This film contains some language, crude humor including a suicide joke, and mature themes. Viewer discretion is advised.

Directed by Mo Hon-jin, Leaving Mom is the first co-produced and co-written feature film between Vietnam and Korea. The film was shot in both countries.

Filial duty is the pillar to Asian societies, with the duty to a mother being the highest of them all. The infamous Korean style/tone shifts and genre mashups also pair well with the Vietnamese sensibility of the lead actors. Leaving Mom’s narrative themes connect both cultures seamlessly.

Hoan (the up-and-coming Tuấn Trần; VFF 2021’s Dad, I’m Sorry) is a street barber who moonlights as a street clown, pouring every hour into caring for his mother, Mrs. Le Thi Hanh (legendary comedienne Hồng Đào; VFF 2021’s Goodbye Mother, VFF 2025’s The Real Sister). Her advanced Alzheimer's has reduced her to childlike dependence. When Hoan’s health also fails, the caregiver is no longer able to give care. Hoan is desperate with no one to turn to.

In Hanh’s mental confusion, he often speaks of her happy times with her first Korean husband and their first child, Ji-hwan, Hoan’s half Korean brother. Unable to continue alone, he makes a desperate choice: potentially taking his mother to Korea and leaving her with Ji-hwan, where there is better public help for those suffering from Alzheimer's. But is that an act of selfless love or selfish abandonment?

In a country where dementia care remains largely a family burden, Leaving Mom confronts these questions unflinchingly, with standout performances from the cast. 

By Jenni Trang Le