Source: CCTV.com

10-27-2008 09:43

Early morning of October the 18th, China lost a legendary filmmaker. Xie Jin passed away at his hometown in Shanghai, at the age of 85 from a heart attack. A memorial is planned for him on October 26th in Shanghai.

Xie Jin died during a trip to his hometown, where he was attending a celebration at a local school.

Throughout his career as a filmmaker, Xie Jin was known for his patriotism and intellectual power. He was regarded a legend in Chinese film. Concern for the human condition was a central theme in his works. His career as a filmmaker can be divided into three phases.

The first phase falls between the 1950s to the late 1970s. Among his early works are No. 5 of the Women's Basketball Team, the Red Detachment of Women, and the Sisters of Stage. Among them, No.5 of the Women's Basketball Team is China's first color feature movie on the subject of sports. It follows the careers and romances of Lin Jie and Lin Xiaojie, who are mother and daughter, reflecting the changes in China's sports sector after the liberation in 1949. The movie is marked by an exceedingly beautiful imagery and precise, effective film language. In making the movie, Xie Jin put the focus on portraying the traditional virtues of Chinese women and their relentless struggle for equality.

Throughout his life, Xie Jin refrained from making surrealist movies. He insisted on his responsibility to the motherland and his audiences, considering movies as an epitome of the times.