Korean director Mo Hong-jin’s Vietnam-set family drama Leaving Mom marks the first ever equal partnership between the two countries in terms of investment and production responsibilities.
The film features a cast from both countries, including Tuan Tran (Mai), veteran Hong Dao (The Real Sister) and Juliet Bao Ngoc (Glorious Ashes) from Vietnam and Korean actor Jung Il-woo who is well known in Vietnam.
Director Mo whose previous credits include 2016’s Missing You and 2022’s My Girl, initiated the project after visiting Vietnam for the first time in 2022. He along with the Vietnamese cast attended the film’s media launch yesterday (July 1) in Ho Chi Minh City. The release in Vietnam is scheduled on August 1 through CJ HK Entertainment.
Based on an original script written by Mo, the story follows a Vietnamese sidewalk barber who lives from hand to mouth, while taking care of his mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. When he begins to experience memory loss along with epilepsy, he decides to take her to Korea where she once lived to leave her in the care of his elder brother whom he has never met.
“Most of the previous co-productions happened when the Korean production came to Vietnam and hired a local company to provide production service, without letting the Vietnamese side to have creative involvement, or the other way round,” Vietnamese producer Phan Gia Nhat Linh of Anh Teu Studio told Screen International.
“For this film, the investment came from both countries, the producers, the crew and actors also came from both countries [as did] all decisions about financial and creative.”
Anh Teu Studio, Sate Entertainment (a joint venture between Anh Teu and Korea’s Sidus) and Korea’s Motive Pictures are the producers.
While the film was primarily shot in Vietnam, some portions including the final scenes were shot in Korea during the autumn season. The entire house of the main Vietnamese characters was constructed on a Korean set at a 1:1 scale. Vietnamese household items such as bowls, chopsticks and buckets were all transported from Vietnam to achieve authenticity.
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