She tries to act as a matchmaker and find a partner for Văn in the hope that he will get married, have children and carry on the family lineage. The head of the family - widowed mother Hạnh (played superbly by actress Hồng Đào) - welcomes her only son Văn home after he completes his studies in America. The movie, one of two Vietnamese entries shown at Busan International Film Festival in 2019, captures the tension between a gay couple, who are returning home to Vietnam after living in the US, and a typical patriarchal Vietnamese family. Starring two handsome actors, Thưa Mẹ Con Đi (Goodbye Mother), directed by Trịnh Đình Lê Minh, is a gratifying movie that earns its place among the better of Vietnam’s recent LGBT films.
Personally honest, socially important and commercially sexy, modern movies about gay and transgender people are among the better works of contemporary Vietnamese cinema.
