Korean-Vietnamese screenplay blossoms into lovely, tragic movie about household in ‘Leaving Mother’

 
“Leaving Mother,” which opened domestically on Wednesday, is a Korean-Vietnamese co-production that took three years of collaboration between the 2 international locations’ movie studios, ranging from the story improvement section. It opened in Vietnam in August and drew 2.2 million viewers, turning into a field workplace hit.
 
Regardless of its chilling title, the movie is a heat, tearful journey. It follows a avenue barber named Hoan, performed by Tuan Tran, who cares for his mom Le Thi Hanh (actor Hong Dao), who has dementia. He decides to take her to Korea, a rustic he has by no means been to, to depart her within the care of his half-brother.
 
 
Director Mo Hong-jin, 52, landed the venture because of his earlier work, “On My Approach Dwelling” (2022), which explored household ties inside a jail setting. That movie’s success in Vietnam — the place tales of familial love resonate deeply — led to the proposal for Mo to direct this family-centered story.
 
In line with the director, it was a single picture that satisfied him to tackle the venture.
 
“I used to be given an authentic story remedy together with a photograph exhibiting a five-year-old baby holding their mom’s hand as they walked away,” he stated throughout a press convention held at a theater in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Monday. “Seeing that picture, I noticed I may depict a poignant household bond by the thoughts of a dementia affected person whose notion of time is slipping backward.”
 
The unique model of the story concerned a son residing in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis taking his mom with dementia to his brother in Hanoi. As producers believed its themes would additionally resonate in Korea, the movie was reimagined as a co-production.
 

Director of movie ″Leaving Mother,″ Mo Hong-jin [SIDUS]

 
“I restructured the unique story after observing the lives of warmhearted and affectionate Vietnamese individuals in locations like parks and markets, and listening to real-life tales from households caring for relations with dementia,” stated Mo.
 
Skepticism towards a Korean director who neither speaks Vietnamese nor has lived within the nation pale shortly with the casting of native stars corresponding to Tran, thought-about a assured field workplace draw, and Hong Dao, sometimes called “Vietnam’s nationwide mother.”
 
“I noticed a poster of a movie Tran starred in and thought he’d be excellent for the position of the son. Once I reached out, he stated he had loved ‘On My Approach Dwelling’ and agreed to hitch the forged,” Mo stated. “He then really helpful Hong Dao for the mom position. We despatched the script to her whereas she was in the US, and he or she instantly stated sure. I keep in mind asking the Vietnamese workers, ‘Do I actually deserve this type of luck?’”
 
The 2 actors, who had beforehand performed a mom and son within the hit movie “Mai” (2024), delivered heartfelt performances. Hong Dao, specifically, reportedly took on the duty of portraying dementia signs realistically — she needed to make the movie a career-defining piece.
 

A nonetheless from movie ″Leaving Mother,″ a collaboration between Korean and Vietnamese manufacturing studios [SIDUS]

A nonetheless from movie ″Leaving Mother,″ a collaboration between Korean and Vietnamese manufacturing studios [SIDUS]

 
What inspired Mo essentially the most was a comment from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Safety, which is answerable for movie screening and censorship.
 
“As a socialist nation, Vietnam nonetheless maintains a system of pre-screening movies. One of many officers advised the Vietnamese producer to ensure I knew I had made a superb movie,” Mo stated. “Apart from requesting we take away a line in regards to the mom residing extra comfortably in Korea, there was no different interference.”
 
Korean actor Jung Il-woo performs the position of Jeong-min, the husband Le Thi Han met whereas working at a manufacturing facility in Korea in her youthful years. Each Korean and Vietnamese manufacturing groups reportedly had him on the prime of their casting checklist. He appeared within the movie and not using a payment, saying it was his means of returning the love he had obtained from the Vietnamese public.
 
As Le Thi Han continues to lose her reminiscence, she stays determined to see her son Ji-hwan, whom she left behind in Korea. Whereas Hoan is damage by this, he believes that his mom would have a greater life if she may benefit from Korea’s welfare system as a Korean nationwide. With the assistance of his buddies, he decides to take her to Korea.
 

A nonetheless from movie ″Leaving Mother,″ a collaboration between Korean and Vietnamese manufacturing studios [SIDUS]

 
However the movie doesn’t observe a predictable path, nor does it resort to melodramatic clichés.
 
Strains corresponding to “Shouldn’t at the very least one individual on this household be completely satisfied?” and “Although she’s shedding recollections at this time, we’re making new ones” replicate the director’s long-held reflections on household.
 
“I misplaced my mom after I was seven, so I’ve an particularly deep eager for household,” Mo stated. “That’s why I believe my private hopes influenced the ending. To embrace household is to embrace the universe. I hope the movie makes audiences wish to name their moms.”
 
Hoping to depart behind a way of hope within the story of two sons’ love and recollections of their mom, Mo added, “Vietnamese audiences are already satisfied there’s going to be a sequel.”

BY JUNG HYUN-MOK [[email protected]]