2019 Movie
Dir. Trinh Dinh Le Minh · Vietnam · Vietnamese
A closeted immigrant returns home with his love in this feel-good family drama
In another country, you can forge a completely different life from the one you had in your hometown. For closeted LGBTQ+ individuals, moving to a more tolerant society allows you to explore facets of your sexuality that wasn’t possible previously. In Goodbye Mother, first generation immigrant Nau Van is confronted with the secrets he hid from his hometown, the secret that isn’t a secret in America. The conflict plays out in a familiar fashion, going through plenty of the usual experiences that coming out entails, but, while these are familiar, Goodbye Mother tugs at the reality Asian immigrants experience, and does so in a sweet and empathetic way.
Văn comes back to Ho Chi Minh City from the US with his boyfriend Ian to visit his mother. Being the male heir of the family, everyone expects him to take a wife soon. And to top it all, his grandmother, who has Alzheimer, mistakes Ian for her grandson.
After years of living in America, Nau Van returns home to Vietnam for the anniversary of his father’s death. The whole clan is excited to see him, though they’re unsure what to make of his VIetnamese-American friend, Ian.
The grandma! So supportive and surprisingly spry for her age.
Simple, but sweet. Sometimes that’s all a film needs.
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
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