witness the pain and suffering that takes place in the sand village. Deep inside the image of a simple, gentle woman is an unexpected beauty, a strength that was forged and tempered through hardship and suffering, which helped Diu to be courageous and contribute to the revolution in the long, drawn-out war.
The image of Diu giving birth in prison created a classic scene for one of the most outstanding war films of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema.
Diu is a symbol of the enduring strength and indomitable will of Vietnamese women in the war to defend their country. The more pain and loss they endure, the more their indomitable will is tempered, creating their indomitable beauty.
“17th Parallel Day and Night” became an excellent work not only thanks to its script and realistic, vivid story, but also thanks to the contribution of the masterful acting of two artists, Tra Giang and Lam Toi (as Tran Sung).
People's Artist Tra Giang was born in 1942. Throughout her acting career, she has created cinematic icons in classic works. People's Artist Tra Giang has won many major acting awards from international to Vietnamese.
People's Artist Tra Giang was a member of the National Assembly of Vietnam, terms V, VI, VII. She was awarded the title of People's Artist in 1984 and was the first film actress to be awarded this title.
