According to Mr. L, through an acquaintance's introduction, his parents got married and lived in Quang Ninh.
Not long after giving birth to L, his father went to work in Korea for 5 years, leaving him and his mother living in a level 4 house. After his father returned, the family happily welcomed a new member.
One summer, while the family was visiting both sides of the family, his father suddenly took him to visit his father's ex-girlfriend's house.
Out of curiosity, Mr. L quickly asked his grandparents about this woman and learned that she was his father's ex-lover. He was also surprised when she agreed to be his father's "second wife": "She called my grandparents and asked if she could not be the first wife, she would accept being the second wife."
A few years later, Mr. L's family moved to another place to live. Mr. L and his sister grew up amidst the gossip of the neighbors because of their father's womanizing.
Mr. L recalled: "Every time my mother mentioned the issue of my father having an affair and having affairs outside, he would be rude, curse loudly, and use vulgar words."
After that, his father had a child outside. What made him angry was that not only did his father not feel remorse, but he also criticized him, saying that his mother could not have more children and had to find a surrogate.
Even though she knew her husband was having an affair and even had a child with another woman, Mr. L's mother still endured and tried to live together.
Sharing with director Le Hoang, Mr. L wondered: "The two of them always curse each other when they talk but still live together. I don't understand why my mother has to try to be so patient."
Mr. L repeatedly suggested that his mother should divorce his father to have a better life, but to no avail.
Not only did Mr. L's father have an affair, he also did not help with living expenses, leaving his mother to shoulder the burden alone.
When he was 18, because Mr. L could not pass the military entrance exam, his father suggested that he study abroad in Japan. Mr. L said that his father only paid for the first year and after that he had to "be self-reliant".
Mr. L also could not contain his anger when his father carelessly brought his stepdaughter home to meet his paternal relatives and lived with an "unapologetic" attitude.
Mr. L found it difficult to understand when his mother compared married life to "hell" but still refused to give up.
Director Le Hoang believes that Mr. L's father has bad actions towards his wife, is patriarchal and rude, but he still has many good points. The male director listed: "I say this, many people may hate it, but I will say it anyway. First, he had an affair but did not leave his wife. Second, he gave you knowledge when he raised you to study abroad in Japan. Third, he had a child with his lover but still secretly took care of and raised the child."
While Mr. L pointed out many of his father's mistakes, he forgot to put himself in his father's shoes to see the problem.
The director explained: “If your father were here, he might point out your mother’s shortcomings, and then we would see that there are some serious problems. Because you are in the position of a son thinking about your mother, and he is a husband thinking about his wife, so the two perspectives are not necessarily the same.”
However, the male director also did not agree with the affair of his father L.
